Rare Books
The State Library holds a large collection of Western Australian rare books, most published prior to 1910. Some rare books are classified as such due to their worth or they may be a limited edition, so books from any era can be included. Often rare books are microfilmed or have had facsimile copies made. A small selection can be found below and others can be located in the State Library Catalogue.
A Report of the Late Trial for Libel!!! Clarke Versus Macfaul [sic], September 4th, 1835 / compiled by W. N. Clark
This is the first book ever published in WA (published in 1835).
Ongeluckige voyagie, van 't schip Batavia, nae de Oost-Indien : gebleven op de Abrolhos van Frederick Houtman ... uytgevaren onder den E. Francoys Pelsert ... : nevens Een treur-bly-eynde ongheluck, des Oost-Indische Compagnies dienaers in 't jaer 1636. weder-varen ... : als mede De groote tyrranye van Abas, coninck van Persien, anno 1645 / alles door een liefhebber uyt verscheyde schriften te samen ghestelt ... oock met veel schoone kopere platen verrijckt / by Fransisco Pelsaert
Unlucky voyage of the ship Batavia..., this is an account of the wreck of the Batavia on the Abrolhos Islands in 1629 by her Captain (published 1647).
Instruccao : para se navegar em proximidade da costa do norcheste da Nova Hollanda / by Luis Antonio da Silva Beltrao
An account of a Portuguese visitor to Australia (published 1818).
Terra Australis cognita, or, Voyages to the Terra Australis, or Southern Hemisphere, during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, containing an account of the manners of the people, and the productions of the countries / with a preface by the editor, in which some geographical, nautical and commercial questions are discussed / by John Callander
Contains details of early voyages to WA (published 1766-1768).
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia : Performed Between the Years 1818 and 1822 / by Phillip Parker King
Story of an early voyage off the coast of WA (published 1826).
Moondyne : a Story of Life in West Australia / by John Boyle O'Reilly
Written by a Fenian convict who escaped from WA to the United States of America in 1876 (published 1880).
Diary of Ten Years Eventful Life of an Early Settler in Western Australia ; and also, a Descriptive Vocabulary of the Language of the Aborigines / by George Fletcher Moore
Story of 10 years in the life of an early settler who was resident in WA from 1829 to 1852 (published 1884).
Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, During the Years 1837, 38 and 39 ... Describing Many Newly Discovered Important and Fertile Districts, with Observations on the Moral and Physical Condition of the Aboriginal Inhabitants &c. &c. / by George Grey
Description of his expeditions in WA - he later became governor of South Australia, New Zealand and Cape Colony (published 1841).
The Case of the People of Western Australia : in Support of Their Desire to Withdraw from the Commonwealth of Australia Established Under the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Imperial), and that Western Australia be Restored to Its Former Status as a Separate Self-Governing Colony in the British Empire
In 1933 WA voted to secede from Australia - this book is further enhanced because it was bound in wood (published 1934).
West Australian Mining Practice : a Description of the Mining Methods Followed by the Principal Gold Mines of Western Australia / by E. Davenport Cleland ; with the Assistance of the Publications Committee of the Chamber of Mines of Western Australia (Incorporated)
An early look at the WA gold mining industry (published 1911).
Page last updated: Tuesday 23 November 2010
