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.

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Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
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    Articles tagged with: prime minister

    Latest articles

    14 minute read

    Fri 27 Mar 2020
    Campbell Rhodes

    War and Unity: How Australia governs during a crisis

    How does Australia govern itself during a major crisis, and how does it maintain its democratic norms during something like the COVID-19 pandemic? 

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    War cabinet menzies

    7 minute read

    Tue 13 Feb 2018
    Paul Daley

    The Apology 10 years on

    Kevin Rudd’s Apology to the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children a decade ago endures as a totemic Commonwealth gesture towards Indigenous Australia. Writer Paul Daley shares his views on the legacy of this event in this new piece.

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    Reg edwards

    9 minute read

    Thu 18 Jan 2018
    Ashley Tenison

    Putting the bling back together: a recipe for conservation

    Silk in tatters, burst seams, sweat stained and grimy, the coatee worn by Australia’s first prime minister, Edmund Barton was in a poor state. Conservator Deb Spoehr spent painstaking hours cleaning and stabilising the coatee, preserving its fascinating story. See how this transformation took place.

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    1.%20all%20the%20bling%20 %20barton%27s%20coatee

    11 minute read

    Sat 16 Dec 2017
    Professor Tom Frame

    The legacy of Harold Holt 50 years on

    Fifty years after his disappearance off Cheviot Beach, the 17th Prime Minister of Australia, the Right Honourable Harold Edward Holt, Companion of Honour, deserves a place in the nation’s history as a social reformer, an astute legislator and a democratic advocate who brought humanity to Australia’s highest elected office.

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    Holtcigarettecard resize2

    7 minute read

    Tue 19 Sep 2017
    Campbell Rhodes

    What did our early PMs sound like?

    We know a lot about what our early prime ministers were like. There are plenty of photos of them throughout their lives, and biographies record their personalities, appearance, quirks, habits, and even their tastes in food, literature or music. But we don’t know much about how they sounded.

    Read article

    Cook

    2 minute read

    Thu 24 Aug 2017
    Campbell Rhodes

    A voice from the past

    This speech by Stanley Melbourne Bruce has recently come into the Museum’s collection. We were very excited to hear it, as none of us had ever heard Bruce’s voice before!

    Read article

    R16.30.8%2019 10 2016%20resize%20web%20onetoeight%20%7efront

    7 minute read

    Thu 6 Jul 2017
    Dr Barry York

    Kishi and Friends

    Just twelve years after the end of the Second World War Australia conferred ‘most-favoured nation’ with regard to tariffs on its former enemy, Japan.

    Read article

    Kishi and friends

    6 minute read

    Mon 19 Jun 2017
    Campbell Rhodes

    Tosspot to Bodgie: Seven Prime Ministerial nicknames

    What are some of the most notable and curious nicknames for Australia’s prime ministers? This blog post explores the unusual epithets given to our leaders, from Tosspot Toby to the Silver Bodgie.

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    Pig iron thumb

    11 minute read

    Tue 6 Jun 2017
    Campbell Rhodes

    Hands That Shook Australia

    The handshakes, points, touches and other gestures that made a statement in Australian history. 

    Read article

    Whitlam%20and%20lingiari

    1 minute read

    Wed 26 Apr 2017
    Libby Stewart

    A self-conscious prime minister

    Photos of Prime Minister Robert Menzies show a confident and outgoing leader, but an interview with his first secretary, Hazel Craig, reveals that his confidence at times covered a surprising self-consciousness.

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    Menzies kurri kurri 53f6cf9a4ba9c

    9 minute read

    Mon 10 Apr 2017
    Campbell Rhodes

    The Prime Minister’s Seat: A Case Study in Sleuthing

    Why does the Prime Minister of Australia sit at the table in the House of Representatives? No other PM does. A chance question led researcher Campbell to do some detective work, and in the process learn more about the shapes and settings of parliamentary chambers the world over.

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    House of representatives 2016

    7 minute read

    Tue 21 Mar 2017
    Tal Fitzpatrick

    PM Please quilt

    Melbourne artist, craftivist and community development worker Tal Fitzpatrick talks about the process behind her socially engaged artwork PM Please.

    Read article

    Pm please quilt 04

    5 minute read

    Fri 17 Mar 2017

    Irish Prime Ministers of Australia

    This St. Patrick’s Day, we look at 7 Australian prime ministers of Irish descent.

    Read article

    Flag of ireland.svg

    12 minute read

    Tue 28 Feb 2017
    Chris Wallace

    A lively, dynamic time with parallels to our own

    In a new exhibition that opens today, Canberra-based artist Alison Alder reinterprets and reinvigorates portraits of Australia’s first eight prime ministers. Here, historian Dr Chris Wallace responds to Alder’s works…

    Read article

    Chris wallace

    3 minute read

    Mon 27 Feb 2017
    Libby Stewart

    Hawke and Keating portraits find a permanent home

    Until recently, King’s Hall has featured a number of portraits of well-known parliamentarians, including past prime ministers. Two of these were Bryan Westwood’s Archibald-prize winning ‘The Prime Minister’, depicting Paul Keating, and Louis Kahan’s ‘R.J.Hawke’.

    Read article

    Kahan portrait of hawke

    8 minute read

    Wed 8 Feb 2017
    Dr Barry York

    The day the Australian Labor Party changed itself, and its leader

    On this day in 1967, Gough Whitlam replaced Arthur Calwell as leader of the Australian Labor Party.

    Read article

    Whitlam and calwell b york blog feb 2017

    14 minute read

    Fri 20 Jan 2017
    Campbell Rhodes

    Besties (or not) from the West: PMs and Presidents

    As the world looks on as Donald Trump becomes the 45th U.S. President, researcher Campbell looks at meetings between other presidents and Australian prime ministers, and what effect they had on Australia.

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    Nixon and whitlam

    8 minute read

    Sun 18 Dec 2016
    Campbell Rhodes

    Seven Prime Ministers Who Migrated to Australia

    On International Day of the Migrant, researcher Campbell looks at the seven Prime Ministers who came to Australia as migrants.

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    Watson nla

    12 minute read

    Thu 8 Dec 2016
    Stephanie Pfennigwerth

    A Present from the Past: Sir Robert Menzies and the Fishes Royal

    In 1965 Queen Elizabeth gave Sir Robert Menzies a gift so special that he had to contemplate burying it on a beach. What was it?

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    Menzies by frith

    17 minute read

    Sat 3 Dec 2016
    Craig Wallace

    Only Human – Disability in Australian Politics (Part 2: Human Rights and Human Laws)

    The second part of this series examines the historical passage of disability legislation through the parliament.

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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

    9am to 5pm daily 
    Closed Christmas Day

    ABN: 30 620 774 963

    Telephone: 02 6270 8222

    Enquiries:
    info@moadoph.gov.au

    Please note: video surveillance is used 24 hours a day around and throughout the building and may be used for research purposes

    Visiting

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    The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House is a Corporate Commonwealth Entity within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts