Aboriginal History Archive (AHA)
The Aboriginal History Archive (AHA) is built around the Foley Collection, which is an extensive archive of almost 500,000 items collected over the past 45 years by Professor Gary Foley. He is a renowned Aboriginal activist, academic and Moondani Balluk researcher.
It houses items arising out of the Aboriginal Black Power, Land Rights and Self-Determination movements and spans a century of activism from the 1920s onwards.
The AHA includes:
• manifestos and minutes
• essays and articles
• journals and newsletters
• memoirs and diaries
• course outlines and proposals
• posters and flyers
• news clippings and correspondence
• photos, video and audio recordings
• a mass of ephemera.
There are over 80,000 items housed in the physical archive, which continues to grow, and nearly all of this has been catalogued and digitised.
The Patrick Wolfe book collection
The Patrick Wolfe book collection is incorporated into the AHA. The collection contains around 1,400 books and a few single journal issues, which formed the personal library of Patrick Wolfe.
Requesting & accessing material
AHA material is available on request. Please for more information.
- Explore the Foley Collection now, where you can search through and download the resources. The Foley Collection is a selection of digital works from the Aboriginal History Archive that have been made available for open access through the VU Institutional Repository.
- The Patrick Wolfe book collection is managed by VU Library, on behalf of the AHA. Material can be viewed by appointment in the Special Collections reading room on level 4 of the Footscray Park campus library in consultation with the AHA. Read the Library guide: VU Special Collections - How to access and use: Patrick Wolfe.
Scholarships & positions at the AHA
The Aboriginal History Archive is seeking expressions of interest from undergraduates and postgraduates with a strong understanding of the nature of community control to fill a range of positions and scholarships.
Position available for new research project
We’re leading a project to unearth Indigenous history, stories, alternative narratives and learnings from the past. We will engage communities, present into the public debate, provide materials for curricula and, most importantly, turn the normative discourse on the impact of colonisation in Victoria.
Scholarships are available with an annual stipend value of $45,000 per year. You must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander to apply for the scholarship.
Join this project for a unique opportunity to contribute to impactful research in Indigenous history, truth and justice.
To make an enquiry, please tell us briefly why you’d like to join our project and include a current resume. Send your expression of interest to either , Project Manager, Moondani Balluk or , Executive Director, Moondani Balluk.
AHA internship
The Aboriginal History Archive (AHA) is a community-focused archive. The AHA internship program ensures continuity of the archive via paid internship opportunities. These are available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensuring that safe keeping the past and protecting the future continues in community hands.
Interns build community-centric and culturally sensitive digital archiving skills. They also work towards expanding and maintaining the archive's links with community members.
AHA interns organised a special event at Aunty Alma’s Gathering Place at Dardi Munwurro, Preston to celebrate the community's contributions to AHA’s photo naming project. The project involved working with Aboriginal community to identify and describe a selection of photographs from the AHA collection.
MC’d by Noongar man and intern, Elijah McDonald, the event included speeches by Dr Aunty Alma Thorpe, Professor Gary Foley and Alan Brown (Victorian Aboriginal Health Service), a performance by Dave Arden, and an exhibition showcasing photographs from the collections.
Other positions within the AHA
- Masters scholarships
- PhD scholarships
- Postdoctoral Research Fellows Community Researchers
If you're interested in any of these positions, please email .
Learn more about masters and PhD scholarships.
A Fight for Survival: The Northlands Story
A remarkable battle that Victorians and Australians have been able to learn about through the Aboriginal History Archive is the 1992-1995 campaign to save Melbourne school Northland Secondary College from closure. Gary Foley played an important role in the successful community struggle to save the school after it was placed on a closure “hit-list” in late 1992 by the incoming Kennett government. Professor Foley’s son Bruce, who attended the College, joined with fellow student Muthama Sinnappan to lodge a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Board claiming that the government’s decision to close the school was discriminatory. Alongside what became a long-running legal battle, teachers, parents and students maintained a Rebel School for two years, and kept the story in the public eye.
The Aboriginal History Archive contains a significant tranche of unique original materials that reflect the Northlands campaign from within:
- footage shot by media teachers & students
- court transcripts
- correspondence & media releases
- even a hand written Rebel School diary and minute book.
Instigated by Professor Foley, and with Dr Clare Land, Lyn Thorpe and Jill Morgan AM forming the key day-to-day research, community liaison & creative development team, Northlands community members have regathered to tell the story in true Northlands style. A Political Cabaret and Exhibition are the first two major productions so far under the banner of “A Fight for Survival: The Northlands Story.”
Acknowledgement of Country
The guardians of the Aboriginal History Archive (AHA) acknowledge the custodians of Country throughout the continent now commonly referred to as Australia. We recognise their continuing connection and responsibilities to land, waters and community. We know that sovereignty has never been ceded and treaties never signed. We offer our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present.