Centenary Appeal
Help us restore our historic kitchen for the centenary of Old Parliament House.
For over 60 years, the kitchen at Old Parliament House buzzed with energy – an industrial powerhouse turning out hundreds of meals each day. From elaborate and lavish banquets for royalty and dignitaries, to humble lunches for parliamentarians and their guests, staff and the press, the kitchen played a central role in preparing food for the entire building.
The main kitchen catered for notable guests including Queen Elizabeth II, US President Lyndon B Johnson, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia.
To celebrate 100 years, we are launching a Centenary Appeal, raising funds to open our historic kitchen to the public. Your donation will help us restore and conserve the kitchen and develop a new exhibition.
Centenary Donor
Join us in celebrating this historic milestone by becoming a Centenary Donor.
Donations of $10,000 can be made in 1 or 2 payment instalments over two years.
All gifts make a difference. Donations over $2 are fully tax deductible. Donations of $50 or more will be acknowledged on our website and in our Annual Report.
Contact Us
Development Office
Call: (02) 6270 8110
Email: development@moadoph.gov.au
Head chef Jim Barritt-Eyles and staff with banquet fare, c1950s.
Photograph: Sheila Barritt-Eyles
Bill Littlefield and Arthur Mueller decorate a centrepiece for the Federation Jubilee Banquet, 1951.
Photograph: Tony Scarth
The large black hot press was one of the items to remain in use for the entirety of the kitchen's working life, 1926 – 1988.
Photograph: Lori Anglin, Tanner and Associates, 1985
Kitchen staff prepare a mountain of onions shortly before the move to Australian Parliament House, 1988.
Photograph: Robert McFarlane, Department of the House of Representatives
The main kitchen cooked food for everyone in the building from visiting royalty to the staff canteen.
Photograph: Lori Anglin, Tanner and Associates, 1985
'The main kitchen is a time capsule of parliamentary life, preserving six decades of culinary history from the 1920s to the 1980s. It is a unique space in the building that illustrates six decades of changing catering practices while maintaining its original footprint and function.
Historic catering equipment and layers of stories will evoke the culinary history of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Refreshment Rooms and its staff, inviting visitors to discover how food sustained the political machine, right down to the dishes listed on daily and special occasion menus.'
– Kate Armstrong, Museum of Australian Democracy
Thank you to our donors
We would like to thank and acknowledge our donors to the Centenary Appeal, including those who would like to remain anonymous.
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