Stories

We’ve recreated this striking cut-out model builder booklet so you can build your own bomber squadron base and experience what it would have been like...

Did you know that this photograph taken in the basement of the Mortlock Wing of the State Library shows one of the largest tigers ever...

The story of the founding of the State Library begins in the 1830s in London, where Robert Gouger was lobbying the British Government to found...

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand” Ansel Adams Over the past few years the State Library of South Australia has been adding to...

In 1904 there were two makers of WB corsets in South Australia. The English firm William Pretty and Sons made the WB Correct Form Corset...

Here are some fun masks that are a bit more jovial than the medical ones we’ve all been using lately. The history behind the masks...

Little did our research librarians know that a suggested change to an item description on our Digital Collections website would lead to such a significant...

When researching material for our exhibition Beyond the stage : aspects of performing arts in South Australia, 1914–1936 connections were made between the South Australia...

The Cathedral robbed by policemen! The Cathedral Hotel that is... View the following extract as reported in The Advertiser, Thursday 17 October 1918, page 7...

A busy day for the publican of the SA Clubhouse Hotel at Port Adelaide in 1926. ' SAVED FROM DEATH RESCUED IN PORT RIVER Diamonds...

Eric Api (Apinya) is celebrated as being the first to write a letter in Pitjantjatjara. He attended the Ernabella school where all students learnt to...

In 1882 Bob, a scruffy brown German collie dog covered with thick shaggy hair, was born in Macclesfield, South Australia. He travelled the railways of...

One of the State Library’s most significant photographic collections came from ‘ Arthur and Son studio ’ which operated in Mount Gambier from 1904 to...

This book has a fascinating history. It was borrowed from the Adelaide Circulating Library more than 100 years ago by a young Lawrence Bragg, who...

One of the projects on the go in the State Library Archival Collections team is centred around the John S. Chappel Collection (BRG 346). The...

A shipwreck in 1859 The SS Admella was an iron-hulled ship that was on its way from Adelaide to Melbourne when it hit a reef...

Public debate around the celebration of Australia Day on 26 January has continued to grow in recent times. Originally, the date of 26 January was...

When the Library was recently offered a wooden Noah’s Ark we recognised straight away there was something special and appealing about this toy. As we...

In October 1880, the S.S. Ferret is chartered in Glasgow by several men desiring to take a Mediterranean pleasure cruise. Built-in Glasgow originally for use...

Artist John Michael Skipper sketched many aspects of colonial South Australia, including the landscape, Adelaide streets, buildings, people, and notable events. Skipper made several sketches...