Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer says the institute is important because Sir Robert Menzies is the “father of modern Australia”.

It comes as the Robert Menzies Institute opened at the University of Melbourne, where Menzies studied law and later served as Chancellor.

The museum and library will celebrate and honour the contribution of Menzies as a thinker and a policymaker, and drive research and debate.

“He was the founder of the Liberal Party; he was the progenitor of such a heavy investment in Australia’s tertiary education system,” Ms Downer told Sky News host Peta Credlin.

“He’s also the prime minister that led Australia to a much bigger Australia through an immigration program, inviting two million new migrants to Australia during his almost 17 years as prime minister the second time around.

“It’s really important, in any aspect of your life, to know your history because without knowing your history, you don’t know where you’re going, you need to understand what the decisions were made that created the foundations for your society, your economy, your culture.

“For young people too, understanding Sir Robert Menzies, not just what he did but the ideas that he stood for is fundamental to understanding what it is to be an Australian.”