Recently the museum purchased a unique item. In 1936 former Prime Minister and still-serving Member of the House of Representatives William (Billy) Morris Hughes bought a copy of the book Caravan, by John Galsworthy, as a gift for his daughter Helen.
On Saturday 26 November, you’re invited to the launch of Cold Light, the latest novel by well-known Australian writer, Frank Moorhouse.
Our Prime Facts series of short information leaflets has proved a highly popular feature of the museum and its website. The series is constantly expanding; in addition to covering the 27 people who have been Prime Minister, there are fact sheets on Australia’s system of government, elections, Deputy Prime Ministers, Governors-General, the Prime Ministers’ wives and more.
On Thursday 1 September, the Museum of Australian Democracy will host the Australian launch of ‘William Hughes: Australia’ by Professor Carl Bridge.
Andrew Moffat was born in Marrickville, Sydney, in 1914, and was recorded, at the age of 96, for a pilot oral history project about rank-and-file political party activists being run by the museum in cooperation with the National Library of Australia.
A recently acquired example of Suffragette Jewellery
The Museum of Australian Democracy’s Oral History collection contains a wealth of personal recollection and insight into the building and its people during the era when it was home to the federal parliament.
In 2007, Professor Marilyn Lake was awarded an Australian Prime Ministers Centre Research Fellowship. In this short article, Professor Lake, one of our inaugural Australian Prime Ministers Centre Research Fellows, reports on her latest work.
On 23 November 2010, the National History Challenge Awards ceremony was held at Australian Parliament House. The Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, The Hon Peter Garrett, AM, MP, and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, The Hon Warren Snowdon, MP presented prizes along with representatives from the sponsoring cultural institutions.
1-2 December 2011 Old Parliament House, Canberra A national conference hosted by The University of Melbourne and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.
‘In the hype surrounding the digitisation of archives, it is sometimes forgotten how enjoyable it can be to see and read original documents.’
Dr Anna Cole, one of this year’s recipients of an Australian Prime Ministers Centre Fellowship, has produced a 30-minute documentary film about the first national Aboriginal debutante ball entitled ‘Dancing with the Prime Minister’.
The APMC catalogue has been uploaded to Trove, the National Library’s discovery service that enables you to search online across hundreds of Australian collections.
How did Australian politicians of the nineteenth century campaign, in the days before today’s pervasive electronic media? They went to where people gathered in their daily lives, and held political meetings in gathering places such as pubs, Mechanic’s Institutes, and open air venues such as a local park or even under a particular tree.
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.
The awards for the winners of the 2009 National History Challenge were presented on 24 November, 2009. The Australian Prime Ministers Centre at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House sponsored a special category in this year’s challenge: ‘Australian Prime Ministers: Triumph over Adversity’.
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.
As Australia went onto a war footing, seventy years ago the Australian Parliament readied itself for action. Today, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House remembers the beginning of the Second World War.
Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner, announced the recipients of eight APMC Fellowships and one Summer Scholarship on 25 November.