An axe made from a broken champagne bottle on display at the Museum of Australian Democracy has come to symbolise women's ongoing political struggle.

Indigenous children learning to speak their traditional language Miriwoong in the 1980s and 1990s can be heard in a unique collection of magnetic strip cards being digitised at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

An 18th century sketch by William Hodges of Tynai-mai, princess of Ra'iatea, is on display at the National Library's Cook and the Pacific exhibition.

Fragments of moon rock and the Australian flag that was sent on the first lunar landing mission are preserved in the National Archives of Australia.

An Australian rifleman who fought in the Boer War was one of eight soldiers awarded a hand-crocheted scarf by Queen Victoria.

A vintage FJ Holden panel van is commemorating the daring feats of newsreel crews in the 1940s and 50s when news was served at the movies.

Helena Rubinstein began her career in Victoria at the turn of the 20th century, and when she died she left a cosmetics empire, philanthropic foundation and a backstory laced with myth.

Johannes Frerck was a friendly man who sold sausages and sauerkraut from his Darlinghurst shop he was also a staunch supporter of Adolf Hitler and branded a spy who threatened Australia's security.

A major work by influential German avant-garde artist Joseph Beuys is back on display at the National Gallery, and is taking the space usually occupied by Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles.

Nine photographic panels, so large that they've never been displayed in public until now, depict the construction of Parliament House in Canberra 30 years ago.

Indigenous objects presented to Hazel Hawke at the the 1988 Barunga Festival are on display for the first time at Parliament House.

A newspaper photo saved by a trusted stenographer shows the behind-the-scenes drama of Edward VIII's abdication unfolding in his dominion Down Under.

A "silk" map used by WWII Australian commandos in Borneo is on display at the Australian War Memorial.

The National Film and Sound Archive acquires photos and a letter sent to fans by silent movie star Louise Lovely.

The Western-style wedding dress worn by a Japanese war bride in 1956 is on display at the National Museum as part of a wider exhibit about immigration.

The National Portrait Gallery acquires a rare painting of colonial life by a 19th-century mother of six who enjoyed recreational art.

Century-old drawings in the National Archives are helping researchers discover what happened to a World War I submarine.

A 1933 painting that was made for a Melbourne mural is about to go on show in a new Australian Art Deco exhibition.

Three objects carefully preserved at Parliament House tell the story of its construction and will form part of a new display.

A priceless 17th-century map of Australia is back on display after being painstakingly restored.

Dot paintings swapped for a government four-wheel drive in 1986 are now prized in a Canberra collection.

Former PM Robert Menzies was regularly seen with his movie camera on holidays and official trips, and you couldn't really say no when he wanted you to watch them.

Autographs collected by a 1950s Sydney teenager are now on the national record.