Newspapers and primary sources

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are kindly advised that this website includes images, sounds and names of people who have passed.

All users should be aware that some topics or historical content may be culturally sensitive, offensive or distressing, and that some images may contain nudity or are of people not yet identified. Certain words, terms or descriptions may reflect the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written, but are now considered inappropriate in today's context.

Key to library resources

	In the Library (or anywhere with a Library card for NSW residents)
	Only in the Library
	Publicly available

What is a primary source?

Primary sources provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic or question under investigation.

They are usually created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. Often these sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring, but primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later.

- Yale University - Primary Sources at Yale

Why use newspapers and primary sources?

Our newspaper and primary source eresources are an easy way to find :

Older newspaper articles written at the time events were happening
Current articles about past events and how the events are written about in the current context
Original documents such as letters and diaries written at the time events were occurring

Your search terms and strategy may be different in these databases:

Primary sources are written from the perspective of events as they were occurring - not by the names we now know (eg. Boxer Rebellion, Easter Rising)
Searching by a person's name or a place can be effective or try using terms such as 'hostilities' or 'uprising'
Selecting a date range is essential

Primary source databases: Newspapers and more

ProQuest Historical Newspapers [eresource]
Find full-text and full-image articles for newspapers dating back to the 18th century. Titles are predominantly from the United States such as The New York Times and Wall Street Journal but you will find other useful titles such as The Times of India and The Irish Times.
Gale Primary Sources [eresource]
Access a range of primary sources such as historical newspapers, books and pamphlets which were written at the time of significant historical events from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. You can search across British newspapers to see what was reported about people and events at that time and afterwards.
JSTOR (Arts & Sciences Collections Parts I - IX and the Nineteenth Century British Pamphlets collection) [eresource]
Find primary sources from the 19th century, as well as full-text articles from international academic journals, dating from the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Great for historiography because you can trace changes in views and commentaries on historical events.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832 - 1953) [eresource]
Use this collection of papers including The North China Herald, The China Press, The China Critic, and The China Weekly Review to find a chronicle of the country's turbulent transition from Imperial rule to the founding of the Republic.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: South China Morning Post (1903 - 2001) [eresource]
Find articles from this newspaper known for its authoritative and influential reporting on Hong Kong, China and all of Asia. Founded in 1903, it became a platform for advocating the reform movement in China.
British Periodicals I - IV (ProQuest) [eresource]
Find articles and sources from hundreds of British magazines published in the 18th ,19th and early 20th centuries.

Other primary source databases and resources

Women, War, and Society, 1914-1918 (Archives Unbound) (Gale) [eresource]
Explore this collection of primary sources from World War I held in the Imperial War Museum, London. Materials include photographs, pamphlets, posters, diaries and correspondence, alongside scholarly essays which together cover social, political, military and gender history for the years 1914 – 1918.
Empire Online [eresource]
Explore primary and secondary sources relating to the history of empires and colonisation. Find maps, timelines, posters, original documents and thematic academic essays by scholars which mainly focus on British imperialism in Africa, India and the West Indies.
The First World War: Personal Experiences [eresource]
Use this resource to view letters, diaries, trench journals, memoirs, ephemera and objects for a picture of the lives and experiences of men and women during the First World War. Click on Documents to browse by topics such as the Western Front, Home Front, Australia and the Pacific, and Gallipoli. View interactive maps related to events such as the Western Front or Gallipoli. (Note: Not all material is available through the Library’s subscription)
Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters, 1650 - 1920 [eresource]
Find primary source documents relating to European colonisation in North America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Central America. Subjects covered are wide ranging, including indigenous peoples, exploration, warfare, women’s history, agriculture and government.
Weimar Republic Primary Sources [external website]
View primary sources from the Weimar Republic period relating to culture, economics, politics and society, as well as secondary sources such as essays and profiles of personalities.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook [external website]
Browse this large collection of primary source texts (cultural, religious and scientific texts, as well as contemporary narratives, memoirs and songs) covering a vast period of modern history up to the late twentieth century. Includes topics such as modern social movements and pop culture.

Primary sources

Use the new catalogue to find digitised primary sources in our Digital Collections

Use the Format drop-down to select what kinds of items you are looking for
The results will contain records with a digitised image of the item
Collection items which have been digitised include photographs, paintings, letters and diaries

Miss Annette Kellermann, champion lady swimmer & diver, Sears postcard , 1903-1905 [PXE 1028]

Trove

Trove - Digitised Australian newspapers [external website]
Access digitised copies of Australian newspapers from 1803 to the 1950s to read about events as they were happening. Titles available include metropolitan newspapers from around Australia such as the Sydney Morning Herald or the Daily Telegraph and regional/country newspapers such as the Armidale Express.
Trove - Digitised Australian magazines and journals [external website]
Explore digitised Australian magazines from the early 20th century such as soldiers' magazines written in the trenches from World War I. Others include Pix, a heavily illustrated popular tabloid magazine from the 1930s with a mix of human interest stories, fashion, politics, culture and entertainment.
Australian Women's Weekly [external website]
Search or browse digitised issues of the Australian Women's Weekly from 1933 to 1982. Predominantly targeted at women, this publication provides an interesting perspective on Australian culture and events from around the world.