Susie Creamcheese and the Happy Birthday Party

Susie Creamcheese and the Happy Birthday Party

Elections can be interesting times in this country, and State. With the South Australian State Election in full swing right now I wanted to take the time to look back to a previous State Election. The early 1970s was a time of social and cultural change, and in South Australia,...

A man sitting on a stool holding a stone

Poet in Residence

Hello – my name is David Chapple and I am the Centre of Democracy’s Poet in Residence. I have begun workshops to support the Poet in Residence program at the Centre of Democracy. The idea is to work outside (beyond the walls) the Centre initially and explore the broader ideas...

Kilkenny Slam Poets

For the last school term, year 6 and 7 students from Kilkenny Primary school have had fun taking part in a trial program using the Centre of Democracy as a HASS and Civics and Citizenship resource. We have designed bingo games, democracy walks, quiz’s, and more. Here is a selection...

‘I shall die a Labor man’

In 1975, the rock star Alice Cooper was scheduled to tour Australia. John Bannon, later Premier of South Australia, was at the time senior adviser to Clyde Cameron, the Minister for Labour and Immigration in the Whitlam government. Their long association is documented in correspondence held in the Bannon Collection...

What does ‘Australian Citizenship’ really mean?

There is a lot of discussion about citizenship throughout our country at the moment. From debates about migration and ‘Australian values’ to the so called ‘citizenship crisis’, a name coined by the media describing the several members of the Australian Federal Parliament who have stepped down, or aside, while confirmation...

A photograph of Old Parliament House, Adelaide on North Terrace from the 1860s

Responsible Government for South Australia

When the South Australian Constitution was drawn up in 1856, it was one of the most radical and democratic in the world. From the establishment of the colony the governor governed the people on behalf of the British Empire. Both colonists and the Aboriginal people had no say. The governor...