Elections and referendums

Campaign badges for political parties and candidates feature strongly in the museum’s badge collection, including many depicting Australia’s Prime Ministers. The collection also contains a number of badges advocating support for or against questions posed in referendums. Important constitutional referendums, such as the 1967 referendum to alter parts of the Constitution relating to Indigenous Australians and the 1999 referendum to establish Australia as a republic, are well represented. Advisory referendums (plebiscites), which do not effect changes to the Constitution, are present in the form of ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ badges from the 1916 and 1917 referendums on conscription.