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List of articles

Jan 2019
Popstar and TV personality Jimmy Hannan walking down the aisle at the Sydney Stadium with a crowd of people around him.

Jimmy Hannan: a winning smile

Vale Jimmy Hannan, who passed away on 7 January 2019, at the age of 84. We celebrate his life and work, and acknowledge his kind donation to the NFSA.

By Beth Taylor / 8 Jan 2019
Photographs
Sound
Television
Aug 2018
Actor Heath Ledger striking a dramatic pose with his arms out, one leg up in the air and his mouth open wide and eyes shut. He is in a yellow kitchen.

Heath Ledger exhibition

Audiences are about to discover the man behind the camera in the NFSA’s new exhibition Heath Ledger: A Life in Pictures.

By Miguel Gonzalez / 7 Aug 2018
Film
Jan 2018
Johnny O'Keefe smoking a cigarette and holding a broom in the TV studio

Johnny O'Keefe and the Liverpool Sound

We're sharing a rare clip of Johnny O'Keefe, Dusty Springfield, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Gene Pitney, and Brian Poole and The Tremeloes performing together on Australian TV.

By Simon Smith / 15 Jan 2018
Television
Oct 2017
Black and white glass slide of a person with a sheet over their head pretending to be a ghost

19th century ghost photos

These 19th century photographic glass slides purport to show images of both the living and the dead.

By Adam Blackshaw / 27 Oct 2017
Photographs
Aug 2017
Illustration of an Australian army slouch hat on a yellow-green background.

Australia's Tin Pan Alley

Australia's 'Tin Pan Alley' was born 75 years ago with a burst of patriotic wartime songwriting.

By Nick Henderson / 7 Aug 2017
Sound
Jul 2017
A Pathé disc inside its sleeve

Pathé's vertical groove

We recently acquired a small collection of seven rare Pathé vertical-cut disc records featuring recordings by Melbourne-born music hall star Billy Williams.

By Nick Henderson / 14 Jul 2017
Object
Sound
The members of the Horrie Dargie Quintet pose in front of a curtain, each member holding a harmonica

Australia's first gold record

What was Australia’s first gold record? You may be surprised to learn that it involved a harmonica and the Three Bears.

By Nick Henderson / 6 Jul 2017
Documents
Sound
Jan 2017

Remembering Daddy Cool

We look back at the legacy of Daddy Cool, a band which delivered many firsts for Australian music.

By Karen Hewitt / 16 Jan 2017
Photographs
Sound
Television
Dec 2016

2016 at the NFSA

The NFSA collects tens of thousands of items every year. What were some of the highlights for 2016?

By Adam Blackshaw / 23 Dec 2016
Documents
Film
Object
Oral History
Photographs
Radio
Sound
Television

Prisoner

We take you back to Wentworth Detention Centre to celebrate 30 years since the final episode of the iconic Aussie soap.

By Miguel Gonzalez / 12 Dec 2016
Television