Previews

Themes

All aspects of Western Australian history are covered in the Encyclopedia within the following themes: Aboriginal; Agriculture and pastoralism; Biography; Communications and transport; Convicts; Defence; Education; Environment; Exploration and foundation; Gender (has been spread across all themes); Government; Health; Heritage and architecture; Industry; Law; Literature; Media; Migration; Mining; Music; Performing arts; Place; Public works; Science; Social life; Social movements; Spirituality; Sport and recreation; Visual arts; Welfare; Work and labour.

What does an entry look like?

The Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia will be arranged alphabetically by headword (entry title). Entries vary in size from 150 words to 3,000 words. Each entry will be cross-referenced to other relevant topics within the Encyclopedia, and will include suggestions for further reading. The publication will also be fully indexed. The index is still being compiled and will appear on this website soon.  Some entries will include illustrative material. An example entry is available by clicking on the link below:

Cricket (example entry)

Sample entries

The entries below illustrate the range of subjects covered.

Thank you to our partner the J.S. Battye Library of WA History for allowing us to use oral histories and films from their collection to enliven these Encyclopedia entries and to show the potential of an electronic multimedia version of the Encyclopedia.

Please click thumbnails for more information on each topic.