State Records Office of Western Australia

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State Records Office of Western Australia

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The State Records Office (SRO) is WA's public records and archives authority Please be aware that posts may contain images and names of people now deceased.

05/11/2026

CATALOGUE UPDATE

We have updated our archives catalogue and it is back online: https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/

We are still in the process of improving some features and as a result, it is not possible at present to order archives through the catalogue for viewing or digitisation. This will be resolved as soon as possible.

In the interim, please email any request to access State archives via [email protected]

27/10/2026

IMAGES FROM THE 2026 MARGARET MEDCALF AWARD

Thank you to all the wonderful nominees, historians, archivists and special guests who joined us last Friday to attend the 2026 Margaret Medcalf Award. It was an extra special event this year with Margaret having reached 100 years of age earlier in the year.

A special thanks to Whadjuk Traditional Owner Rod Garlett for his warm and heartfelt Welcome to Country on the day.

Here are some further images of invited guests enjoying last Friday's event.

26/10/2026

SPECIAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: MUSEUM SHOWOFF

Come gather at the Bassendean Hotel this Friday evening for storytelling of the scary, squirmy, sticky, icky museum kind.

Hosted by the Australian Museums and Galleries Association WA team, the evening will feature fun stories from museum and archive professionals, all competing for a grand prize.

Hear stories from the State Archives, explore the gruesomely intriguing wet collection at the WA Museum, and much more!

You can find out more and book into this event here: https://events.humanitix.com/museum-show-off-horror-stories

24/10/2026

WINNERS OF THE 2026 MARGARET MEDCALF AWARD

The Hon. Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Creative Industries, presented the 2026 Margaret Medcalf Award to joint winners of at a special ceremony at the State Library's Theatrette on Friday 23 October 2026.

This year's joint winners of the Margaret Medcalf Award for excellence in research using the Western Australian State archives are:

Arthur Haynes and the Smoking Gun — a Theatre 180 production, with playwright Jenny Davis OAM and visual design and production by Josephine Jay; and

Our Horrible Asylum — a master’s dissertation and board game by Fiona Giles from Notre Dame University.

A record 15 creative and research works were shortlisted this year, highlighting the many ways archival research can inform new work, from theatre and academic study to interactive experiences.

The winning entries demonstrate how the State’s archival collections can help researchers and creatives explore the past and make it accessible to audiences today.

Congratulations to Fiona and the Theatre 180 team, but also to all who were shortlisted for this year's Award which were very high caliber entries.

This annual award honours the second State Archivist, Ms Margaret Medcalf OAM, and recognises excellence in research and referencing using the State Archives Collection, which is the largest archival collection in Western Australia. The Margaret Medcalf Award is arranged by the State Records Office of Western Australia each year.

For further information on the Margaret Medcalf Award and the State Archives visit: https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/state-records-office-of-western-australia/events-and-awards -medcalf-award

22/10/2026

SRO CATALOGUE UNAVAILABLE

Our archive catalogue will be unavailable until early November when a new system will be released. We apologise for any inconvenience. Please direct any queries to [email protected]

20/10/2026

STATE HERITAGE CONFERENCE 2027

The Western Australian State Archives are an important source of information for heritage research in WA. The 2027 State Heritage Conference, hosted by the Heritage Council of Western Australia and the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, will take place on 3-4 May 2027 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. Expressions of interest are open now for speakers to present at the conference and we encourage our clients and partners to explore how you might contribute to this important event.

Check out the State Heritage Conference: https://www.wa.gov.au/government/document-collections/state-heritage-conference

(Image: SROWA, Opening of the Channel 7 Edgley Entertainment Centre in 1974, cons 7870)

15/10/2026

TAKE A WALK ALONG WILLIAM STREET IN 1966

A fascinating series of images capturing the West side of William Street, Northbridge, starting from the bottom of the Horseshoe Bridge at Roe Street and ending at Aberdeen Street.

These photos are dated 1966 and were captured by the Town Planning Board.

Just like Google Street View, only from 60 years ago!

These images form part of the amazing collection of Northbridge History Project records that our office recently received from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet:
https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/northbridge-history-project-au-wa-a2322

Simone McGurk MLA Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport City of Perth Library City of Perth Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

13/10/2026

OUR ARCHIVES CATALOGUE IS BEING UPDATED

We are in the process of updating our online archives catalogue: https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/. This updated system is a newer version of the current catalogue and comes with improved security, stability and features. This will help ensure our office is better able to meet the needs of the community going forward. Our updated catalogue is scheduled to go live the week of 2 November 2026.

As part of this, we are introducing a new user account and archives request system. Because of these changes, clients will need to re-register on our catalogue once the new system is live. In addition to improved security, this will allow us to enhance the archives request system and add new features going forward.

To ensure that this system upgrade is successful, we will be unable to accept archive requests via our online catalogue between 23 October - 2 November 2026. During this period, clients can email [email protected] to make requests to view State archives or have items digitised.

(Image: SROWA, Electronic Control Panel for Mining Operations, 1967, Cons1543 1967/249).

02/10/2026

STOCK BRAND REGISTERS

Stock Brand Registers are a bit of an unusual set of records in the State archives collection. They systematically record brands and earmarks allocated to livestock such as cattle, horses and sheep. Brands are obviously a way of confirming ownership of livestock.

The Stock Brand Registers we hold cover the period 1882-1981 - almost 110 years of stock brand history. The main series for these records is: https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/stock-brands-registers-s948

Early sets of registers graphically depict each brand and they are visually interesting. Brands often reflect the initials of the livestock owner although in creative ways. In other instances, purely visual images are used.

We provide a few examples here in today's post.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development The Pastoralists & Graziers Association of WA (Inc) WAFarmers National Farmers' Federation

01/10/2026

CATALOGUE OUTAGE - 02/10/2026

Our online catalogue - https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/ - will be temporarily unavailable between 6am-9am on Friday 02/10/2026 as part of a system update. We apologise for any inconvenience.

(Image: SROWA, First computer at Central TAFE in Northbridge c.1981, cons 7871),

Address

25 Francis Street, Alexander Library Building
Perth, WA
6000

Telephone

+61894273600

Website

https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/state-records-office-of-western-australia

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