The First Eight Project

The First Eight Project

Artwork: Alison Alder

The First Eight Project launched in early 2018 as a joint undertaking between the Australian Parliamentary Library, the National Museum of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, the Victorian Parliamentary Library and the ANU Australian Studies Institute. The project incorporates a series of events, lectures, exhibitions, and a monograph series on the first eight Prime Ministers of Australia.

“This collaboration aims at enlivening interest in this formative period of the nation’s history, focusing on the private, public and political lives of its political leaders, and something of the essence of the world they inhabited and which shaped them.” Dr Dianne Heriot, Parliamentary Librarian.

Read the interview with historian and AuSI Foundation Fellow, Dr David Headon, about the inspiration behind the project.

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Past Events

05
Nov
2025

The 2025 First Eight Lecture by Professor David Headon AM - Prime Minister Billy Hughes

Professor David Headon AM

The ANU Australian Studies Institute (AuSI) and the Britain-Australia Society invite you to the annual First Eight Lecture on Prime Minister William…

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Image: No. 7 Hughes, Alison Alder, 2016.
02
Apr
2025

First Eight Lecture: Little Digger – Billy Hughes' life and legacy

Professor David Headon AM

William Morris 'Billy' Hughes, known as the 'Little Digger', remains one of Australia's most debated prime ministers. His remarkable career, spanning…

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12
Feb
2025

Book Launch: Joseph Cook – The Chameleon: Australia's sixth prime minister

Senator the Hon Sue Lines, President of the Senate, Hon Milton Dick MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr David Headon AM

Book launchJoseph Cook – The Chameleon: Australia's sixth prime ministerWednesday, 12 February 2025, 11:00 am (AEDT)Location: Level 1, Members' Hall…

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