The University established Historical Papers in 1966 in order to retrieve the rich historical heritage belonging to all South Africans. Today we house over 2400 separate collections of historical, political and cultural importance. Historical Papers is one of the largest and most comprehensive independent archives in Southern Africa. Our primary aim is to serve the broader community as well as the university and to transform archives into accessible centres for research.

The material kept here includes: letters, minute-books, memoranda, diaries, notes, documents, parish registers, press-clippings, scrapbooks, drawings, photographs, slides, articles, pamphlets, posters, sitckers, badges, T-shirts and oral interviews. Some of our material is in the form of photocopies, micorfiche or microfilm, and some records are on disk.

Located in Room 2 on the ground floor of the William Cullen Library on the East Campus at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.