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Art and Politics Tour

A person showing a portrait to a family of three
A person showing a portrait to a family of three

Overview

Come face to face with past Prime Ministers, Presidents of the Senate, and Speakers of the House of Representatives. See the historic artwork charting the history of Australia’s national Parliament on a guided tour of key works from the Historic Memorials Collection.

The collection is Australia's longest-running art commissioning program and is a unique record of the intersection of art and politics. Discover insights into Australia’s political leaders and artists and explore changes in the history of portraiture in Australia.

You will see well-known portraits, including Vincent Fantuzzo’s portrait of Julia Gillard, Ivor Hele's portrait of Robert Menzies, Clifton Pugh’s portrait of Gough Whitlam, and William Dargie's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bookings are essential.

TripAdvisor Traveller Rating

TripAdvisor ratingBased on 3926 reviews

“Well worth the visit”

TripAdvisor ratingReviewed 1w ago by BeijingEye

Although Parliament was not sitting, well worth a visit. Security staff were very friendly and made suggestions so as not to miss anything. Highlight is the roof top visit.

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“Super interesting even if you're not into politics”

TripAdvisor ratingReviewed 1mo ago by Diana B

To get the full benefit of learning all about the Australian government you need a guide. It's really interesting to tour the parliament and if they are sitting, try to visit at question time (from...

Read the full review on TripAdvisor

“Enlightening.”

TripAdvisor ratingReviewed 1mo ago by Jemma63

We did a free 25 minute tour with Maggie. This was excellent and we learned so much about the Senate and House of Representatives. Walked on the roof, view pretty good

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Tour Formats
  • On-site Experience
  • Welcomes and assists people who have challenges with learning, communication, understanding and behaviour. (includes people with autism, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, acquired brain injury (ABI), dyslexia and dementia)
  • Caters for people who are blind or have vision loss.
  • Caters for people who are deaf or have hearing loss.
  • Caters for people with sufficient mobility to climb a few steps but who would benefit from fixtures to aid balance. (This includes people using walking frames and mobility aids)
  • Caters for people who use a wheelchair.
  • Caters for people with high support needs who travel with a support person.
  • Caters for people with allergies and intolerances.

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