Oceania collection

The Oceania collection encompass a wide range of material from, and about, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands and features some of the earliest publications from the region. Highlights include:

• Illustrations produced by Sydney Parkinson, particularly his sketches of Māori, whilst employed as an illustrator on Captain Cook’s first voyage (Add MS 23920)
• The first book printed in Australia New South Wales General Standing Orders (C.48.d.12.), produced in 1802 by the transported convict, George Howe
• A Māori language translation of Epistles to the Ephesians and Philippians (C.23.a.15.(2.)), the first book printed in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1835
• Alexander Shaw’s A Catalogue of the Different Specimens of Cloth collected in the Three Voyages of Captain Cook (1787) containing 39 tapa cloth specimens (C.112.e.1.)
• Joseph Banks’ copy of The Voyage of Governor Philip to Botany Bay (1789) bound in kangaroo skin at his request (C.47.i.10.).

Early Oceania

The Library's foundation collections, principally those of Sir Joseph Banks, contain numerous works crucial for the study of the voyages of commercial and scientific exploration of the Pacific from Tasman to Cook and Banks himself. Notable among these is a copy of Bougainville's Voyage autour du monde (1771) (C.28.l.10), which has on its first map Captain James Cook's autograph tracing of his own voyage from 1765 to 1771. The collections are also particularly strong on:

• The languages and cultures of Indigenous Peoples in Oceania
• Early print history and the history of colonial settlement in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
• Missionary materials for use in colonial Oceania and official publications noting developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the region
• The subjects of travel, exploration, anthropology, zoology and botany as well as practical guides for colonists and prospective emigrants such as The Emigrant's Guide to Australia ... With a new map of the gold-fields, etc. (10491.a.12.) published in London in 1852.

20th century and beyond 

Since the 19th century, the Library has benefited from many Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand novels, poetry and historical and descriptive monographs being published or distributed in the UK and consequently acquired by legal deposit. Night Fall in the Ti-Tree (11649.h.6.), the earliest known artists’ book from Australia, is an example of a book received this way. The Oceania collection has also been built through the regular selective purchase of currently published books and periodicals, and retrospective purchasing from second-hand booksellers to fill earlier gaps in the collection. Contemporary highlights include:

• Literature and poetry from the Pacific Islands including the Papua Pocket Poets series (X.0908/660.)
• Contemporary fine and small-press printing is well represented, with material from fine press publishers such as The Pear Tree Press and artists’ books from Impediment Press.

Official publications

Due to historical exchange agreements with Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Library's holdings of Australian and New Zealand official publications are very extensive and are particularly strong in material from the federal governments and from Western Australia.

Indigenous language materials 

In addition to contemporary writing by Indigenous authors, we hold many historic works in the languages and dialects of the Oceania region including An Australian Grammar, comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language, as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie, &c., New South Wales from 1834 (1333.f.15). Finding these works can be challenging, however: the catalogue records are often brief, use only the form of language name given in the book itself, and may contain no subject indexing. For this reason, it may be appropriate to search the our catalogues against other bibliographic resources in your field of study. 

Resources for your research

Electronic resources

The Library has hundreds of electronic resources and subscription databases to support your research. You can explore them in our Reading Rooms and access some of them on your own device, wherever you are.

There are also many free e-resources – including websites, full text databases, abstracting and indexing databases and other reference sources – that may be of help.

British Library Research Repository

The Eccles Institute's collection guides, along with other information relating to the work of the Institute, may be found on the British Library Research Repository.