The black and white photographs document the early development of the University: the Easter Conference of 1948, the laying of foundation stones in 1949, the opening of buildings, the conferring of degrees, and visits by dignatories. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s many staff and buildings were photographed as well as visitors, Creative Arts Fellows, exhibitions and other events. Most of the photographs were taken by the Commonwealth Department of Information, then the Commonwealth News and Information Bureau, and bear a number with a UN (University) prefix. The photographs were originally held in numbered manila envelopes and have now been placed in archival albums. Some envelopes were top-numbered into the later series, photographs of people and subjects (ANUA 225 and ANUA 226).

The cassette tapes record Tom Owen reminiscing about his time as Registrar of Canberra University College. There are also copies of recordings of events such as the laying of the foundation stone for the Haydon-Allen building, and the opening of the RG Menzies Building and the Chemistry building, and tapes relating to his early life, the Richmond Hoyts Cinema, and oral histories recorded in the 1990s. Some tapes are annotated with file references 14.1.0.83-14.1.0.92 (ANUA 53).