Henry Parkes 
Foundation

PO Box 1360,
Neutral Bay
NSW 2089
Ph/fax:
02 9953 9678

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Foundation projects

SCHOOL CITIZENSHIP CONVENTIONS

 The Henry Parkes Foundation sponsors annual citizenship conventions for schools, designed to help students understand how politics affects their lives, how they can be involved and how they can use political structures;
  • The inaugural 1999 convention focused on whether Australia should become a republic.
  • The 2000 convention was on the theme 'Steps to reconciliaton'.
  • The 2001 convention comprised a special series of events commemorating the Centenary of Federation. With the theme 'Unity and Diversity: Living in Australia', these included the third Henry Parkes Citizenship Convention for Primary Schools at NSW Parliament House on 27 August 2001, and the first Henry Parkes Citizenship Convention for High Schools, held in October 2001 as part of Centenary of Federation celebrations in the NSW town of Tenterfield.
  • The 2002 convention took as its theme 'Voting counts'.
  • The 2003 convention focused on the theme 'Mobilising for peace'.
  • The 2004 convention looked at 'Our Place in Reconciliation', re-visiting the 'Steps to Reconciliation' theme of the second convention in 2000.
  • The 2005 convention looked at 'Our Part in Social Justice'.
  • The 2006 primary schools convention was held on 30 October 2006, on the theme of 'Ecological Sustainability'. An inaugural convention for secondary school Student Representative Councils was also held in 2006, on 28 August

    • Contact Graham Spindler, Parliamentary Education and Community Relations Unit, NSW Parliament House, for more information about the conventions.

    CITIZENSHIP AWARDS

    Also organised to celebrate Centenary of Federation year were the Margaret Parkes Federation Awards, for primary and secondary schools in NSW and the ACT.These awards are now organised annually for primary schools as the Henry Parkes Civic Action Awards.
  • 2004 Awards
  • 2005 Awards

    • ORATIONS

    The Foundation also sponsors a series of orations, with a distinguished speaker focusing on challenging social/political issues in Australian society, with some reference to the ideals and objectives of Parkes.
  • The inaugural oration was delivered by the Hon. Gordon Samuels AC CVO QC on 24 October 2001, in the very same hall at Tenterfield, NSW, where Henry Parkes spoke 112 years ago. The theme was Australia in the 21st Century: Living in Peace and Freedom?
  • The 2004 oration was delivered by the Dr Neal Blewett on 26 October 2004, at the National Library in Canberra, on the theme 'A presidential republic or a republican president?'
  • Senator John Faulkner presented the 2005 oration on 22 October, in Tenterfield NSW, where Parkes gave his celebrated 'Federation Speech' on 24 October 1889 - 116 years earlier. Senator Faulkner's theme was 'Apathy and Anger: Our Modern Australian Democracy'.
  • Associate Professor Helen Irving presented the 2006 oration, 'The Crimson Thread: What Unites Australians Today?' in Parkes NSW on 28 October.
  • Dr Geoff Gallop presented the 2007 oration, 'Whatever Happened to Australian Radicalism?' in Tenterfield NSW on 20 October.

    • PUBLIC EDUCATION

    Participation in celebrations marking Australia's Centenary of Federation events included a dinner at NSW Parliament House in May 2001, commemorating Parkes 187th birthday as well as the 147th anniversary of his first entry into parliament. The dinner featured an address by the Hon. Susan Ryan AC on Parkes' commitment and contribution to public education: Priority Public: The supreme legacy of Henry Parkes.

    FUTURE PROJECTS

    Examples of other projects under consideration by the advisers for support when funds are available include:

  • the development and distribution of an educational package for use within the NSW school curriculum that looks at pre-Federation Australia with particular focus on life, vision and legacy of Henry Parkes;
  • the establishment of the Henry Parkes Centre for Australian Political History, in conjunction with an Australian university.

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