Our special collections cover theatre, medieval European history and theology, early modern and European literature, Australian literature, maritime history and shipping.

Included in our special collections are rare books, books, manuscripts, maps, microfiche and microfilm.

Anthology of Australian Poetry to 1920

This Anthology has been selected and edited by John Kinsella, poet, novelist, critic, publisher and journal editor.

Australian Literature collection

The Collection aims to cover all literary works produced in Australia or by Australian authors up to 1980. This is supplemented by more general material about Australian history, politics, and culture - with particular emphasis on early accounts of European exploration and settlement, and the Aboriginal people of Australia.

Erulkar collection

The history of the Eastern Indian Ocean region, especially the maritime history of India, is the focus of this collection. Built around a library of rare books, manuscripts, journals and other materials collected by David Solomon Erulkar, an Indian shipping executive, the collection also includes material from the Library's own collections.

Frank Broeze Memorial Library

The collection of Professor Frank Broeze, formerly of the Department of History at the University of Western Australia, focuses on maritime history and shipping, and includes a considerable amount of Dutch and German material and more general books on modern political and economic history.

Frank Callaway collection

This collection brings together an extensive range of letters, papers, scores, and other items acquired by Emeritus Professor Sir Frank Callaway during his long and distinguished career in music education.

Manuscript collection

A wide range of manuscript material including items from the pre-printing era, printed works in their original manuscript form and historical papers are housed in the Scholars' Centre. Included in the collection are Australian literary works, correspondence, medieval manuscripts and an unpublished history of the University.

Map collection

This collection provides users with information on land use, land tenure and historical / geographical data in a cartographic format. The collection is particularly strong in regional and planetary material and in holdings of foreign maps.

Maugham collection

The William Riley Collection of W Somerset Maugham incorporates copies of all Maugham's major works including many first and limited editions, proof copies, signed and inscribed copies, books from Maugham's own library and ephemera.

Microform collection

A major resource for study and research, the collection contains almost 45,000 reels of microfilm and around 400,000 microfiche. The major emphases are local and international newspapers, medieval manuscripts, early modern books, music, Indian history and a wide range of nineteenth-century materials.

Peter Cowan collection of Australian literature

Containing about 3000 volumes, this collection is especially strong in literary works of the later nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries. It also includes material on Australian history, exploration, art and natural history.

Rare Books Collection

More than 8,000 books cover a wide range of subjects, but are particularly strong in European history, literature and theology of the medieval and Early Modern periods. A significant number were donated by the Friends of the Library.

Reference Collection

The Library's reference collection supports undergraduate, postgraduate and research needs by providing access to a wide range of general reference tools, and to specific titles for significant areas of study. The collection is housed over a number of sites with the Library maintaining a Core Reference Collection of full-text, multi-disciplinary resources available via the Library website.

Theatre Collection

A donation by the Playhouse Theatre in 1982 encompassing material from the mid-1950s to 1982 forms the basis of the collection. It includes copies of plays (published and unpublished), typescript copies, prompt copies, programs, playbills, posters, press releases and reviews relating to drama, opera, ballet and film.

Thesis Collection

This record of research carried out at the University of Western Australia contains more than 6500 theses with the earliest dating from 1915.

The University Collection

The University Collection contains published material produced by bodies associated with the University, notably the Guild of Undergraduates and the UWA Press, and works published about the University and its activities. It includes examination papers, minutes and annual reports of the Senate, and University handbooks.