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John Curtin & Ben ChifleyPrint Page 
The sculpture commemorates John Curtin and Ben Chifley who were the 14th and 16th Prime Ministers of Australia respectively. The sculpture recreates a photograph of Curtin and Chifley who walked along this route from the Kurrajong Hotel where they usually stayed while Parliament was sitting, to the Old Parliament House. Curtin and Chifley were strong supporters of the development of Canberra as the nation's capital.
John Curtin was Prime Minister when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War Two.
The Chifley Government was responsible for the post-war immigration scheme, the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1949, the Snowy Mountains Scheme, overseeing the creation of airlines Qantas and Trans Australia Airways (TAA), and founding the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Location
| Address: | Walpole Crescent, Ryrie Park, Parkes, 2600 |
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| State: | ACT |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.304476 Long: 149.132509 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Sculpture |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Government - Federal |
| Artist: | Peter Corlett (Melbourne, VIC) |
| Monument Manufacturer: | Meridian Foundry |
| Link: | https://primeministers.moadoph.gov.… |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Friday 16th September, 2011 |
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Plaque :
Peter Corlett OAM
Born 1944
Prime Minister John Curtin and Treasurer, Ben Chifley, ca 1945
Bronze, cast by Meridian Foundry, 2011
This sculpture recreates an iconic photograph of John Curtin ( 1885-1945), Australia's fourteenth Prime Minister (1941-45), and Treasurer Joseph Benedict Chifley (1885-1951), who would become Australia's sixteenth Prime Minister (1945-1949). Curtin and Chifley routinely walked along this route to the (old) Parliament House from the nearby Kurrajong Hotel- where Labor Members of Parliament generally stayed, while Parliament was sitting. Curtin and Chifley are 'two of Australia's most respected Prime Ministers and they were strong supporters of the development of Canberra as the nation's capital.
Commissioned by the ACT Government
Launched on the 16 September 2011 by the Hon Julia Gillard MP. Prime Minister of Australia
