| Rt Hon Ben Chifley | |
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| In office 13 July 1945 – 19 December 1949 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Forde |
| Succeeded by | Robert Menzies |
| Constituency | Macquarie (New South Wales) |
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| Born | 22 September 1885 Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 13 June 1951 (aged 65) |
| Political party | Labor |
Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951[1]), Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia[1], was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Electoral reform As of this election single transferrable vote with Proportional representation became the method for electing the Senate History In 1944, Sir Robert Menzies founded the Liberal Party of Australia (descended from the United Australia Party) Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 &ndash 28 January 1983 was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, KT, AK, CH, QC (20 December 1894 - 15 May 1978 Australian politician was the twelfth person to serve The Division of Macquarie is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Bathurst is a regional centre in the state of New South Wales, Australia approximately 200km west of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Among his government's accomplishments were the post-war immigration scheme under Arthur Calwell, the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1949, the Snowy Mountains Scheme[1], the national airline TAA, a social security scheme for the unemployed, and the founding of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)[2]. Arthur Augustus Calwell (28 August 1896 - 8 July 1973 Australian politician was Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967 Australian nationality law is based primarily on the principle of Jus soli. The Snowy Mountains Scheme is a Hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia Trans Australia Airlines or TAA, (renamed Australian Airlines in 1986 was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception One of the few successful referendums to modify the Australian Constitution took place during his term. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates
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Early life (1885-1917)
Born in Bathurst, New South Wales[1], Chifley was the son of a blacksmith of Irish Catholic descent. Bathurst is a regional centre in the state of New South Wales, Australia approximately 200km west of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council blacksmith is a person who creates objects from Iron or Steel by Forging the Metal; i Irish Catholics is a term used to describe people of Roman Catholic background who are Irish or of Irish descent. He was one of four brothers and was raised mostly by his grandfather, who lost all his savings in the bank crash of 1892: Chifley acquired his lifelong dislike of the private banks early. He was educated at Catholic schools in Bathurst, and joined the New South Wales Railways at 15.
Ben Chifley became an engine driver, which was a skilled and responsible position. A railroad engineer, railway engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who operates He was one of the founders of the AFULE (the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen)[3] and an active member of the Labor Party. In 1914 he married Elizabeth Mackenzie. She was a Presbyterian; Chifley left the Roman Catholic Church to marry her and never returned. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity In 1917 he was one of the leaders of a prolonged strike which resulted in his being dismissed. He was reinstated by the Jack Lang New South Wales Labor government in 1920. John Thomas Lang ( 21 December 1876 - 27 September 1975) Australian politician usually referred to as J He represented his union before industrial tribunals and taught himself industrial law. Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions
Early Political career (1928-44)
In 1928, at his second try, Chifley won the Bathurst-based seat of Macquarie in the House of Representatives. The Division of Macquarie is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate He was in general a supporter of the James Scullin government's economic policies, and in 1931 he became Minister for Defence. James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 &ndash 28 January 1953 Australian Labor Politician and ninth Prime Minister of Australia. At the 1931 general election, the Scullin government fell and Chifley lost his seat. Results Issues The election was dominated by the Great Depression in Australia, which was at its height During the Depression he survived on his wife's family's money and his part-ownership of the Bathurst newspaper the National Advocate.
In 1935 the Lyons government appointed him a member of the Royal Commission on Banking, a subject on which he had become an expert. Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH (15 September 1879 &ndash 7 April 1939 Australian politician He submitted a minority report advocating that the private banks be nationalised.
Chifley finally won his seat back in 1940, and the following year he became Treasurer (finance minister) in John Curtin's Labor government. John Joseph Curtin (8 January 1885 &ndash 5 July 1945 Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia when the Australian mainland came under direct Although Frank Forde was Curtin's deputy, Chifley became the minister Curtin most relied on, and he controlled most domestic policy while Curtin was preoccupied with the war effort. Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 &ndash 28 January 1983 was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He presided over the massive increases in government expenditure and taxation that accompanied the war, and imposed a regime of economic regulation that made him very unpopular with business and the press.
Prime Minister (1945-49)
When Curtin died in July 1945, Forde became (very briefly) Prime Minister, but Chifley defeated him in the leadership ballot and replaced him six days later. See Premiers of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Premier Sir Thomas Playford, GCMG (5 July 1896 – 16 June 1981 was a South Australian politician and a well known farmer The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Lieutenant General Charles Willoughby Moke Norrie 1st Baron Norrie, GCMG, GCVO, CB, DSO, Herbert Vere Evatt, QC MP ( April 30, 1894 - November 2, 1965) was an Australian Jurist, politician Clement Richard Attlee 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC ( 3 January 1883 &ndash 8 October 1967 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Once the war ended, normal political life resumed, and Chifley faced Robert Menzies and his new Liberal Party in the 1946 election, which Chifley comfortably won. Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, KT, AK, CH, QC (20 December 1894 - 15 May 1978 Australian politician was the twelfth person to serve The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. In the post-war years, Chifley maintained wartime economic controls including the highly unpopular petrol rationing. He did this partly to help Britain in its postwar economic difficulties. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Feeling secure in power, Chifley decided it was time to advance towards Labor's objective of democratic socialism. Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements tendencies and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation In 1947 he announced the government's intention to nationalise the banks. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government This provoked massive opposition from the press, and middle-class opinion turned against Labor. The High Court of Australia eventually found Chifley's legislation to be unconstitutional. The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.
In the winter of 1949 a prolonged and bitter strike in the coal industry caused unemployment and hardship. The 1949 Australian coal strike is the first time that Australian military forces were used during peacetime to break a Trade union strike. Chifley saw the strike as a move by the Communist Party to challenge Labor's place as the party of the working class, and he sent in the army to break the strike. This article is about the historical Communist Party of Australia dissolved in 1991 Despite this, Menzies exploited the rising Cold War hysteria to portray Labor as soft on Communism. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based
These events, together with a perception that Chifley and Labor had grown increasingly arrogant in office, led to the sweeping Liberal election victory of December 1949. Electoral reform As of this election single transferrable vote with Proportional representation became the method for electing the Senate Chifley suffered a 48-seat swing--still the worst defeat of an incumbent government at the federal level in Australia. Chifley was now aged 64 and in poor health (like Curtin he was a lifelong smoker), but he refused to retire. Labor had retained control of the Senate, and Chifley took advantage of this to bring misery to the Menzies government at every turn. The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. Menzies responded by introducing a bill to ban the Communist Party of Australia. This article is about the historical Communist Party of Australia dissolved in 1991 He expected Chifley to reject it and give him an excuse to call double dissolution election. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. Menzies apparently hoped to repeat his "soft-on-Communism" theme to win a majority in both chambers. However, Chifley let the bill pass (it was ultimately thrown out by the High Court)
However, when Chifley rejected Menzies' banking bill a few months later, Menzies called a double dissolution election in April 1951. Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth (1951 83 CLR 1 also known as the The Communist Party Case, was a legal case in the The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. He succeeded in winning control of both Houses at the election. History In 1944, Sir Robert Menzies founded the Liberal Party of Australia (descended from the United Australia Party) A few weeks later Chifley died of a heart attack in his room at the Kurrajong Hotel in Canberra (he had lived there throughout his Prime Ministership, having refused to reside at The Lodge). Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. The Lodge is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia and also the residence of the prime minister's family in the national capital Canberra Menzies heard of Chifley's demise while attending an official function at the Albert Hall in Canberra, to mark fifty years of Australian Federation. The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Normally impassive, "Ming the Merciless" (as his foes called him) had difficulty on this occasion in fighting back tears; and he ordered that the function be brought to an end, as a mark of respect to his predecessor and adversary.
"Chifley legend"
Like Curtin, Chifley has been made a secular saint by the labour movement, but the basis of the "Chifley legend" is somewhat different. A secular saint is someone venerated and respected for contributions to a noble cause but not recognized as a canonical saint by a religion Curtin is remembered mainly for his wartime leadership and forging the US-Australia Alliance. Chifley is remembered by the left as the only Labor Prime Minister who tried to implement the party's socialist objective. The fact that this preceded an electoral defeat and 23 years in opposition has not detracted from this esteem.
More than 30 years after his death, Chifley's name still aroused partisan passions. In 1987 the New South Wales Labor government decided to name the planned new university in Sydney's western suburbs Chifley University. The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then When, in 1989, a new Liberal government renamed it the University of Western Sydney, controversy broke out. The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a University in New South Wales, Australia. According to a (see [1]) debate on the topic, held in 1997 after the Labor Party had regained government, the decision to rename Chifley University reflected a desire to attach the name of Chifley to institutions of lasting significance, and that idea ultimately received the support of Bob Carr, later the Premier of New South Wales. Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947 Australian politician was Premier of New South Wales from 25 March 1995 to 3 August 2005 See Premiers of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Premier
Places and institutions have been named after Chifley. The main library of the Australian National University, Chifley Library, is named after him. The Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public Research university situated in Canberra, Australia. There is an Australian hotel chain, a central Sydney building and square, and two suburbs (in Canberra and Sydney), named after him. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Several public high schools in Western Sydney are now known as Chifley College, as well as a grouping of dormitories from the Bathurst campus for CSU collectively named as Chifley Halls in 2007. The New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET is a department of the Government of New South Wales. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution Dormitory typically refers in the United States to residence halls which are sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for Charles Sturt University ( CSU) is an Australian multi-campus University in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory Many of his reforms also remain in place.
Chifley had lived apart from his wife for many years: his secretary, Phyllis Donnelly, was with him when he died. Long-held suspicions that she had been his lover were confirmed in David Day's 2001 biography. David Day (born 1949 Melbourne) is an Australian historian David Day graduated with first-class Honours in History and Political Science from the University
The light on the hill
"I try to think of the Labour movement, not as putting an extra sixpence into somebody's pocket, or making somebody Prime Minister or Premier, but as a movement bringing something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people. The Prime Minister's Avenue is a collection of busts of the Prime Ministers of Australia, located at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in Ballarat Victoria We have a great objective - the light on the hill - which we aim to reach by working the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we may give a helping hand. If it were not for that, the Labour movement would not be worth fighting for. " Excerpt from The light on the hill speech, 12 June 1949. The light on the hill is a phrase used to describe the objective of the Australian Labor Party. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d The Rt Hon Ben Chifley (English). The First Chifley Ministry was the thirty-third Australian Commonwealth ministry, and held office from 13 July 1945 to 1 November 1946 The Second Chifley Ministry was the thirty-fourth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and held office from 1 November 1946 to 19 December The 1949 Australian coal strike is the first time that Australian military forces were used during peacetime to break a Trade union strike. The light on the hill is a phrase used to describe the objective of the Australian Labor Party. Australian Labor Party. Retrieved on 2007-12-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office
- ^ Significant Events in ASIO's History (English). Australian Security Intelligent Organisation. Retrieved on 2007-12-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office
- ^ A.F.U.L.E. History. www. afule. org. au. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius
Further reading
- Ben Chifley, Things Worth Fighting For (collected speeches), Melbourne University Press, 1952
- L F Crisp, Ben Chifley: A Political Biography, Longman, Green and Co, 1961
- David Day, Chifley, HarperCollins, 2001
- Duncan Waterson, Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol. 13 A-D pp. 412-420, Melbourne University Press, 1993
External links
- Ben Chifley - Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archives of Australia
- Chifley Research Centre
- Chifley College, Sydney
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Daly |
Minister for Defence 1931 – 1932 |
Succeeded by George Pearce |
| Preceded by Sir Arthur Fadden |
Treasurer of Australia 1941 – 1949 |
Succeeded by Sir Arthur Fadden |
| Preceded by Frank Forde |
Prime Minister of Australia 1945 – 1949 |
Succeeded by Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by Robert Menzies |
Leader of the Opposition 1949 – 1951 |
Succeeded by H.V. Evatt |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Arthur Manning |
Member for Macquarie 1928 – 1931 |
Succeeded by John Lawson |
| Preceded by John Lawson |
Member for Macquarie 1940 – 1951 |
Succeeded by Anthony Luchetti |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Curtin |
Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1945 – 1951 |
Succeeded by H.V. Evatt |
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