A Public Service Since 1990

Records – recorded information, are created and kept by individuals and organisations in the process of their private and business activities. The records that are kept permanently and where they live are called Archives, Archivists are trained professionals who select, maintain, describe and provide users with access to archives or historical records.

The earliest record in the stacks dates from 1511, but the National Archives cover our history mainly from the 18th century. The archives are deposited by Government Departments, but private papers and rare books are also acquired and kept. While the archives refer to our British colonial history, copies of select records from French and Spanish archives are available for consultation in the original languages offering different perspectives.

Government records, photographs, videotapes, sound recordings, newspapers, other paper-based textual records and documents, comprise the 10,000 lin.ft of holdings at the National Archives. Recent research topics vary from genealogy to geology, from anthropology to education. We have welcomed a wide cross-section of university and government officials, students, and the general public (including artists, journalists, lawyers and teachers).