Our student research portal helps you do research with primary sources. These include original archival records, with descriptions to help you understand their purpose, origins and context. 

About these resources

• Records – each record you'll find here focuses on a single item from the National Archives' collection. Items include original documents, photographs and audiovisual material. Some records contain extra information to help you interpret them.
• Themes – records are categorised into themes such as First Australians or science and technology. A record can relate to more than one theme. 
• Topics – a topic is a collection of records with interpretation and inquiry questions. Each topic is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and focuses on an aspect of Australian history.
• Referencing – references to archival records differ from references to books or other types of published material. This page will guide you.