Former MP to chair Boola Bardip

Melissa Parke, who held the seat of Fremantle for close to a decade, has been appointed chair of WA Museum Boola Bardip.

She replaces Alan Robson, former vice chancellor of University of Western Australia, as the museum’s chairperson.

Ms Parke, who retained the seat for Labor at the 2007 federal election following the retirement of Carmen Lawrence, briefly held the international development portfolio during Kevin Rudd’s second stint as prime minister.

She retired at the 2016 federal poll before making a brief political comeback in 2019, when she won Labor preselection to contest the seat of Curtin.

Her candidacy was withdrawn following sustained criticism of her stance towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Outside of politics, she has served in prominent positions within the United Nations advising on human rights violations in Yemen, and was in 2019 elected to the governing body of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.

She has served on WA Museum’s board since 2020.

Her appointment comes at the same time as Daniel McAullay, a director of Aboriginal research at Edith Cowan University, has joined the board as a trustee.

Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman thanked Professor Robson for his contributions and congratulated Ms Parke on her appointment.

“Over this period Western Australians have enjoyed incredible exhibitions and programs at the museum's six locations,” he said.

“We have seen more than 500,000 people visit the stunning new WA Museum Boola Bardip and the museum has been recognised with a range of international, national and local awards for the building design, content and research.

“Alan's role leading the board and supporting the museum's executive and staff is to be commended.

“I also pay tribute to Duncan Ord for his contribution, particularly for the project to create the WA Museum Boola Bardip.

“I would like to congratulate Melissa Parke and Associate Professor McAullay on their appointment to the WA Museum Board.

“I look forward to working with all board members to build on the success of the WA Museum, and to continue the development of a vibrant and active culture and arts sector in Western Australia.”