The history of democracy is all around us — ideas and events that have defined it, the actions of people who have shaped it, places where democratic values have been challenged, defended, or defeated.

Let us recognize that democratic governance is a yearning shared and voiced by people the world over.  Democracy is a goal in its own right, and an indispensable means for achieving development for all humankind.

– United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Message for the International Day of Democracy, 15 September 2010

We can find evidence of Australian democracy in cities and towns, in ports and pubs, along river banks and on remote cattle stations. Travel to distant countries and find Australian Prime Ministers or political activists shaping Australian democracy in different ways. Take a virtual journey through time and place, and glimpse key moments in the history of democratic ideas, laws and institutions. You may be surprised and inspired by what you find.