An investigation of the development of Australian scientific and technological information (STI) services has been undertaken. It comprises a consideration of the characteristics and development of the services, which is the focus of this part of the paper, along with a broader examination of discipline formation in information management covered in Part II. This first part of the study provides an historical overview of the development of several of the services that were established in the 1970s. Specific reference is made to Australian Agriculture and Natural Resources Online (AANRO), the Australian Medical Index (AMI), Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Information (ANSTI), Australian Transport Index (ATRI), AusGeoref and its forerunner AESIS, and the Australian engineering database (ENGINE). The account includes a summary of the policy environment that influenced the development of databases and which supported the original STI services. Some observations are made about STI publishing output from Australia, the way it is reported and how appropriate reporting and documentation of that output might continue. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure and 46 notes.)