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Bookings
For program bookings email bookings@nma.gov.au
or phone (02) 6208 5021
For Friends program bookings, email friends@nma.gov.au
or phone (02) 6208 5048.
If you are deaf, hearing or speech impaired you can call
the Museum through the National Relay Service:
TTY 1800 555 677
Speak and Listen 1800 555 727
or Internet relay and request
1800 026 132
Saturday 13 April 2013, 12pm – 6pm
Join us for a glorious day out for all!
Revel in the festivities of a country fair from yesteryear. Take a tango dance lesson, learn old-style handicrafts and check out the skaters from the Canberra Roller Derby. Enjoy entertainment from the Royal Australian Navy Band or ride on a carousel. Kids can have fun with play and craft activities inspired by 1913. Costs apply. Book online.
Program of events
Exhibition tours
Join one of our curators for a fascinating walk and talk through the Glorious Days exhibition. Tours take about 20 minutes and leave from the exhibition entrance in the Hall at 12.30, 2 and 3.30pm.
Demonstrations
See regular demonstrations of wood chopping by the South East Axemen’s Association, shearing by world champion shearer Ian Elkins and enjoy the arts of traditional wood craft, millinery and lace making.
Did you know rollerskating became popular in 1913? Come and check out a rollerskating performance by the Canberra Roller Derby girls.
In a year when the Navy also celebrates its centenary, see a floating display of model ships from the 1913 era, courtesy of the Task Force 72 Scale Model Ship Association.
Kids play and games
What did kids play in 1913? Join in the hopscotch, egg and spoon races and play with hula hoops and tinker toys.
Try 1913-inspired craft activities in various locations throughout the day.
Enjoy a carousel ride and see the animals in our mini-farmyard.
Market stalls
Browse through stalls offering old-style handicrafts, 1913-era trinkets and homemade produce.
Entertainment
The Canberra Chordsmen kick-start our festivities at noon with vocal harmonies in the style of the barbershop quartet.
Watch some of Canberra’s best tango dancers while grooving to Tángalo band, and join a tango dancing workshop.
Listen to the sounds of the magnificently restored Canberra Carousel Organ, and enjoy performances from roving actors, circus performers, the Gramophone Man and pop-up Punch and Judy puppet shows.
See silent black and white film in the tunnel under the Garden. Dress up and have your ‘vintage’ photo taken, or a likeness created by our quick draw cartoonist, Andrew Hore. You might also like to try your hand at making a hat, woodcraft or learning to knit or crochet, with our guest presenters.
Cap off your day of festivities with the big band sound of the Royal Australian Navy Band's Sydney detachment.
The Sydney detachment of the Royal Australian Navy band.
Venue
Garden of Australian Dreams, National Museum of Australia. Visitors with pre-purchased tickets can enter the garden via the door nearest the car park (to the right of the main entrance).
Tickets
Tickets include entry to the Glorious Days exhibition. Cost: $10 adult, $8 concession, $5 child, $22 family, Friends half-price.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. The Country Fair is an outdoor event and the program may be changed or cancelled due to inclement weather.
Buy online tickets to the 1913 Country Fair on Eventbrite. Tickets are also available from the info hub in the Hall at the National Museum of Australia. Bookings are recommended.
Event concludes at 6pm - last tickets close at 4.30pm. The National Museum of Australia galleries and the Glorious Days: Australia 1913 Exhibition will close at 5pm.Refreshments
Tea and scones will be available courtesy of the Country Women's Association. Other refreshments such as fairy floss and toffee apples will be available for purchase. A traditional preservative-free sausage sizzle will be available for purchase between 12–2pm at Melissa Dede's market stall.
Transport and Parking
Help the environment and catch a bus to the 1913 Country Fair. Take a FREE ride on the Centenary Loop (Route 100). This service departs every 30 minutes from 9.00am – 4.30pm from Platform 10, City Bus Station, on Northbourne Avenue. The National Museum of Australia is serviced by the loop. Alternatively, route 934 will be running regularly throughout the day and into the evening. Check out www.action.act.gov.au.
Limited parking is available at the National Museum of Australia car park, alternatively parking on London Circuit at the end of Edinburgh Avenue is only a short pleasant walk from the Museum.
