Welcome to the audio guide

Map Rooms

Maps can tell us where we are and where we have been. Today digital maps lead the way but in these rooms the maps and charts on display reveal the rich history of mapmaking.

The State Library has one of the largest map collections in Australia. It provides a visual record of the European exploration of our world, and Australia’s emerging place in that world. The Library has been collecting maps for almost 200 years. Several atlases were acquired for the Australian Subscription Library, the forerunner of this Library, in 1826. The collections were expanded with the bequests of David Scott Mitchell in 1907 and Sir William Dixson in 1952. The Library continues to acquire maps, charts, globes, and atlases, building on these earlier collections.

You can purchase a print of any of these maps from the Library Shop by quoting the caption number.