Publications

The ANU Archives Program has contributed to historical and archival fields of knowledge by producing a variety of publications which have been widely used by academics, archives professionals and the general public.

Pure merinos and others: the "shipping lists" of the Australian Agricultural Company.

Pure Merinos and Others begins with a general history of the Australian Agricultural Company and its subsidiary, Peel River Land and Mineral Company. Between 1825 and 1862 the companies brought from Europe to New South Wales over 700 men to work either at the colliery in Newcastle or on the extensive pastoral estates at Port Stephens, Tamworth and the Liverpool Plains. The new arrivals were managers, skilled mechanics, shepherds, miners and labourers. Many were accompanied by their wives and families.

Using the shipping lists from the records of the companies held at the Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Pure Merinos and Others records names of these newly arrived employees and, wherever possible, details of their ages, occupations and wages. The book also includes sailing and arrival dates of the ships on which they came, tonnage, captain and details of significant cargo, especially animal stock.

The book is currently out of print, but can be consulted in the reading room of the Noel Butlin Archives Centre. It is also available at the National Library of Australia, all state libraries and major university and public libraries. This PDF version was published with minor corrections in 2011

Prime Ministers at The Australian National University: An Archival Guide
Michael Piggott & Maggie Shapley

The ANU Archives holds records about all 27 Australian prime ministers in the Noel Butlin Archives Centre and in the university's own archives. Prime ministers have been supporters, visitors, Council members, fellows, students, and even Chancellor of the Australian National University. Prime ministers have also been trade unionists and businessmen, and have been lobbied by trade unions, companies and industry associations, leaving their traces in the business and trade union collections of the Noel Butlin Archives Centre.
The authors, Michael Piggott (Australian Prime Ministers Centre fellow) and Maggie Shapley (ANU University Archivist), bring their considerable archival knowledge to the task of mapping prime ministers in the archival landscape and highlighting the prime ministerial riches which are found in the archives. The guide offers an extensive listing of relevant subject and personal files, minutes of meetings, rare printed items, photographs and audiovisual material, dating from the 19th to the 21st century, and ten short studies showing how these records might be used

» Download a free PDF version or purchase a hard copy

In the Service of the Company Letters of Sir Edward Parry, Commissioner to the Australian Agricultural Company

Sir Edward Parry's correspondence as Commissioner to the Australian Agricultural Company was voluminous. His letter books, covering his correspondence with officials, merchants and others in the Colony of New South Wales 1829-1834, have been transcribed as In the Service of the Company.

The extensive archives of the Australian Agricultural Company, including records from both the London and Australian offices, are held by the Noel Butlin Archives Centre. The archives are listed on the Australian Memory of the World Register.

The baptisms of children at Port Stephens, written into the back of Volume 1, have been listed separately.

Volume I (1829 - 1832) and Volume II (1832 - 1834) are available from ANU E Press in PDF or hard copy.

Articles from the ABLative newsletter.

ABLative wa s a newsletter published by the Noel Butlin Archives Centre (Archives of Business and Labour). First printed in 1985, the newsletter was intended to encourage use of our resources by making current and potential users aware of the magnificent collection of records held by the ANU Archives Program. Feature articles of past editions of ABLative have been republished on this site. Copies of the full editions are available from the Archives.

Parties to the Award

Jadeja, R. Parties to the award: a guide to the pedigrees and archival resources of federally registered trade unions, employer associations and their peak councils in Australia 1904-1994, Canberra: Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, 1994

Parties to the Award was written in 1994 in response to the ‘super union’ amalgamations in the 1980s and 1990s. It documents the complex administrative and structural changes experienced by Australia’s federal industrial organisations throughout the 20th century. Its 42 pedigree charts and alphabetical directory track registration, name changes and amalgamations of federally registered trade unions, employer associations and their peak national and state councils from 1904 to 1994. The location of records available for research in archival institutions and the contact address of these institutions is also noted.

Copies can be obtained from the Noel Butlin Archives Centre.

The guide has been updated and converted into electronic form and incorporated into a larger project of the Australian Trade Union Archive (ATUA) - an on-line specialist access point for researchers and scholars of labour and industrial history in Australia.