The drama and intrigue of the Whitlam era will return to Old Parliament House on Wednesday with special screenings of a documentary to mark the 40th anniversary of the Dismissal.
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Political and history wonks can visit the scenes the history events of November 1975, joining tours and watching screenings of Whitlam: The Power and the Passion. The Museum of Australian Democracy's special #Dismissal1975 twitter project will conclude in real time on Wednesday afternoon and visitors can take photos with life-size images of key Dismissal players, including Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser and governor-general Sir John Kerr.
Screenings of the two-part documentary will take place in the Prime Minister's suite, used by Mr Whitlam, and inside the Prime Ministers of Australia exhibition rooms between 9am and 5pm.
Producer Penny Robins, who is visiting Canberra this week, said the documentary showed the rise and fall of one of Australia's most celebrated prime ministers and some of Canberra's most turbulent events.
"Gough Whitlam as subject matter is such a rich and nostalgic emotional journey, and it is so live in people's memories. The number of people who I meet who would talk about Gough like they personally knew him ... he really impacted the nation," Ms Robins said.
"It is rare to get that level of excitement, where the public embrace a figure like they did. John Howard says in the series the 'It's Time' slogan was right, but it was only just time, because in fact the majority was smaller than nostalgia and public memory recalls."
The documentary includes interviews with Mr Howard, Labor figures Graham Freudenberg and Bill Hayden, journalists Andrew Denton and George Negus as well as Mr Whitlam and Mr Fraser. Ms Robins said production companies Beyond International and Bombora had contributed to bringing the film to Canberra for the anniversary.
"The little dramatic pieces we shot here at Old Parliament House were designed to exemplify moments for which we had no archive footage or moments that we thought had not received the spotlight that they should have received," she said.
"I am proud of the decision to use the voices of Australia people and popular culture to explore probably one of the most prime ministerial periods. It was a dramatic government, for all of the ups and downs, it really did change the nation."
The documentary aired on ABC TV in 2013 and has become a used widely education resource in schools and universities around Australia. It was aired again in October 2014 after Mr Whitlam's death.
On Saturday, Old Parliament House will host two special Dismissal tours at 10am and 2pm. Similar tour events last weekend were booked out.
