Public access to our Reading Room is now available by appointment. Find out more. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains images, voices and names of deceased persons. Missions, reserves and stations were reserves of land to which Aboriginal people were forcibly relocated.
The types of records that remain vary. They might include diaries, daily occurrence books, photographs taken by visitors and resident missionaries, letters between church officials and people working on the church settlements, and registers of Aboriginal children and adults living there. Some missionaries recorded local languages and culture, and described daily life. Churches also published magazines and newspapers that included information about missions and church institutions.
Of the many Aboriginal missions and reserves that were established, some still exist but many have disappeared. Records that remain are usually held by the church organisation which was responsible for the mission or sometimes in state archives. Mission records are further complicated by the fact that records relating to one mission may be split between church bodies and government bodies. In addition, some former mission organisations, like the United Aborigines Mission, do not officially exist anymore, so their records are held privately and not by a major church organisation.
You can search or browse on their Look for Homes page. Various researchers and writers have worked on the history of Aboriginal missions and reserves. This means that you might be able to read about the particular mission or reserve where your family lived.
Be aware that some of the earlier commemorative type histories were written by missionaries themselves or by people connected with the mission and they can be biased towards the missionary point of view rather than the experiences of Aboriginal people on the mission.
