Chapter 2—Report on performance
Increasing Access, engagement and participation
Access, engagement and participation are keys to the success of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, just as they are vital to the health of democracy itself.
Visitor experiences and learning programs
Deliverable: Provide a diverse range of high-quality visitor experiences and learning programs.
Visitor experiences
Table 3 shows the totals and trends for numbers of visitors attending onsite exhibitions and school programs, travelling exhibitions and outreach programs, and functions.
| 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onsite visitors: | |||
|
76,749 | 81,182 | 80,682 |
|
94,664 | 94,218 | 92,061 |
| Subtotal | 171,413 | 175,400 | 172,743 |
| Change since previous year | –9.0% | 2.30% | –1.5% |
| Travelling exhibitions and outreach programs | 14,111 | 32,692 | 66,446 |
| Change since previous year | 157.10% | 131.70% | 103.20% |
| Function facilities | 61,678 | 58,405 | 64,406 |
| Change since previous year | –17.7% | –5.3% | 10.30% |
| Total | 247,202 | 266,497 | 303,595 |
| Change since previous year | –8.0% | 7.80% | 13.90% |
Total visitation of 303,595 in 2012–13 represented an increase of 13.9 per cent on the total for 2011–12. This increase was attributed to the strong performance of travelling exhibitions. Onsite visitation decreased slightly, by 1.5 per cent. Forward planning was undertaken during the year to develop an increased number and range of exhibitions, events and programs which will be introduced from 2013–14 onwards to address this decline.
While the highest proportion of visitors came to Old Parliament House to view the onsite exhibitions, events and public programs, the proportion of total visitors who attended travelling exhibitions and outreach programs almost doubled during the year (as Figure 3 shows), with strong performances in both regional centres and urban venues.
Figure 3 Breakdown of total visitation, by activity, 2010–11 to 2012–13
Exit interviews indicated a 93 per cent satisfaction rate among general visitors—the second highest average since the museum opened. School programs achieved satisfaction ratings of 100 per cent for teachers and 99 per cent for students. These results were supported by an evaluation by the University of Canberra’s Centre for Tourism Research, which found an overall satisfaction rating of 96.2 per cent.
Tours
In October 2012, new daily tour arrangements were introduced, providing for up to 17 tours a day. These comprise:
- up to four Highlights tours, usually delivered by volunteers
- four Old Parliament House Story presentations on the history and heritage of the building, led by volunteers
- three Cabinet-in-Confidence multimedia sessions in the Cabinet Room, presented by visitor services officers
- six Snapshots presentations on specific topics related to the museum’s interpretive themes, presented by visitor services officers.
Permanent exhibitions
Many of the museum’s visitor experiences are permanent exhibitions. Their content and presentation are periodically updated and refreshed. In 2012–13, new objects were installed in the Living Democracy, Designing Democracy and Prime Ministers of Australia display spaces, refreshing the content and replacing loaned objects.
Young visitors being shown the mace ceremony in the House of Representatives Chamber. Photos: Belinda Pratten
Young visitors in Designing Democracy. Photo: Belinda Pratten
Interacting with the Prime Ministers of Australia display.
Objects in the regularly changing From Our Collection displays. Photos: OPH Collection
Visitors to the Arthur Boyd: An Active Witness exhibition. Photo: Rob Little
Canberra Times cartoonist David Pope in conversation with ABC journalist Mike Bowers at the launch of Behind the Lines 2012. Photo: OPH Collection
The regularly changing exhibition From Our Collection located in Designing Democracy featured the story of the construction of what was then the provisional Parliament House, complementing the eighty-fifth birthday of the building, and included a collection of carpenters’ tools used in its construction. A collection of 1930s posters and ephemera promoting Canberra as a tourist destination were also displayed, as part of the 2013 Centenary of Canberra celebrations.
A review of exhibition lighting was undertaken, providing a framework in which to standardise and upgrade the systems with the goal of providing enhanced control, reliability, and environmental and economic sustainability.
A number of audiovisual installations were upgraded, providing a fresh look and improving the methods of exhibition delivery, thus ensuring greater reliability, efficiency and ease of maintenance.
Temporary exhibitions
The museum presents two types of temporary exhibitions: onsite exhibitions at Old Parliament House and travelling exhibitions at venues around Australia.
As Table 3 shows, numbers of onsite visitors remained stable while offsite attendance (at travelling exhibitions and outreach programs) significantly increased. The increase in offsite attendance reflects a significant expansion of the museum’s travelling exhibitions program, which was assisted by supporting funding.
The museum presented a series of temporary onsite exhibitions as a key component of the museum’s participation in the 2013 Centenary of Canberra commemorations. Under the collective title Art of Influence, the exhibitions featured objects and stories that explored the relationship between artists and democracy.
Temporary onsite exhibitions in 2012–13 included:
- Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Political Cartoons 2012—The year’s principal temporary exhibition at the museum, this exhibition brought together a selection of 83 political cartoons published in Australian media in 2012. It also included a small selection of reproduced historical political cartoons from the museum’s collection.
- Art is a Weapon—Based on a portfolio of 14 linocuts created in 1954 to commemorate the centenary of the Eureka Stockade incident at Ballarat, this exhibition explores the appropriation of Eureka by both the left and the right as a means of influencing political opinion in Australia. This forms part of the permanent exhibition Living Democracy.
- Arthur Boyd: An Active Witness—A Bundanon Trust touring exhibition, this featured more than 60 works by significant Australian artist Arthur Boyd. This was the first major exhibition to consider the social consciousness that influenced Boyd’s art, and included works by his contemporaries, including Sidney Nolan, Charles Blackman and Leonard French.
Crown, Sword and Sceptre was the museum’s first ‘pop-up exhibition’—a short exhibition designed to tap into a subject of topical interest in the community. It featured displays of replicas of a selection of the British crown jewels, and was held to coincide with the celebration of the Queen’s Birthday. The displays were complemented by a presentation by an expert on the crown jewels, and a range of participatory activities for visitors, including:
- costumes and facilities allowing visitors to dress up and read speeches in the roles of Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh or the Usher of the Black Rod—visitors were encouraged to post photographs of themselves in costume on the museum’s Facebook site and other social media platforms
- opportunities in the Hands on Democracy area for families to design a crown or draw a house for the Queen and to comment on whether Australia needs a monarch as its head of state
- flyers directing visitors to areas of the building with particular links to Queen Elizabeth II.
The travelling exhibitions program continued to be a means of both delivering outreach activities and providing cooperative programming to organisations with aims or audiences similar to those of the museum. In 2012–13, active promotion of the museum’s travelling exhibitions portfolio resulted in the suite of exhibitions being presented at eight locations across five states, resulting in substantial increases in visitation levels.
- Beyond Reasonable Drought was refreshed for a tour of three Victorian locations and included a successful outreach program promoting photography as a way of telling stories (for more details, see the case study Beyond reasonable drought).
- Mrs Prime Minister—Public Image, Private Lives continued to be popular and was hosted by two Queensland venues.
- Behind the Lines 2012 was supported by funding from the Australian Government’s National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, and travelled to New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.
The museum’s 2012 travelling exhibition Marnti warajanga—a walk together received the Museum and Galleries National Award (MAGNA) temporary exhibition award in the Level 3 category at the Museums Australia conference held in Adelaide in September 2012. This prestigious award is testament to the professionalism and commitment of all staff.
OPH Interpretation Curator Gabrielle Edwards discussing the replica crown jewels with Louise Maher from 666 ABC Canberra. Photo: OPH Collection
Learning programs
Learning opportunities underpin the exhibition and interpretive activities provided by the museum.
School programs
The museum provides a wide range of high-quality onsite, online and outreach school programs and resources for teachers and students, some of whom receive support to travel to Old Parliament House through the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate scheme. The total of 73,833 student visitors (along with 6,849 teachers) in 2012–13 was above the KPI target of 69,100 students.
The museum’s onsite school programs were shown to be leaders in the museum education industry when they received the 2012 Canberra and Capital Region Tourism Award for best tourism education program.
The museum’s online school programs were reviewed and updated to ensure they mapped to the Australian Curriculum and met the current WCAG 2.0 requirements. As part of the review an online survey of teachers was undertaken and a report was produced to inform future online learning resources for teachers, students and families.
Key school program activities during the year included:
- the development of a new role play as part of the Who’s the Boss program (for more details, see the case study Who’s the boss) and two online resources for teachers as part of the Hands on Democracy: I can make a difference program, for primary students
- a review and update of the popular 1975 Prime Minister Dismissed! program, for senior secondary students
- the delivery of student teacher and museum undergraduate professional development programs, including programs provided for the Australian National University as part of its museum studies course
- the conduct of familiarisation sessions for local teachers, to build awareness of the museum and its learning products and foster relationships with local schools.
During the year the museum maintained and further developed cooperative learning initiatives and activities. Its involvement in the National Capital Exchange Program (under which a staff member visited United States cultural institutions, as reported in the 2011–12 Annual Report) continued. Programs for the National Schools’ Constitutional Convention, held at the museum on 21– 22 March 2013, were provided in collaboration with the National Archives of Australia. Planning took place for the Australasian Parliamentary Educators’ Conference, which the museum will jointly host with the Parliament of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in November 2013.
The museum also continued to support the National History Challenge, an annual competition for primary and high school students coordinated by the History Teachers’ Association of Australia, sponsoring a political history category in the competition for the seventh year.
Community learning programs
Community learning focuses on meeting the learning and access needs of families, community groups and people who are not traditionally seen as museum visitors. The increased importance of community learning and access has been recognised across the museum, and many aspects of the accessibility guidelines established in the Disability Action Plan have been adopted and implemented.
The museum’s focus on community learning has seen the growth of a loyal group of families that repeatedly participate in the museum’s public programs. This group provided valuable assistance in 2012–13 by acting as a focus group during the design of a new school holiday program and new images to promote the museum’s public programs.
In the new school holiday program, Block Party, children and their carers took part in storytelling sessions that provided inspiration for them to develop their own objects that could be part of a museum exhibition, using toy building bricks. The program workshops were filled to capacity in the October 2012 and April 2013 school holidays, as were a program of cartooning workshops in January 2013.
OPH Community Learning Officer Nannette Louchart-Fletcher works with school holiday program participants. Photo: Belinda Pratten
Isaac Semmler of Princes Street Primary School, Hobart, accepting the 2012 National History Challenge award sponsored by the museum from OPH Deputy Director Steven Fox. Isaac won with his essay What Role did Dr Bob Brown Play in Leading Up to the High Court’s Decision to Stop the Damming of the Franklin and How Did His Actions Benefit the Conservation Movement? Photo: Steve Keough
Online access
Deliverable: Maintain and improve online access to programs, content and research.
The museum reviewed its online program strategy during the year and developed a new strategy for 2013–16.
As a result of a further review, against the requirements of the Australian Curriculum and WCAG 2.0, online materials for school learning programs were consolidated and the Learning home page on the museum’s website was refreshed. New online resources were developed for the Hands on Democracy and Behind the Lines learning activities for primary school students and families, and existing online programs were refreshed and updated.
The museum is expanding its engagement with social media as a means of increasing interaction with its audience and reaching new audience sectors. In 2012–13, the online engagement guidelines were amended to streamline social media approval processes, and the museum’s use of blog postings, Facebook and Twitter substantially increased.
User-generated content, enabling members of the community to take part in telling the story of Australian democracy, is an important aspect of the museum’s online presence. The facility to contribute images to the Discovering Mildenhall’s Canberra website, described in the 2011–12 annual report, has been well received; by 30 June 2013, users had contributed more than 300 images revealing aspects of the history of Canberra’s built environment.
Overall, the website moadoph.gov.au received 429,458 visits during the year, a 10 per cent increase on the 2011–12 total.
Figure 4 Online visitation, 2010–11 to 2012–13
Interpretation
Deliverable: Ensure ongoing interpretation of the site and collections.
Interpretation is a tool for revealing meanings and relationships to help people understand their history and their environment. Through interpretation, the museum brings to life the heritage values embodied in the Old Parliament House site and its collections, and their roles as symbols of democracy.
The Old Parliament House Interpretation Plan 2008–13 was developed before the Museum of Australian Democracy was launched in 2009 and provided the interpretive approach to the site and museum over the period of the museum’s development. A review of the plan’s purpose, context, rationale, structure, content and future directions will be completed in 2013–14. The review is taking account of other planning and policy instruments and the agency’s strategic directions.
A new onsite interpretation formed part of the refurbishment of the Members’ Dining Room (see the case study Refurbishment of the Members’ Dining Room). Interpretive products, including three blog posts and two onsite panels linked to online content, explained the significance of the historical decorative paint schemes revealed in the conservation process. The reveals were also presented onsite to a number of specialist groups, including delegates to the History Teachers’ Association of Australia’s 2013 conference and noted archaeologist and broadcaster Neil Oliver.
Other interpretation projects and activities during the year included:
- two public programs featuring the replica crown jewels collection—a short-term pop-up exhibition and an interview on local radio—and a loan of objects from the collection to the National Portrait Gallery for use in a program focusing on Ralph Heimans’ portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
- development of a new webpage to identify key objects in the heritage collection and increase accessibility to the online collection.
Research and scholarship program
Deliverable: Manage a research and scholarship program on Australia’s Prime Ministers and Australian democracy.
The research and scholarship program delivered through the Australian Prime Ministers Centre provides a national hub for research and scholarship on the history of Australia’s democracy, with a focus on prime ministers. The program offers fellowships which support research by established scholars and cultural practitioners, and summer scholarships which encourage students to develop an interest in prime ministerial studies at the beginning of their careers.
In 2012–13, the program supported five fellows, whose topics of study were:
- Joseph Lyons’ economic and education policies—Moira Byrne, the Treasury, Australian Government
- the roles of Ben Chifley and Arthur Calwell in facilitating the migration and settlement of displaced persons in Australia—Jayne Persian, University of Wollongong
- Gough Whitlam’s strategic thinking in the Cold War context of détente (the easing international geopolitical relations)—Changwei Chen, School of International Studies, Peking University
- Earle Page’s wartime mission to London— Kent Fedorowich, University of the West of England
- a creative interpretation of the characteristics and contributions of all of Australia’s prime ministers since 1901—
John Romeril, playwright and screenwriter (for more details, see the case study Prime Time).
On 21 June 2013, three of the 2012–13 fellows—Moira Byrne, Kent Fedorowich and John Romeril—presented their findings at the annual presentation of fellows’ research, to an audience including alumni of the research and scholarship program, representatives of other cultural institutions, writer Rodney Hall, and staff and volunteers. Several former fellows—Anne-Marie Boxall, Cameron Hazlehurst, Sam Malloy, John Shortis, Keiko Tamura and Auriol Weigold—provided updates of their ongoing research activities.
Two PhD candidates were supported as summer scholars to undertake research on leadership transitions in the Australian Labor Party and Ben Chifley’s role in encouraging public savings and monetary investment in the war effort.
The centre collaborated with the National Library of Australia, National Archives of Australia, Australian War Memorial and Parliament of Australia, to offer broader scholarship experiences for all the organisations’ summer scholars over a six-week program in January and February 2013. The museum also facilitated the work of other visiting researchers.
Since the program was established in 2007, 38 fellows and 16 summer scholars have benefitted from the support and expertise provided by the museum. The program has supported the development of books, scholarly articles, conference papers, artistic works and a television documentary.
Reference service
Deliverable: Provide a responsive, timely and accurate reference service through the Australian Prime Ministers Centre.
The Australian Prime Ministers Centre’s reference service facilitates access to the museum’s Research Collection and responds to research enquiries from researchers, onsite and online visitors and staff. In 2012–13, the reference service responded to 106 reference enquiries and 99 per cent of enquiries were addressed within the target of 10 working days.
Awareness
Deliverable: Build awareness of the MoAD and its programs to our audience.
Events
The events that the museum presents to support new exhibitions and launch newly interpreted spaces also help build awareness of the museum both locally and nationally. Table 4 describes the events that were held during the year.
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Henry Parkes Oration 24 October 2012 |
Eminent constitutional lawyer Professor George Williams delivered an oration entitled ‘Mission Impossible? Achieving social justice through constitutional change’ in the House of Representatives Chamber. The event was held in partnership with the Henry Parkes Foundation. |
| Anniversary of the Dismissal 11 November 2012 | On the anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government, Jenny Hocking, author of Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History, gave a presentation in the House of Representatives Chamber. |
| Behind the Lines 2012 exhibition launch 10 December 2012 |
The launch was hosted by Mike Bowers from the ABC television segment Talking Pictures, who interviewed the winner of the exhibition’s Political Cartoonist of the Year award, David Pope of the Canberra Times. |
| Human Brochure campaign 17 February 2013 |
The museum hosted the final event in Australian Capital Tourism’s Human Brochure campaign, which brought people who are highly active in social media to Canberra with the aim of encouraging them to disseminate favourable views about the city and its attractions. |
| Enlighten: See Canberra in a Whole New Light festival March 2013 |
In addition to the building being illuminated each night, the museum hosted two drama productions as part of the festival:
|
| Arthur Boyd: An Active Witness exhibition launch 7 May 2013 |
The launch was attended by invited guests of the museum and the Bundanon Trust, which partnered with the museum to deliver the exhibition. |
| First Dog on the Moon performance 15–17 May 2013 |
Political cartoonist First Dog on the Moon, also known as Andrew Marlton, performed his comedy show Cartoobs and Other Typos in the House of Representatives Chamber. |
| Association of the Former Members of the Parliament of Australia meeting 16 May 2013 |
The museum hosted the association’s annual general meeting and reunion, which were attended by approximately 30 former members of parliament. |
| Crown jewels talk, 2 June 2013 |
To mark the jubilee year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the museum hosted a presentation by royal jewellery expert Scott Coleman in the Senate Chamber. |
Networks
The museum and its staff support and take part in professional networks and outreach activities to:
- build awareness of the museum
- ensure that the museum’s programs and activities remain up to date in both content and presentation
- share knowledge and skills with teachers and other professionals in the museum and public service sectors in Australia
- further the shared aims of Australian cultural and educational institutions.
The museum was particularly involved with the History Teachers’ Association of Australia’s national conference held in Canberra in April 2013. It acted as co-host, presented two workshops and hosted the conference dinner. The conference was a great success and was attended by more than 200 teachers from around the country.
Staff also participated in the planning for the annual Museums Australia conference held in Canberra in May 2013, as well as participating extensively in the conference programs.
The museum was represented at a range of other conferences, including:
- the annual Arts Activated Conference, held in Sydney in October 2012, which considered access issues
- the annual conference of Interpretation Australia, held in Melbourne in November 2012, at which staff presented papers
- the INTERCOM 2012 conference, held in Sydney in November 2012, which explored the theme of ‘challenges faced by the modern museum’ including issues of technology and ‘the digital museum’
- The Artifact, Its Context and Their Narrative: Multidisciplinary Conservation in Historic House Museums, held in the United States in November 2012. The conference theme was managing the inevitable deterioration of structure and materials in historic house museums, while balancing the need for public access with current standards of practice in conservation
- the International Conference on Heritage Interpretation, held in Sweden in June 2013.
In 2012–13, museum staff acted as office bearers on the Museums Australia National Education Network and Museums Australia ACT Branch committees, and participated at meetings of the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate Advisory Committee, the National Capital Education Tourism Project Board and the National Capital Civics Education Group.
Measures
Research demonstrated that combined awareness of the museum across the
Australian Capital Territory and New South
Wales regions increased from 8 per cent to
16 per cent, exceeding the KPI target of a
2 per cent increase.
Marketing
Deliverable: Develop a marketing strategy that promotes the Museum of Australian Democracy and its products and experiences.
Strategy
Work was undertaken in 2012–13 to prepare for the development of a new marketing strategy to complement a revised strategic vision for the agency. The new strategy will be completed and implemented in 2013–14.
Activities
The museum uses public relations, advertising and social media activities to increase public awareness of its programs and activities and promote onsite visitation. In 2012–13, to facilitate increased audience engagement and participation, the museum’s social media channels were promoted in marketing materials. Marketing strategies encompassed Facebook and Twitter posts to promote events and activities.
The quarterly MoAD brochure was redesigned and renamed InHouse. Designed to make the museum a key destination for both tourists and Canberra residents, it was distributed to key tourist locations and letterbox dropped to over 100,000 homes.
Advertising undertaken during the year included television, press and print media and focused on promoting public programs, exhibitions and events. Key marketing programs were launched for exhibitions, school holiday workshops, the Enlighten: See Canberra in a Whole New Light festival and InHouse.
The agency was a member of the National Capital Attractions Association, the Canberra Convention Bureau and the Tourism Industry Council (ACT and Region), and collaborated on activities designed to promote growth within the ACT tourism sector. Participation in Enlighten: See Canberra in a Whole New Light generated the highest number of visitors to attend the museum in a single day since the museum opened—3,154. Large attendances were achieved for all the museum’s Enlighten activities, including almost 1,200 evening visitors on the first weekend of the festival and almost 400 audience members for the performance of Show Us Your Mandate.
The museum hosted a session of Australian Capital Tourism’s Human Brochure campaign, which was based on promoting Canberra to 200 social media savvy visitors. The participants brunched in the House of Representatives Courtyard before taking part in tours, events and museum experiences. Initial social media results from the event included over 300 Twitter postings, as close to 85 per cent of the participants ‘tweeted’ about the museum, and numerous photos shared through social media channels such as Instagram, Twitpic and Facebook.
Tourism publication advertising has been increased to coincide with key events and significant editorial consultation is proving advantageous. The museum continues to increase its presence at, and communication with, the Canberra and Region Visitor Centre, which welcomes over 250,000 tourists each year. The museum was featured in Canberra’s key tourism publication, the Canberra Capital Region 2013 Visitor Guide.
In January 2013, the Canberra Guide mobile phone app and website were launched, providing key Canberra content for inbound tourists. Developed by the National Capital Authority, the National Capital Attractions Association and commercial partners, the free app features the museum as a key Canberra attraction and hosts content designed to drive onsite and online visitation.
The agency also successfully increased exposure and advertising reach by collaborating with local radio station 666 ABC Canberra to promote the museum’s Oral History Program (for more details, see the case study The 300th recording).
The existing History Channel partnership continued for an additional 12 months into 2012–13, with no additional partnership cost, providing a total of $1,148,718 in advertising value over a 12-month period.
Details of expenditure on advertising and market research, provided as required under section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, are in the section Advertising and market research.