Subject Guides

These subject guides give information on a range of subjects relating to collections held at the University of Melbourne Archives. The guides are not comprehensive; to access information about all of our collections, please go to our online collection catalogue. UMA is in the process of updating and developing earlier guides.

Homosexuality and the University of Melbourne

This subject guide was prepared by Graham Willett and Kathy Sport for a Melbourne Engagement Grant project
World War One

The University of Melbourne Archives holds many collections of historical material relating to World War One. These collections include original items from Australian soldiers, nurses and doctors at the various fronts, as well as business, union and personal papers revealing the situation on the home front.
Women in the Archives

A thematic guide to the diverse collections created by and documenting women in mass movements, political activism and Australian social life held in the University of Melbourne Archives.
Early Computing

A guide to historical material relating to early computing held in the University of Melbourne Archives. Highlights include: CSIRAC at the University of Melbourne, technical difficulties experienced by early adopters of computing technology, women in early computing, and early calculation and computation machines.
Child Welfare Records

The University of Melbourne Archives is home to an array of collections which provide insight into the sometimes harsh reality of growing up in an institution in Victoria in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is a Guide to those records and a document of the University’s efforts to make them accessible for Care Leavers and their families.
Publishing

This guide introduces researchers to the collections held by the University of Melbourne Archives relating to the Australian publishing and book trade.
Polar Exploration

A thematic guide to the diverse collections created by and documenting Antarctic exploration and study held in the University of Melbourne Archives.
Literary

This guide introduces researchers to the diverse literary collections held by the University of Melbourne Archives (UMA). The literary collections range from early colonial authors to contemporary writers, poets and literary commentators.
Film

This guide introduces researchers to the collections held by the University of Melbourne Archives (UMA) that relate to the social and political impact of film culture. The UMA holds the records of significant figures in the Australian film industry, associations, societies and history of the Melbourne University Film Society (MUFS).
Medical collections in the Archives

The University of Melbourne has long been a centre for the study of medicine and research in Australia. This guide outlines the historical material held in the University of Melbourne Archives, relating to the study and practice of medicine in Victoria, including key figures, academics, and related societies and associations.
The Peace Movement

This is a curated selection of the University of Melbourne Archive’s extensive collections relating to the Peace Movement in Australia.