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Sustainable Development

Special Collections Research Guide

Scope and Content of Guide

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MSS 104.F11 'Handwritten journal, 25 June 1980 - 27 March 1981', Papers of Billy Jones. 
© Reproduced with permission Estate of Billy Jones

Special Collections holds a diversity of collections covering the broad theme of Sustainable Development.

These include the papers of late 20th century Australian writers and activists whose voices were influential in the environmental movement, military archives and oral histories recording activity on United Nations and peacekeeping projects, and the papers of journalists writing about, and politicians with responsibilities for, health, education, the environment, and other socio-economic issues.

Many of these collections record lived experiences, offering researchers unique historical insights and new perspectives not found elsewhere.

How to use this guide

The guide is a selective list of resources to get you started. 

Browse entries under Rare Books and Manuscript Collections and follow the links for more detailed descriptions. 

Use Contact Us to ask a question, book an appointment to view material, or enquire about using material in classes.

We welcome all enquiries about using Special Collections in research and teaching.

Discover More

Special Collections holds over 400 manuscript and object collections, more than 13,000 rare books, and delivers online digital resources such as the Australians at War Film Archive.
  • Archival Collections & Objects - Search to identify additional Special Collections manuscripts and objects or Browse to explore the breadth of holdings
  • Rare Books - Find more rare books in the Library Catalogue (refine your results list by Featured Collections > CAN Special Collections to browse our titles)  
  • Digitised Oral Histories - Visit the Australians at War Film Archive (AAWFA) to search across 2000 interviews with Australian service personnel from World War I to Afghanistan

 

Manuscript Collections

Find Special Collections relating to these broad themes:


Economic Development

Including regions such as Asia-Pacific, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste.

MSS 190 – Papers of Michael Richardson
MSS 135 – Papers of Beverley Male
MSS 290 – Papers of Richard Curtain
MSS 366 – Papers of John Coates
MSS 374 – Papers of Peter Hastings
THL 001 – Papers of John Howard
THL 003 – Papers of Peter Reith
THL OO9 – Papers of Philip Ruddock

Global resources
Including themes such as Biodiversity, Climate change, Ecosystems,  Environment, Forests, Renewables, Recyclables. 

MSS 003 – Papers of Mark O’Connor
MSS 024 – Papers of James McQueen
MSS 037 – Papers of Barney Roberts
MSS 104 – Papers of Billy Jones
MSS 139 – Papers of Eric Rolls
MSS 226 – Papers of Denis Kevans
MSS 304 – Papers of Christine Townend
MSS 306 – Papers of Maree Teychenne
THL 004 – Papers of David Kemp
THL 006 – Papers of Ian McLachlan
THL 009 – Papers of Philip Ruddock

Minorities

Including themes such as Disability, Gender, Indigenous Peoples, Migrant experience, Poverty, Refugees.

See our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Research Guide at UNSW Special Collections: Research Guide - Equity, Diversity, Inclusion

Societal well-being

Including themes such as Cities, Education, Energy, Food, Health, HIV, Water.

MSS 058 – Papers of Bob Ellis and Anne Brooksbank
MSS 119 – Papers of Billy Marshall Stoneking
MSS 121 – Papers of Stephen Muecke
MSS 139 – Papers of Eric Rolls
MSS 261 – Papers of Frank and Mary Hardy
MSS 288 – Papers of Garry Sheard
MSS 290 – Papers of Richard Curtain
MSS 291 – Black Women’s Action in Education Foundation (BWAEF)
MSS 374 – Papers of Peter Hastings
THL 003 – Papers of Peter Reith
THL 004 – Papers of David Kemp
THL 006 – Papers of Ian McLachlan
THL 008 – Papers of Daniel Clode
THL 009 – Papers of Philip Ruddock
THL 018 – Papers of John Kerrin

Sustainable communities

Including themes such as Human rights, Peacekeeping, Social justice, United Nations.

MSS 190 – Papers of Michael Richardson
MSS 226 – Papers of Denis Kevans
MSS 262 – Records of War & Society journal
MSS 359 – Papers of John Sanderson
MSS 374 – Papers of Peter Hastings
THL 006 – Papers of Ian McLachlan
THL 009 – Papers of Philip Ruddock

Oral Histories

Search the Australians at War Film Archive to discover interviews relating to a range of Sustainable Development topics. For example:

Agriculture = 347 results

 

Economic development = 357 results

 

Environment = 840 results

 

HIV = 17 results

 

Human rights = 1154 results

 

Homeless = 60 results

 

Minorities = 853 results

 

Peace = 1275 results

 

Poverty = 219 results

 

United Nations = 1843 results

 

Water = 1870 results

 

Rare Books

Keyword search Special Collections holdings in the Library Catalogue to find published sources on a range of Sustainable Development topics.