Queensland history in specialist hands

History unfolds every day on the benches of the conservation lab and digitisation studio at State Library of Queensland.

Our repositories hold over 42 kilometres of collections that tell Queensland's story, with tens of thousands of items added each year.

Specialist staff care for, preserve and make accessible the Queensland heritage collections – everything from rare books and letters to photographs, artworks, maps, films and objects of cultural significance. 

Here is a glimpse of their work. You can learn about the science and carefully honed skills behind preserving rare artefacts at State Library during World Science Festival Brisbane’s Labs Unlocked tours. The tours, on 25 and 27 March 2025, are free. Register

Specialist conservators Rachel Spano and Melanie Sorenson prepare a roll of Marimekko fabric for preservation storage in the repository. The fabric is part of the archive of Craftsman’s Market founder Joy de Gruchy (1922–2011), who introduced the bold, Finnish-designed textiles to Queensland. 

Micrographic technician Conrado Cristobal scans a 1954 edition of Palm Island News on the Zeutschel overhead scanner in the digitisation studio. Newsletter editions from 1949 to 1966 are being digitised to make them available online for researchers. 

Registrar Britt Casey checks Mo’iam – Archer River, a new collection acquisition. Wik Mungkan artist Janet Koongotema’s acrylic on linen artwork depicts her Country on the Archer River near Aurukun. As registrar, Britt coordinates the incoming and outgoing loan of artworks and collections for exhibition. 

Conservator Dominic King prepares 1870s letters for display on the Talbot Family Treasures Wall. Hinges of Japanese tissue are adhered to the letter with wheat starch paste and attached to a mounting board. William Bartie wrote the letters to his wife, Mary, while he was working as an itinerant miner. The Stanthorpe man lost both hands and part of his sight in a mining explosion in 1878, and died in 1905.

Preservation assistant Robert French does a 3D digital scan of an engraved military identification tag that belonged to World War I soldier Private Robert Salisbury. Pte Salisbury died soon after being wounded in action in Belgium in October 1917.  

Leif Ekstrom, Coordinator, Digital Media, photographs the Underwood typewriter Courier-Mail war correspondent Leslie James Fitz-Henry used while reporting from Papua New Guinea during World War II. His Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal, awarded for his service with the United States Military, is also part of State Library's collection, along with a photo of him in the field. 

Swee Cheng Wong, specialist conservator (audiovisual) examines film for digitisation as part of State Library’s Reel Rescue project. At-risk film, video and audio content on fragile or obsolete carriers such as 8mm film and VHS, is being strategically digitised as part of the Queensland Library Foundation-supported initiative.

Conservator Kelly Leahey repairs a 33-metre-long petition signed by over 4,000 women in the 1890s in support of Central Queensland becoming a separate state. The petitioners went to extraordinary lengths to collect signatures – one woman' Margaretta Ramm, described in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin riding on horseback for 27 miles in one day for just 7 signatures. The Central Queensland Separation League Petition 1892–93 has now been digitised and is available online.

Explore State Library's ever-changing exhibitions and showcases, all available for free.

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Corley Explorer: Queensland houses from the 1960s and 70s