Independent news and heritage publication Anglo&Celtic has received a significant honour after being selected by the State Library of Queensland for preservation in Australia’s national web archive.

The website has been invited to join the PANDORA Archive, Australia’s long-running digital preservation program managed by the National Library of Australia in partnership with state and territory libraries. The archive safeguards online publications considered to have lasting cultural, historical and research value, ensuring they remain accessible for future generations even as websites evolve or disappear.

The recognition acknowledges Anglo&Celtic’s contribution to documenting the people, history, arts, traditions and community life of the Anglo and Celtic nations and their diaspora in Australia and New Zealand.

Founded by Australian Irish journalist Mary Allen in July 2023 as a monthly online magazine and website, Anglo&Celtic was established to tell the stories of communities that are often overlooked by mainstream media. Covering England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany and the Channel Islands, the publication celebrates a shared heritage while recognising the unique identities and traditions of each nation.

Its stories span everything from music, literature and the arts to genealogy, migration, military history, festivals, community organisations and remarkable individuals, creating a growing record of the people and events shaping Anglo and Celtic life across Australasia.

Editor and publisher Mary Allen, who lives in Brisbane, said the invitation was both unexpected and deeply meaningful.

“I was delighted when the State Library of Queensland contacted me to say Anglo&Celtic had been selected for preservation. I had already heard from the library to ask for permission to capture my other website, Irish Queenslander. Then they got back in touch to ask to ask for permission also capture and preserve Anglo&Celtic website.

“I’ve always believed every community deserves someone to record its history while it’s happening. Once a story is lost, it can be lost forever.

“The media landscape has changed enormously. As newspapers have declined, long-form storytelling has become less common and much of the conversation has moved to social media, where stories can disappear almost as quickly as they appear. Communities need more than fleeting posts—they deserve an enduring historical record.

“Knowing that the stories published on Anglo&Celtic will remain available to researchers, historians, genealogists and future generations makes all the years of work worthwhile.”

Established in 1996, the PANDORA Archive was created to ensure significant Australian online publications are not lost as technology changes. Working with the National Library of Australia, the State Library of Queensland identifies websites that contribute to Queensland’s documentary heritage and preserves them within the Australian Web Archive.

The Library will periodically capture snapshots of Anglo&Celtic, preserving its articles as a permanent historical record that will remain publicly accessible for decades to come.

While major news organisations understandably concentrate on national and international events, community publications often preserve the stories that would otherwise be forgotten—the volunteers who organise festivals, the musicians and artists keeping traditions alive, the historians, family researchers, sporting clubs, charities and cultural organisations whose work forms the fabric of community life.

Those stories, Allen believes, are every bit as important as headline news.

“History isn’t only made by governments or famous people. It’s made every day by ordinary people who build communities, preserve traditions and pass on their culture to the next generation. Those are the stories Anglo&Celtic exists to tell.”

Allen, who was born in Cork and has spent more than two decades working in newspapers and digital media in Ireland and Australia, also publishes the archived community news website Irish Queenslander. She found that while working on the magazine, she was often asked to publish stories about the Celtic and English communities in Australia and so became aware of a gap in coverage. Throughout her career, Mary has remained committed to independent journalism, producing community publications without government funding and often supported by volunteer contributions and her own financial investment.

For a publication dedicated to recording the living history of Anglo and Celtic communities across Australia and New Zealand, inclusion in Australia’s permanent digital archive is a fitting milestone—ensuring those stories will continue to inform, inspire and connect future generations long after today’s news has become tomorrow’s history.

Main picture: Mary Allen promoting Anglo&Celtic magazine at a FIFA Women’s World Cup party she organised for Ireland supporters in Brisbane in July 2023.