Article: PS News, Tuesday May 12th, 2009

House goes MoAD over museum of democracy

The new Museum of Australian Democracy has been officially opened in Canberra at the Old Parliament House.

   Billed as the first and only museum in Australia dedicated to telling the story of Australia’s democracy the MoAD was opened by the only Prime Minister to serve in both the old House and the new, Bob Hawke.

   Mr Hawke was joined for the ceremony by the Chairman of the MoAD Advisory Council, William McInnes and Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner. 

   According to organisers, a network of dynamic exhibitions in the new Museum will connect Australians with more than 2000 years of history and heritage.

   It will trace democracy from its earliest origins.

   Among the attractions at the museum are the writing set and inkstand of founding US President George Washington, the first edition of Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man which was published in 1791 to support the French Revolution, and a mosaic of film footage showing how Australians see democracy playing a role in their life.

Another attraction is the Cabinet-in-Confidence display which offers an insight into some of the dilemmas to have faced Australian Cabinets, such as attempts to ban the Communist Party and the 1976 refugee crisis. 

   Director of the Museum, Jenny Anderson said it had been designed to appeal to visitors of all ages.

   “It will present a balanced view on our democracy,” Ms Anderson said.

   “People will be able to decide what we have done well, what we could have done better and the challenges that lie ahead of us as a democratic society.” 

   She said the museum would be constantly evolving to remain fresh and new.

   Mr McInnes described it as more of an adventure than a ‘finger-wagging’ exercise in democracy.

   “It will be a place where Australians can come and renew their knowledge of our history and be inspired and indeed challenged,” he said.

   “There is a need for everybody, whatever age, whatever part of life they are from, to re-acquaint themselves with the history of Australia’s democracy to understand where we have come from and where we might be headed.”

   More information on the new Museum of Australian Democracy is available from the Old Parliament House websitewww.oph.gov.au

Source

Another Flickr Photo

bob hawke - museum of australian democracy
Originally uploaded by Wimmera

Another photo from the opening of the Museum of Australian Democracy, 9th May, 2009.

Click on the images to see the larger versions.

Photo From Flickr

william mcinnes - museum of australian democracy
Originally uploaded by Wimmera

Found this photo on Flickr of William speaking at the opening of the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra, Saturday 9th May, 2009.

Article: The Australian, Friday May 8th, 2009

Democracy museum breathes new life into the Old House

Rosemary Sorensen | May 08, 2009

Old Parliament House has undergone major refurbishments in preparation for its rebirth as the Museum of Australian Democracy.

Granted $31.5million over four years in the 2006 federal budget, Old Parliament House has now been given a "new lease of life", according to actor William McInnes, who has accepted the position of chairman of the museum's advisory council.

"So often, we disparage the things that have happened here in Canberra, but we should be proud of our democratic history, not in a chest-beating way, but in a way that invites us in and engages us," McInnes said.

"You go past the partisan politics and get a great handle on what happened in our past, as well as challenging people to think about what democracy means in their everyday lives."

McInnes takes over as chairman from former Country Party leader Doug Anthony, who oversaw the building's metamorphosis into the new MoAD. McInnes said he was surprised to be asked to take on the role, but saw it as a "real treat".

"I'm not Mother Teresa, but I am trying to give something back," McInnes said. "I'm aware that I've been in an industry well supported by the public purse, and I'm very happy to be associated with such an inspiring museum. This will be another jewel in the crown of Canberra."

Part of the makeover was made possible by the relocation of the National Portrait Gallery from its temporary home in Old Parliament House to a purpose-built venue nearby.

The original parliamentary library at the rear of the building, which housed the national portrait collection from 1994 until last year, will reopen tomorrow with a permanent exhibition called Australian Democracy -- more than 2000 years in the making. The exhibition will include objects on long-term loan by the Daughters of the American Revolution, including a writing set used by George Washington, the first US president, and a first edition of Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, published in 1791 in support of the French Revolution.

McInnes, who played Australia's wartime prime minister John Curtin in a 2007 telemovie, said election nights in his family were second only in importance to Christmas and New Year.

The museum will be officially opened tomorrow by Bob Hawke, who was the last prime minister to preside over parliament in the 82-year-old heritage-listed building.

Article: Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 19th February, 2009

Hawkie's desk...William McInnes, chairman of the Old Parliament House Advisory Council, at the prime minister's desk last occupied by Bob Hawke. Photo: Andrew Meares

Democracy enshrined in the first House

• Yuko Narushima

WHAT was intended as an alabaster halfway house for parliament is set to become a permanent shrine to Australian democracy when Old Parliament House is reborn as a museum.

The Museum of Australian Democracy will open at the heritage-listed building in May.

Yesterday the actor William McInnes was appointed the board's chairman.

"It's going to give Old Parliament House a reboot," the star ofLook Both Ways and SeaChange said. "I'm enthusiastic about a place that takes a historical building and broadens its appeal."

Old Parliament House opened as a provisional home to parliament in 1927. Its myriad passageways and rooms housed 3000 cramped workers by the time the new Parliament House replaced it in 1988.

The museum is designed to make politics accessible to and to encourage people to take an active role in its running.

McInnes, who recently played the former prime minister John Curtin in an ABC telemovie, joked about reprising the role for matinee sessions in the reinvigorated house.

The building had changed from his first memory of it, he said. As a Queensland schoolboy he travelled 48 hours by bus to see the place, only to have his recollections obliterated by the sight of his school crush vomiting beef sandwiches on the lawn where Gough Whitlam spoke before his dismissal.

Yesterday McInnes reflected on the building's elegance and accessibility.

"It isn't as grand as what I thought it. In many ways that reflects the Australian idea of politics - the idea of getting above yourself, or building a magic castle for yourself in the clouds, isn't here."

A senior historian at the museum, Joy McCann, said visitors would encounter the same ambience that filled the building when it was alive with debate on conscription, land rights and anti-discrimination.

"They'll see the facade as it always has been. The chambers were where it all happened. It's where the first two women walked into parliament in 1942," she said.

More than that, the museum will chronicle the history of democracy across the world. It will acknowledge challenges to the system and exhibit a first edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's 1792 tome A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman, highlighting the difference between the ideals and the reality.

A hunk of the Berlin Wall will be on display as well as a yellow collection bucket used for the Farmers Fighting Fund, when 45,000 farmers protested on the lawns of parliament in 1985 while the Hawke government deliberated tax reform within.

Media Statement - 19th February 2009

Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner, today announced that celebrated actor and writer William McInnes has been appointed as the Chair of the Old Parliament House Advisory Council for a three year term.

Mr McInnes received AFI and Logie Awards for his work as a film and television actor, and was named Australian Newcomer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2006. Also a noted speaker, Mr McInnes delivered the John Batman Oration on “What it means to be Australian” in 2007. His knowledge and experience will be of considerable value to the work of the Council.

Senator Faulkner said “I am delighted that William McInnes has agreed to take up the role of Chair at such an exciting time in the development of Old Parliament House. I know he brings a passion for our democratic tradition, as well as a love of one of its great symbols, Old Parliament House.”

Senator Faulkner paid tribute to retiring Chair, the Right Honourable Doug Anthony AC CH, who has played a key role in developing Old Parliament House’s new role. “I thank Doug Anthony for steering Old Parliament House through this time of great development.”

The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House will be the only museum in Australia dedicated to telling the story of Australian democracy. Throughout the building visitors will be able to celebrate and consider the history and distinctive character of Australian democracy while continuing to enjoy the history and heritage of the building.

Mr McInnes said “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to be involved in helping other Australians and myself to better understand the Australia we live in.”

Throughout the final stages of the development visitors can continue to enjoy the rich history of Australia’s political past at Old Parliament House through tours, events and exhibitions.

Article: NineMSN News, Thursday 19th February, 2009

McInnes Thrilled With Democracy Museum

by Melissa Jenkins

All rugged up to brave the bitter Canberra winter as a boy, William McInnes' first brush with democracy didn't follow the script.

He had arrived at Old Parliament House - then Australia's functioning federal parliament - after a 48-hour bus trip from Queensland on a school excursion to the nation's capital.

The plan was to meet with his local member but unfortunately he was off doing "politician's business".

"But in his place was a large tray of sandwiches and to me, that has always been a fond memory of mine," McInnes told reporters in Canberra.

The actor, who has raised the pulses of many women across the nation, is best known for his turns as Sergeant Nick Schultz in Blue Heelers and Max Connors in Sea Change.

Now he can add another string to his bow - chair of the Old Parliament House Advisory Council, replacing former deputy prime minister, Doug Anthony.

McInnes was centre stage at Wednesday's announcement of a new Museum of Australian Democracy, to open at Old Parliament House on May 9.

The museum, to include objects such as George Washington's writing set and lamp, will have a multi-media focus and document how democracy evolved both internationally and in Australia.

"It will be a place, I think, where Australians can come and renew their knowledge of our history and be inspired and indeed challenged," McInnes said.

"It's a museum which won't lecture people, it won't talk down to people ... it's not a finger wagging exercise."

Australians should not take democracy for granted, the father of two said.

"You've got to look after it, like a garden, you've got to cherish it. Because if you don't look after it weeds will grow and it won't be able to function."

"It's just a moment, a chance, that some people struggle all their lives for, to say this is something we should cherish."

The museum will include exhibitions `Australian Democracy-more than 2000 years in the making' and `Living Democracy: the power of the people'.

One of the objects to feature will be a cast of a Bust of Pericles, from the 2nd century AD. Pericles introduced many political reforms, including payment for political and jury service and the participation by the Athenian people in the governance of their city.

A piece of the Berlin Wall and a GetUp Climate Torch from 2008 will also be on display.