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Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

@oldparliamenthouse

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Celebrating the stories and spirit of Australian democracy and the power of our voices within it.
Open daily 9am-5pm on Ngunnawal & Ngambri land.

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Plus SO much more! Come hang out with us for the day 🫶
Link in bio for more info. by @oldparliamenthouse

Open all day, every day - except Christmas, (we need a break too 😅) by @oldparliamenthouse

This poster advertises Stonewall Week, a week of activism, protest and celebration by Sydney's LGBTQIA+ community. It was printed in 1981, three years after 53 people were arrested, and some were assaulted, by police for participating in Sydney's first Mardi Gras. Sydney's first Mardi Gras was held to mark the 9th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York. by @oldparliamenthouse

Our roses are putting on quite the show ✨🌹🍃 Thanks for these beautiful photos @cbrpix by @oldparliamenthouse

What is the longest speech in Australian parliamentary history?

📸 Victorian Legislative Assembly sitting in the Royal Exhibition Building, 19 November 1908. Courtesy of Parliament of Victoria.
📸 Portrait of the Hon. Albert Gardiner c 1920. Courtesy National Library of Australia obj-136795288-1
📸 Victorian Legislative Council sitting at the Exhibition Building, 11 November 1913. Courtesy of Parliament of Victoria.
📸 Senate is session, 1985. Courtesy National Archives of Australia, A8746, RKN12/9/85/11 by @oldparliamenthouse

We're going to need 10 seasons 👻🎃 Have you had any ghost experiences at Old Parliament House? by @oldparliamenthouse

The House of Representatives Chamber has been the setting for many significant moments in Australia’s political history.

Walk in the footsteps of previous prime ministers and sit in the same seats where secret sessions were held during the Second World War, where conscription was introduced and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser battled for power in 1975.

📸 The House of Representatives chamber at Parliament House, 1949. Courtesy National Archives of Australia, A1200, L48502 by @oldparliamenthouse

Your November Canberra itinerary is coming up roses 🌹✨ The Rose Garden Guided Tours are back at @oldparliamenthouse for the month! Stop and smell the roses on your spring getaway as you explore 4,000 rose bushes, more than 500 varieties and almost a century of stories 🌿 An hour of blooms and history, with plenty of time to explore more of Canberra afterwards.

📍 Old Parliament House Rose Gardens, on Ngunnawal Country
📅 Tuesdays and Sundays, 1–29 November 2026
⏰ 9:30am, one-hour guided tour
🎟️ Bookings essential. Link in bio.

@wearecbr @nationaltriangle @nca_gov_au @australia #VisitCanberra #WeAreCBR by @oldparliamenthouse

The 1903 election was a milestone in Australian democracy. The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 gave most women over the age of 21 the right to vote in and stand for election to the Australian Parliament. While this was considered a progressive policy and extended voting rights to some, it refused those rights to others.

📸 Voters outside a polling place, Brisbane, Queensland, 1907. Courtesy Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
📸 Vida Goldstein selling the Women’s Social and Political Union newspaper Votes for Women in Melbourne', 1912. Courtesy State Library of Victoria
📸 The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902. Courtesy National Archives of Australia, A1559, 1902/8
📸 A big crowd on Waymouth Street, Adelaide, looking at voting tallies in the South Australian election, the first allowing women to vote, 1896. Courtesy State Library of South Australia
📸 First Nations peoples voting, 1962. Courtesy National Archives of Australia, A1200, L42369
📸 Left to right: Selina Anderson, Mary Moore-Bentley, Nellie Martel and Vida Goldstein.
📸 The Notable Sixteenth, January 1, 1904. The Dawn (Sydney, NSW, p. 5) Courtesy National Library of Australia
📸 Women voting for the first time in South Australia, 1896. Courtesy State Library of South Australia by @oldparliamenthouse

7 things you may not notice during your visit to Old Parliament House. by @oldparliamenthouse

It’s the best time of the month, Friday Night Drinks are back ✨

Join us for Friday Night Drinks in our iconic Members’ Bar 🥂 Choose from our curated selection of wines, seasonal cocktails, charcuterie platters and more.

📍The Members’ Bar (Please access via the white footbridges at the rear of Old Parliament House on Queen Victoria Terrace)

📆 Friday 30 October | 4pm to 9pm

No bookings required. Walk-ins only. by @oldparliamenthouse

Help bring our historic kitchen to life with a new exhibition. Donate now to our Centenary Appeal and donate $100 for 100 years via the link in bio.

P.S. Don’t come for our French, we’re doing our best 🥐 by @oldparliamenthouse