WA history

Capt and Mrs J S Roe and family
SLWA on ABC Radio
WA history
Join Dr Kate with Professor Jane Lydon, the Wesfarmers Chair in Australian History at UWA, discussing some of the oldest and most precious treasures held within the State Library collections – daguerreotypes, an early form of photography.
Stevie at the Red House brothel Hay Street Kalgoorlie 1990
Joan a sex worker in the 1940s
SLWA on ABC Radio
WA history
ABC Perth radio interview with Jules Kim, the CEO of the Scarlett Alliance, about Joan who was a sex worker and ran brothels in Perth in the 1940s and 50s.
DSCF1765Julie Raffaele Battye Fellow
SLWA on ABC Radio
WA history
Dr Kate and Julie Raffaele, discuss her research into the Smelters' Camp (aka Robb Jetty Camp) - a transient person's campsite that existed for over half a century (1898 to 1960) among the dunes of Cockburn Sound and was originally an Aboriginal gathering place.
006758d May Holman 1920s
Australia’s first female Labor parliamentarian
SLWA on ABC Radio
WA history
Join Dr Kate as she explores the extraordinary life of May Holman, Australia’s first female Labor parliamentarian, a member of the WA Legislative Assembly from 1925 -1939.
Sadie Corner later Canning training at Bethesda Hospital Melbourne ca1950
Aboriginal stories
SLWA on ABC Radio
WA history
Sadie Canning (nee Corner) was Western Australia's first Aboriginal nurse. She was a member of the Stolen Generations and grew up at Mount Margaret Mission in the north eastern goldfields.
Don McLeod 1972
Rebel outsider chiselled from the Pilbara rock
SLWA on ABC Radio
WA history
Join John Hughes, Senior Subject Specialist, on ABC Radio discussing Don McLeod (1908 -1999) a miner, handyman and major activist for Aboriginal rights.
Izzy Orloff and colleague working in the Censors Office
An in-depth look at his photography
WA history
Izzy was one of WA’s most significant photographers, an Avant-Garde innovator in photographic style who captured moments of urban life. Born in Ukraine in 1891, he migrated to Fremantle in 1910.
6 women
Stop Violence Against Women
Podcasts
WA history
A courageous collection of audio stories presented in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence, recorded by the Centre for Stories in 2019 for 16 Days in WA – Stop Violence Against Women campaign.
Winifred Wells before her journey across Australia 19 December 1950
"As game as Ned Kelly"
WA history
Vivacious 22-year-old Winifred Wells "had two characteristics uncommon amongst her sex". She liked to be alone and she loved to ride motorcycles.
003203D Rabbit Proof Fence 1920
WA history
The Rabbit-Proof Fence has in recent years become synonymous with the ‘Stolen Generation’ through the 2002 film which explored the subject of Aboriginal children being forcibly removed from their parents by racist colonial government policy.
Collage of WA Reflections production stills
WA history
The State Library partnered with Screenwest to deliver the WA Reflections initiative. WA filmmakers created five short documentaries and a VR experience to transform and showcase stories from the Library's collections.
216118PD Robin Miller the Sugarbird Lady with her Mooney Super 21 aircraft VH-REM ca 1968-1972aft VH-REM ca 1968-1972
WA history
Robin Miller fought against gender expectations and sterotypes to deliver vaccines to the Kimberley and the Pilbara.