Australian Women's History
This guide is for students in Hist318 (The
Making of the Modern Australian Woman) and others
researching women's history in Australia. For additional tips see the Hist318 Pathways Advice and Search Strategy guides [PDF]
What are primary sources?
Primary sources are records that provide firsthand accounts or evidence of historical events or experiences. Examples of published primary
sources include autobiographies, documentary history books, interviews
in contemporary newspapers, government reports.
Several search tips are included in this guide. For more tips see the Historical Primary Sources guide.
Remember to mind your language!
When searching for primary or contemporary sources from earlier eras
think about words that may have been used at that time to describe
particular issues. eg. you may not find the phrase "women's liberation" mentioned in publications before the 1960s, so instead you need to look for phrases like "women's rights" or "women's suffrage".
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1. Search dictionaries and encyclopedias
On the Web:
Many online encyclopedias, subject dictionaries and handbooks are
available as ebooks (fulltext) via the Library Catalogue. Useful titles
include:
In the Library:
Print dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference handbooks are
interfiled with books for loan on Level 1 and are identified by a
'Not for Loan' sticker on the spine. Examples include:
| The Australian Encyclopaedia (8 volumes) |
919.4/51 |
| Australians: An Historical Library (12 volumes covering different aspects of Australian history) |
994/150 |
| Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (4 volumes) |
305.403/3 |
| Historical Dictionary of Feminism |
305.4203/3 |
| International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage |
324.623/6 |
| Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia (14 volumes) |
920.7203/1 |
Finding other encyclopedias:
Use a broad Keyword search on the Library Catalogue (eg. women or feminis*) and in the next search box add the limiting terms encyclopedia* or dictionar*
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2. Search authoritative web sites
Check the web sites of government departments, womens' organisations
and archives for authoritative background information and historical
overviews. Examples of useful sites include:
Finding other web sites:
Limit your search to specific types of web sites such as Australian
government organisations (.gov.au), educational institutions (.edu.au)
and non-profit or research based organisations (.org.au). eg.
- Go to Google Advanced search
- Type in your keywords or phrases in the relevant Search boxes eg. "votes for women" AND history
- Type in the Search within Site/Domain box the url .gov.au
- Click on the Advanced Search button
Remember it is important to critically evaluate all information found on the Web.
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Locate historical data in sources such as encyclopedias (see above)
and also yearbooks from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
On the Web:
- Go to ABS website
- Scroll down to click on Australian Year Books (listed under Key Products in left menu bar)
- Click on Year Book Australia
- Click on Past & Future Releases tab to display a list of all volumes published since 1908+
- Click on a year (eg. 1921)
- At the Summary page click on Downloads tab to display a list of yearbook sections/chapter headings
- Scroll down to click on pdf button for Index section to see the range of topics from A-Z covered in that yearbook
- Return to section/chapter headings list
- Click on a relevant chapter to view the fulltext
- Tip: The 2001 Yearbook Australia (Centenary of Federation) volume contains articles on a range of historical themes.
The ABS Historical Publications Index is a useful way of identifying older ABS publications. Some of these
are available fulltxet online, others are held in the Library
(see below).
In the Library:
- Australians a Historical Library: Historical Statistics volume held at 994/150
- NSW Year Book (volumes from 1904+) held at S 319.4405/3
- Year Book Australia (volumes from 1908+) (duplicate volumes to those online) held at S 319.406/2
- plus
many older ABS publications held in the ABS Collection (Level 2
Compactus) - ask at Research Help Desk for assistance with using this
collection
For more search tips refer to the Australian Statistics guide.
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Biographies
Information about well known or significant Australian women can be found in encyclopedias (see above) and biographies.
To search for the latter use a Keyword search on the Library Catalogue and type in women and australia and biography
Useful websites include:
For more sources and search tips see the Biographies guide.
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Hist318 students - remember to check the items placed in the Short Loans/Ereadings Collection specifically for your subject!
1. Search the Library Catalogue
Try a Keyword search on the Library Catalogue.
Use broad keywords, and truncate your terms with the * symbol
to broaden your search to find all the variations of a particular word. eg.
- (women or feminis*) and histor* and australia*
- women and australia* and social
- women and australia* and biograph* (finds biography, biographies, biographical account etc.)
- women and australia* and document* (finds documents, documentary histories etc.)
Catalogue Search Tips:
- Try broader keywords. Many books with older publication dates are listed on the Catalogue under very broad subject headings (eg. education
australia history)
- When looking for Australian books try searching on both the name australia* and also of individual states (eg. new south wales)
- As well as searching on the broader word histor* you can also try
narrower searches on the terms twentieth century or 20th century or 1900s etc.
Still can't find many books?
- Find books on your broader subject area and look for references to your
topic in the tables of contents and indexes
- Look through books' bibliographies for mention of other useful
sources
- Try other libraries (see below)
2. Search other libraries' catalogues
Try keyword searches in other libraries' catalogues:
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1. Search the Library's Australian databases
Some databases provide fulltext, some do not. If you
find a reference to a useful article, but it's not fulltext,
see below for how to find the article.
Try these databases first:
Other Australian databases (more specific subject areas):
| Database |
Notes |
Truncation symbol |
Help |
| A+ Education |
Australian education. Many articles fulltext |
* |
See above |
| MAIS |
Australian multicultural and immigration studies |
* |
See above |
| AIATSIS |
Australian indigenous studies |
* |
See above |
| Indigenous
Australia |
Indigenous affairs in Australia and worldwide |
* |
See above |
| Ausport |
Australian sport and recreation |
* |
See above |
| AusChron |
Summaries of Australian historic events |
* |
See above |
| Australian
Key Journals Index |
Australian. Multidisciplinary. Useful for references to much older articles |
No truncation option available |
Refer to onscreen Help |
| Illawarra
Index (Articles database) |
Indexes articles about the history of the Illawarra region |
* |
Refer to onscreen Help |
| Austlit |
Australian literature. Some articles fulltext |
* |
Refer to onscreen Help |
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2. Search the Library's International databases
These overseas databases often include some Australian coverage.
Just remember to add the limiting word australia to your search!
Remember a broader range of databases is also available.
3. Additional sources for older journal articles
For references to older articles pre 1980s also try searching the following print indexes in the Level 2 Compactus:
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Some databases do not provide the fulltext of the article, only the citation and an abstract (summary) of its contents.
To locate the article, use a Journal Title search on the Library Catalogue to look up the name of the journal. This will tell you if the Library
holds that journal either electronically on one of its fulltext
databases or in print (hard copy) in the Journals Collection on Level
2.
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For search tips on finding older newspapers (ie. pre-1980s) see the Historical Newspapers guide. This also includes tips on finding popular magazines such as The Australian Women's Weekly.
For tips on finding more recent newspapers a current Newspapers guide is also available.
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1. Search the Library Catalogue
If you have the name of a specific government report try a Keyword search on the Library Catalogue. Type
in some words from the title (eg. women and welfare).
If you can't find a particular report listed on the Catalogue, try looking in Parliamentary Papers (see below).
2. Look in Parliamentary Papers
Many government reports have also been released in 'parliamentary
paper' versions. To check if a copy is included within the Library's
holdings of the relevant
Parliamentary Papers series see the search tips on the Indexes to Parliamentary Papers guide.
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'Hansards' are the printed record (transcripts) of what was
discussed in Parliament. The Library has extensive historical holdings
of these. For search tips see the Indexes to Parliamentary Debates guide.
Government legislation
The Library has extensive historical holdings of government bills and acts. For search tips see the Resources for Law (Legislation) guide.
Note:
the purpose of specific bills/acts are usually summarised in
debates and 'second reading speeches' recorded in Hansards for the
relevant period.
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A small range of archives of interest for women's studies are held in the UOW Archives. Examples include:
- D20 - Miners' Women's Auxiliaries of Australia, Southern District NSW
- D32 - Business & Professional Womens Club of Wollongong
- D124b - Henry Mayer Research Collection (Abortion publications and ephemera)
Browse details of other collections held in the UOW Archives. For more information about archives held at UOW and elsewhere see the Archives help guides.
Need help?
Contact Research
Help staff.
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