Just as visitors to museums may develop an attachment to certain objects, so too do curators. Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House curator Corinne Perkins loves the Cromwell coin, which dates back to the period of the English Civil Wars (1642-52). The English Civil Wars were a series of armed conflicts and political clashes within and between the kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland, and concerned the nature and limits of royal power, the nature and extent of religious liberty for Protestants and Catholics, and the relationship between the peoples of Britain and Ireland. At the heart was a fundamental debate about the…
A recent addition to our collection is this photo, taken in 1911, of the Bathurst Football Club rugby union team, including future prime minister of Australia J. B. Chifley. Chifley appears in the middle row at right of picture. The photo was recently scanned from the family collection of Lynne Pearson for the museum, by a family member aware of our particular interest in prime ministers. Sam Malloy, Coordinator of the Chifley Home at Bathurst, has commented that it is the best he has yet seen of Chifley in his rugby days.
Born in Bathurst on 22 September, 1885, Chifley was 26 when this photo was taken. He attended Patrician Brothers’ High…
Update: Congratulations to Ethan from Dunlop ACT, aged 7, who won our January promotion of a $500 voucher to Toys R Us from the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Congratulations Ethan!
In 25 words or less, Ethan described what democracy means to him: “Having a say in what the rules are in my year two class and at home. My vote is worth the same as everyone else.”
Visit the museum during January to go into the draw to win a $500 Toys‘R’Us voucher, by exploring the family-friendly Hands-on-Democracy exhibition.
Simply complete the form when you visit the exhibition and in 25 words or less tell us ‘what democracy means to…
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…
On 13 October 2009 Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State, announced the recipients of 9 Australian Prime Ministers Centre Fellowships for 2009-2010. Now in its third year, the APMC Research and Scholarship Program is proving to be a valuable—and popular—initiative. The program supports scholars, creative workers and researchers working in the fields of political science and history, with Australia’s prime ministers and how they shaped the Australia we live in today as a major part of their focus. The Fellowships are selected by an independent selection panel convened by Old Parliament House representing…
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,…
