Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
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Articles tagged with: oral history

Latest articles

7 minute read

Fri 28 Oct 2016
Dr Barry York

Conscription 1916: Who were the Maltese ‘children of Billy Hughes’?

The Maltese ‘children of Billy Hughes’ were a group of 214 Maltese migrants who arrived during Australia’s conscription plebiscite campaign a century ago and were deemed to be prohibited immigrants under section 3(a) of the Immigration (Restriction) Act after failing a dictation test in the Dutch language.

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01 manny

2 minute read

Tue 23 Feb 2016
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Robert (Bob) Halverson OBE (1937-2016)

Bob Halverson, who died on 9 February, was elected to the House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Casey in 1984.

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Bob%20halverson

1 minute read

Thu 28 Jan 2016
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Don Cameron

In this oral history excerpt, Don Cameron recalls his election campaign for the seat of Griffith in Queensland in 1966, and the innovative loud-speaker system that helped him win.

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Don cameron oral history

2 minute read

Mon 23 Nov 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: The Hon. Chris Hurford AO

Chris Hurford played a key role in the development of Australia's skills-oriented immigration policy as Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs from 1984 to 1987. 

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Chris hurford

1 minute read

Tue 29 Sep 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Mary Riek

Mary Riek was born in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1927. Mary worked in the Parliamentary Library in 1948 and again in 1966-67.

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1 minute read

Mon 3 Aug 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Chris Lacey

Chris Lacey was born in Tasmania in 1948 and is a grandson of Joe and Dame Enid Lyons.

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8 minute read

Fri 19 Jun 2015
Dr Barry York

World Refugee Day 2015

World Refugee Day is held on June 20 each year. It is an occasion to think about, and recognize, the plight and the resilience of forcibly displaced people around the world.

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1 minute read

Mon 1 Jun 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Pandora Livanes

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1 minute read

Mon 18 May 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Mary (‘Meg’) Mather-Brown

Meg Mather-Brown was born in 1937 and was a grand-daughter of Sir Earle Page, Australia’s 11th Prime Minister.

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Meg mather brown 5559452b7184b

1 minute read

Wed 15 Apr 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Anne Lynch (1946-2009)

Anne Lynch was the first female Deputy Clerk of the Australian Senate.

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1 minute read

Thu 26 Feb 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Marcie Cowell (1930-2011)

Marcie Cowell moved to Canberra in 1946 and worked as a telephonist for six months at Parliament House. Here she talks about the nature of her work on the switchboards.

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1 minute read

Mon 12 Jan 2015
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Marjorie Johnson

In this oral history excerpt, Marjorie Johnson talks about her father who was a gardener and ‘ganger’ of workers on the preparation of the National Rose Garden at the front of Parliament House in the 1930s.

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0 minute read

Mon 24 Nov 2014
Dr Barry York

Jean Salisbury, OAM (1922-2014)

Jean Salisbury was born in Melbourne in 1922 and died in Canberra in 2014.

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1 minute read

Tue 28 Oct 2014
Dr Barry York

Harry Evans (1946-2014)

Harry Evans was the longest serving Clerk of the Senate, serving from 1988 to 2009. Born at Lithgow in 1946, he died in Canberra on 7 September 2014.

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1 minute read

Mon 22 Sep 2014
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Brian Walshe

Brian Walshe was an attendant in the House of Representatives in Parliament House from 1980 to 1988.

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1 minute read

Mon 11 Aug 2014
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Rupert Loof

Rupert Loof served as Clerk Assistant of the Senate from 1942 to 1955 and was Clerk from 1955 to 1965.

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1 minute read

Wed 23 Jul 2014
Dr Barry York

Memories of the Sydney Hilton bombing

The bombing of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney on 13 February 1978 was a shocking case of domestic terrorism.

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1 minute read

Thu 26 Jun 2014
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Barry Lyons

Barry Lyons was born at Burnie, Tasmania, in 1928, and is the oldest surviving son of former Prime Minister Joe Lyons and Enid Lyons.

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1 minute read

Fri 6 Jun 2014
Dr Barry York

From the oral history collection: Paul Davey

Paul Davey was Federal Director of the National Party of Australia from 1983 to 1992. Born in England in 1947, he migrated to Australia in 1966.

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2 minute read

Wed 4 Jun 2014
Kate Armstrong

Preparing for the Queen’s Visit. Lesson 1 – How to curtsey while the Queen is laughing

Be Prepared. That was probably the motto of the entire population of provisional Parliament House during the countdown to the Queen’s arrival on 15 February 1954.

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Meryl hunter blog 538e8871722fd
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Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

18 King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600, Australia

PO Box 3934
Manuka ACT 2603

Open daily 9am—5pm

ABN: 30 620 774 963

Telephone: 02 6270 8222

Enquiries:
info@moadoph.gov.au

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