Australian statesman and prime minister (19415), born in Creswick, Victoria, SE Australia. He was active in trade union work, and edited a Perth newspaper. In 1928 he entered parliament, became leader of the Labor Party (1934), and was prime minister during most of World War 2. He organized national mobilization during the Japanese war, and died in office.
| Rt Hon John Curtin | |
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| 14th Prime Minister of Australia | |
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In office 7 October 1941 – 6 July 1945 |
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| Preceded by | Arthur Fadden |
| Succeeded by | Frank Forde |
| Born |
8 January 1885 Creswick, Victoria, Australia |
| Died |
5 July 1945 Canberra, ACT |
| Political party | Labor |
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945), Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia through the darkest period of its history: when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War II.
Militant youth
Curtin was born John Joseph Curtin in Creswick in central Victoria. (His name is sometimes shown as "John Joseph Ambrose Curtin".
In 1911 Curtin was employed as secretary of the Timberworkers' Union, and during World War I he was a militant anti-conscriptionist.
Labor politician
Curtin moved to Perth in 1918 to become editor of the Westralian Worker, the official trade union newspaper.
When Scullin resigned as Labor leader in 1935, Curtin was unexpectedly elected (by just one vote) to succeed him. Curtin fell only a few seats short of winning the 1940 election.
Wartime leader
Curtin refused Robert Menzies' offer to form a wartime "national government," partly because he feared it would split the Labor Party. In October 1941 the two independent MPs who had been keeping the conservatives (led first by Menzies, then by Sir Arthur Fadden) in power since 1940 switched their support to Labor, and Curtin became Prime Minister.
Curtin took three crucial decisions. Curtin therefore hailed MacArthur as Australia's savior and formed a close tie with the Allied Supreme Commander in the South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur. Curtin realized that Australia would be ignored unless it had a strong voice in Washington - he wanted that voice to be MacArthur's. He turned control of Australian forces over to MacArthur, directing Australian commanders to treat MacArthur's orders as coming straight from Curtin. In August, Curtin led Labor to its greatest election victory up till that time.
The third step Curtin took was the introduction of conscription, which he judged vital for Australia's survival. This was despite Curtin furiously opposing conscription during World War I. The reason Curtin introduced conscription successfully is because he adopted a minimal conscription policy, where only those South of the Equator were conscripted. The fact Curtin introduced conscription without splitting the Australian Labor Party, unlike Billy Hughes during World War I, showed Curtin was a tactically astute political leader.
The stress of this bitter battle inside his own party took a great toll on Curtin's health, never robust even at the best of times. MacArthur said that Curtin was "one of the greatest of the wartime statesmen" and that "the preservation of Australia from invasion will be his immemorial monument".
The Curtin legend
His early death and the sentiments it aroused have given Curtin a unique place in Australian political history. Successive Labor leaders, particularly his fellow Western Australians Bob Hawke and Kim Beazley, have sought to build on the Curtin tradition of "patriotic Laborism".
Curtin is commemorated by Curtin University of Technology in Perth, John Curtin College of the Arts in Fremantle the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra and the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library. Black, In His Own Words: John Curtin's Speeches and Writings, Paradigm Books, Curtin University, Perth 1995
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