On 24 November 2009, the National History Challenge Awards ceremony was held at Australian Parliament House. An activity of the History Teachers’ Association of Australia, the competition is research-based, inviting entries from primary and secondary students from all over Australia and giving them the chance to be historians. Each year, students submit entries exploring the theme chosen for that year, using primary and secondary sources to produce an essay, performance, multi-media piece or three-dimensional model.
The theme of this year’s Challenge was Triumph over Adversity and a varied list of topics saw essays from students on Australia’s…
One of the key aims of the Museum of Australian Democracy is to inspire Australians to celebrate, debate and experience the past, present and future of Australia’s democracy. With this aim in mind, we’ve developed an extensive resource package for schools in conjunction with Curriculum Corporation based around the passage of Australia’s colonies to Federation. Now available for free download, Getting It Together, is a middle years schools resource.
Students will use Getting It Together to actively discover and explore the story of Federation: the social and political journey that led the people of six separate colonies to agree on a Constitu…
The 11th of November sees the 34th anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975. On 15 November, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House will be holding the second of our interactive role playing tours, reconstructing the final hours of the Whitlam government by retracing the steps of the key players. The events leading up to the dismissal of the Labor Government in 1975 and the subsequent landslide victory of the Liberal-Country Coalition parties in the election of 13 December were played out in the corridors, offices and chambers of Old Parliament House—the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament…
Have you ever wondered why the Museum of Australian Democracy was established? In fact, the idea of a Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House was one which was developed over more than 20 years. Many people had a hand in bringing the idea of such an institution to fruition. In 2006 the Howard government allocated funds to develop the Old Parliament House building as a museum of Australian democracy. After three years of planning and development, in May 2009 the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House was opened by former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who was the last serving Prime Minister at Old Parliament House before…
As Australia went onto a war footing, seventy years ago the Australian Parliament readied itself for action. ‘Strained relations exist with Germany. … Take necessary action in accordance with Commonwealth and Departmental War Books’, the Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Department wrote to the Clerks of the Houses on 2 September 1939. A day later Robert Menzies sadly announced that we were at war, broadcasting from the Commonwealth Offices in Melbourne: ‘It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her, and that, as a result,…
We’ve recently acquired an important item for our collection. The photo album, ‘Views of Sydney’, is a handsome leather-bound volume of photographs, largely of Federation arches, taken in Sydney and Melbourne in 1901. The photographer is unknown. The album was purchased from a second hand book dealer. These unusual photographs are coloured. After seeking the advice of photographic experts at the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian National University, it appears most likely that they are photo lithographs from a negative, with the colour being printed from hand drawn tint stones.
The images from the album are on the Old Parliament…
Getting it Together: Colonies to Federation is an online classroom resource being developed for students from years 5 to 8. A series of 7 packages, Getting it Together explores each state’s unique journey to federation. A national package brings each of the colonial stories together.
Each package is divided into three themes:
People and places explores the way of life in each colony prior to federation;
Road to federation examines the political issues debated by colonial parliaments in deciding whether or not to join in Federation; and
Celebrations and Futures looks at the way Federation was celebrated in 1901 and its continuing importance…
Democracy isn’t something we have, it’s something we do. This is the premise behind the new exhibition Living Democracy: The Power of the People. The exhibition is about everyday people, examining the many different ways we participate in our democracy, and how our involvement can make a difference today. The title has a dual purpose – both to look at how democracy is a living idea that is constantly evolving due to the needs of its people, and to ask each visitor how he/she actively lives democracy in their own life. From actions as simple as showing up to vote every few years, to more active forms of democratic practice such as lobbying gov…
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House opened on the weekend of 9 May 2009 in Canberra. It’s the first and only museum in Australia dedicated to telling the story of our democracy. The new Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House will connect Australians with more than 2000 years of history and heritage within a network of exhibitions that will trace democracy from its earliest origins through the stories of real people using their voice to achieve extraordinary things. The Museum was opened by the the last prime minister to serve in the House - the Hon RJL Hawke AC. He was joined by Chairman of the Advisory…
The votes have now been tallied and the results are in. You’ve told us ‘what’s on your mind’ Australia! Steve Cannane, Tracey Spicer, Jeffery Robertson and Bianca Dye will be debating the topic Does ‘work/life balance’ exist for Australians today? In the spirit of democracy, What’s on your mind? is about inviting everyday Australians to have a say on the issues that affect us all. The chosen topic will be discussed in a national public forum at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, in the House of Representatives Chamber on Friday 8 May from 11.00am to 12.00pm.
The debate will be hosted by comedian and presenter James…
