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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Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
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    Websites

    Many of the Museum’s unique collections are available for viewing, exploration and research online. Revisit the 1954 Petrov affair or the dismissal of the Whitlam government, explore the election speeches of Australia’s political leaders or catch up with our more recent political history in Behind the Lines.


    Behind the Lines 2022: the year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2022: the year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2022: Work from some of Australia's best political cartoonists peering out into the great unknown, boldly going where no one has gone before

    Behind the Lines 2022: the year in political cartoons
    Behind the Lines 2021: The year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2021: The year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2021: Work from some of Australia's best political cartoonists rummaging in the fortune-teller’s chest for a crystal ball

    Behind the Lines 2021: The year in political cartoons
    Behind the Lines 2020: The year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2020: The year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2020: Work from some of Australia's best political cartoonists help make sense of a dog's breakfast of a year.

    Behind the Lines 2020: The year in political cartoons
    Behind the Lines 2019: The year’s best political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2019: The year’s best political cartoons

    The Greatest Hits Tour. It was a loud and noisy year in 2019 as the battle of the bands played out at home, while some big acts overseas were cranking up the volume.

    Behind the Lines 2019: The year’s best political cartoons
    The #UDHRquilt Project

    The #UDHRquilt Project

    The #UDHRquilt Project features never before seen work from a global craftivism project. Stitching in local and global stories; see the intricate detail of these quilts that represent the world’s conscience.

    The #UDHRquilt Project
    Behind the Lines 2018: The year’s best political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2018: The year’s best political cartoons

    Venture down the rabbit hole to Behind the Lines 2018, our perennially popular exhibition of the year’s best political cartoons.

    Behind the Lines 2018: The year’s best political cartoons
    Breaking Through: 75 years of women in Parliament

    Breaking Through: 75 years of women in Parliament

    An online celebration of trailblazing women who have broken through barriers in federal parliament and beyond

    Breaking Through: 75 years of women in Parliament
    Democracy. Are you in?

    Democracy. Are you in?

    Dissatisfaction and trust in our politicians and democratic institutions is falling. Australia’s democracy is one of the best in the world but we can’t be complacent – imagine life without it. Our democracy needs us. Are you in?

    Democracy. Are you in?
    Yes: The Ongoing Story of the 1967 Referendum

    Yes: The Ongoing Story of the 1967 Referendum

    The national referendum on 27 May 1967 was a major milestone in the democratic journey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

    Yes: The Ongoing Story of the 1967 Referendum
    Behind the Lines 2017: The year’s best political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2017: The year’s best political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2017: The Year's Best Political Cartoons condenses a year of political highs and lows into 80 of the best cartoons of the year.

    Behind the Lines 2017: The year’s best political cartoons
    Behind the Lines 2016: The year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2016: The year in political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2016: Work from some of Australia's best political cartoonists. Top hat crowns and daggers: what is your political destiny?

    Behind the Lines 2016: The year in political cartoons
    #OPHis90

    #OPHis90

    This timeline tracks the reports in the Canberra Times and the anticipation, anxieties and pleasures surrounding the opening of what would become one of Australia’s most iconic buildings.

    #OPHis90
    For the Record #HansART

    For the Record #HansART

    For the Record #HansART is an all-ages project that shines a light on the records of Hansard.

    For the Record #HansART
    Behind the Lines 2015: The year’s best political cartoons

    Behind the Lines 2015: The year’s best political cartoons

    Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Political Cartoons condenses a year of political highs and lows into 80 of the best cartoons of 2015.

    Behind the Lines 2015: The year’s best political cartoons
    Magna Carta and Modern Australia

    Magna Carta and Modern Australia

    Explore Magna Carta and discover how people have used this medieval document to shape modern Australia.

    Magna Carta and Modern Australia
    Celebrating 50 years since Wave Hill

    Celebrating 50 years since Wave Hill

    On 22 August 1966 Vincent Lingiari, a Gurindji spokesman, led a walkout of 200 Aboriginal stockmen, house servants, and their families from Wave Hill cattle station.

    Celebrating 50 years since Wave Hill
    Australian Federal election speeches

    Australian Federal election speeches

    Each election, Prime Ministerial candidates lay out their parties’ platforms in campaign speeches. These speeches are more than just historical records; they tell us about national concerns and political obsessions. We’ve collected speeches by candidates from every election from 1901 to the present day.

    Australian Federal election speeches
    Menzies’ 1941 Diary

    Menzies’ 1941 Diary

    In 1941 Prime Minister Robert Menzies went to wartime London to secure Australia’s defence position. He travelled via the British stronghold in Singapore and visited Australia’s troops serving in the Middle East. Menzies’ diary is a candid record of decision-making in foreign and military policy, as well as being a fascinating account of his journey.

    Menzies’ 1941 Diary
    The Petrov Affair

    The Petrov Affair

    The defection of the Petrovs came to be regarded by Western intelligence services as one of the most important of the Cold War era. The Petrov Affair had a profound and lasting impact on the Australian political landscape, with the Labor Party Split a direct consequence of the events of 1954-1955.

    The Petrov Affair
    Dismissed! Whitlam, Fraser, Kerr and the story of 1975

    Dismissed! Whitlam, Fraser, Kerr and the story of 1975

    In 1972, following twenty-three years of Liberal-Country Party Government, Australians decided ‘it’s time’ for change. The Labor Party was swept into Government on a wave of popular support. Three years later, Labor’s government was abruptly terminated amidst a storm of controversy.

    Dismissed! Whitlam, Fraser, Kerr and the story of 1975
    Billy Hughes at War

    Billy Hughes at War

    Explore the activities and resources about Prime Minister Billy Hughes, the conscription debate and Australia’s involvement in the peace negotiations. Billy Hughes led Australia as prime minister through some of the hardest years of the First World War. His actions and decisions give a personal insight into some of the key issues of the war.

    Billy Hughes at War
    Discovering Mildenhall’s Canberra

    Discovering Mildenhall’s Canberra

    The Mildenhall Collection of photographs documents the early development of Australia’s capital city, Canberra, from the 1920s to the 1930s. The collection comprises more than 7,700 images on glass plate negatives and has significant cultural and historical value to Australians.

    Discovering Mildenhall’s Canberra
    Behind the Lines 2014

    Behind the Lines 2014

    Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Political Cartoons condenses a year of political highs and lows into 80 of the best cartoons of 2014.

    Behind the Lines 2014
    John Frith: the art of politics

    John Frith: the art of politics

    The museum has a significant collection of original cartoons and sculptures by John Frith, one of Australia’s most prolific and celebrated cartoonists and artists. Frith’s career spanned forty years, most famously at The Herald in Melbourne, in which all of the featured cartoons were published.

    John Frith: the art of politics
    Menzies by Howard

    Menzies by Howard

    To mark the 75th anniversary of Robert Menzies becoming prime minister for the first time, the Museum of Australian Democracy invited former prime minister and admirer of Menzies, John Howard, to guest curate this exhibition.

    Menzies by Howard
    Art is a Weapon

    Art is a Weapon

    Art is a Weapon takes you back to an Australia gripped by the Cold War. Amid propaganda for and against communism, artists turned to an image familiar to most Australians; the Southern Cross flag of the Eureka Stockade.

    Art is a Weapon
    Getting it together

    Getting it together

    Using historical sources such as newspaper extracts, cartoons, speeches and biographies, the Getting it Together website contains a series of activities for students to explore in the classroom.

    Getting it together
    Behind the Lines 2013

    Behind the Lines 2013

    Behind the Lines 2013 tells the tale of broken parliamentary alliances, caucus instability, leadership spills, prime ministerial change, corruption scandals, cabinet reshuffles, policies and opinion polls—a selection of works from Australia’s best political cartoonists, chosen from almost 900 submissions, as well as cartoons from the museum’s own collection.

    Behind the Lines 2013
    Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2012

    Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2012

    This exhibition celebrates Australia’s wonderful tradition of political cartooning. Published in newspapers, journals and online, these cartoons provide an opportunity to reflect on the state of Australian politics and expose the robust nature of Australian democracy.

    Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2012
    Marnti Warajanga—a walk together

    Marnti Warajanga—a walk together

    The struggle for equality, self-determination, and financial independence has been fought through significant national movements, and continues to rely on activism at a local level. The Marnti Warajanga—a walk together introduces people from of the Pilbara region in Australia’s north-west as they reflect on their journey towards equality in their own country.

    Marnti Warajanga—a walk together
    Mrs. Prime Minister

    Mrs. Prime Minister

    Meet 26 remarkable women who have been wives to prime ministers from 1901 to 2010. Prior to Julia Gillard becoming Australia’s first female prime minister in 2010, most Australian prime ministers took office with a woman at their side. Each prime minister’s wife interpreted her role according to her special interests, and where she felt she could have most impact.

    Mrs. Prime Minister
    Wear your colours

    Wear your colours

    Explore our collection of political badges, learn about important events and social movements, and read touching and inspiring accounts from people who wore some of these badges.

    Wear your colours
    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

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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