Only Human – Disability in Australian Politics (Part 1: Human Leaders)
The blog post takes an historical look at former leaders who served in the parliament through the lens of disability.

The Museum of Australian Democracy acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.
The museum respectfully acknowledges the role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to play in shaping Australia’s democracy.
xCloseThe blog post takes an historical look at former leaders who served in the parliament through the lens of disability.
Australian Prime Ministers Centre summer scholars Khylie Daws from Deakin University and Andrew Kelly from the University of Western Sydney have spent the summer in the 1950s.
I chose four case studies for this research, namely Billy Hughes, Sir Robert Menzies, Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser…
Since the passing of Gough Whitlam, many have remembered him for his words, wisdom and trademark ‘whitticisms’. But Whitlam’s way with words was no accident…
Former Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce told Dame Enid Lyons in 1932 that her husband lacked all of the essential qualities to be a Prime Minister.
Issy Wyner recalls the evictions that took place during the Depression, the neighbourliness that helped families cope and the local responses to him as a Jew.
The first time I actually laid eyes on the Old Parliament House I fell in love with its architecture. It is a remarkable piece of history and incredible also is the story of why I journeyed to Canberra.
In this old place—especially at night—poetry hangs in the hallways, sometimes like a picture, sometimes like a noose.
‘Bores are in a class of infinite variety. But the worst are those who occupy public time.’ So declared Sir George Reid (1845-1918), Australia’s fourth prime minister.
As part of the Australian National Internships program at the ANU, I’ve been lucky enough to spend the past 13 weeks at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.
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.