John Curtin

John Curtin (NAA: A1200, L36449 )

John Curtin was Australia's 14th prime minister (1941–45). He led the Labor government during World War II. Curtin rejected the British strategy for Australia's participation in the war. He insisted on focusing Australia's war effort in the Pacific in cooperation with the US forces led by General Douglas MacArthur. Curtin died in office on 5 July 1945, shortly before the end of the war in the Pacific.

What's in the National Archives on John Curtin?

The tables below list a sample of the Archives' records about Curtin.

Personal records of Curtin

People in prominent positions often have significant personal collections of records, as well as creating records in the institutions in which they work. These personal collections are usually a mixture of official and private material and may span a number of different positions. The National Archives collects personal records from Governors-General, Prime Ministers, ministers and some judges. For more information, see Commonwealth persons.

The National Archives holds some of the personal records of John Curtin.

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Reports and conference papers maintained by J Curtin as Prime Minister, 1941–45	1941–45	M2319
	Tape recordings of wartime speeches made by J Curtin, 1939–44	1939–44	M1219
	Correspondence of J Curtin as Prime Minister, 1941–44	1941–44	M1416
	Photographs relating to J Curtin's term as Prime Minister, 1941–45	1941–45	M1218
	Correspondence of J Curtin as Prime Minister, 1938–44	1938–44	M1415

Curtin before his term as Prime Minister

Curtin gained the seat of Fremantle (Western Australia) in 1928 for Labor and sat on the government benches of James Scullin. From 1935 to 1941 he was the Leader of the Opposition and, when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Curtin supported the government of Robert Menzies and sat on the Advisory War Council.

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Pamphlet for J Curtin, candidate for the Balaclava electorate, 1914	1914	M4124, 4
	Records of the High Court of Australia – John Curtin v Hugh Annan Corbett, 1917–19	1917–19	A10078, 1918/1
	Delegates to the sixth International Labour Organisation conference, 1923–24	1923–24	A981, Int 21
	Newly elected members of the 16th parliament (JH Scullin) with Lyons, Chifley and Curtin in front, 1929	1929	A3560, 6120
	Speech by J Curtin as Leader of the Opposition on defence estimates, 1937–38, 1937	1937–38	A5954, 2390/33

Curtin during his term as Prime Minister

Curtin was Prime Minister from 7 October 1941 to 5 July 1945. He took office two months before the Japanese attack on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Curtin fully supported the United States war effort in the Pacific under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Although Curtin had bitterly opposed conscription during World War I, he conceded that conscription was necessary in order to ensure Australia's defence.

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Exchanges between General D MacArthur and J Curtin, General Blamey, Air Vice Marshals Bostock and Jones, Minister for Air, Drakeford and others, detailing arguments over operational and administrative control of RAAF command established to cooperate with the US Air Force, 1942–44	1942–44	A816, 31/301/196A
	Sinking of HMAS Sydney by German Raider Kormoran, 1941	1941	A5954, 2400/21
	Review of Australian defence measures by the War Cabinet and Advisory War Council following the outbreak of hostilities with Japan, 1941	1941	A5954, 581/14
	Exchange of cablegrams between W Churchill and J Curtin after outbreak of war with Japan, 1941–42	1941–42	5954, 581/17
	Message concerning potential enemy attack of Australia by way of New Guinea, 1942	1942	A816, 14/301/559

Memorials to John Curtin and condolences for Elsie Curtin

John Curtin died in office on 5 July 1945, just six weeks before the end of the war.

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Correspondence about a portrait of J Curtin by A Dattilo-Rubbo, 1941–47	1941–47	A463, 1965/1998
	Transcripts of ABC news broadcasts reporting on the death of Prime Minister J Curtin, 1945	1945	SP286/16, 13
	Correspondence of the Department of External Affairs about the death of J Curtin, 1945	1945	A1066, PI45/88
	Correspondence of the Official Representative's Office in Noumea about the death of J Curtin, 1945	1945	A6445, 68/1946
	Audio tape 'Portrait of a Prime Minister', 1959	1959	C102, FD37 Part 2

Elsie Curtin

Elsie Needham married John Curtin in 1917. She maintained the family home in Fremantle, undertook electorate work and oversaw the running of The Lodge. Each year she spent several months in Canberra and organised many official events. She accompanied John Curtin on official trips both in Australia and overseas. For some months before his death, John Curtin was ill and Elsie Curtin dealt with visitors as well as tasks relayed by Acting Prime Minister Ben Chifley. She was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Personal file concerning Elsie Curtin, 1941–43	1941–43	M1416, 54
	Photograph of General Blamey with John and Elsie Curtin on board Lurline before leaving Sydney for USA, 1944	1944	M1218, 5
	Photograph of Cordell Hull (US Secretary of State) and J Curtin (Elsie in background), 1944	1944	M1218, 10
	Records of F Shedden concerning Elsie Curtin, 1943–45	1943–45	657865
	Press file concerning J Curtin's visit abroad and extracts concerning Elsie Curtin, 1944	1944	A5954, 661/4

Significant subjects for Curtin-related research

Important issues during Curtin's prime ministership include:

• war in the Pacific
• deployment of Australian troops
• conscription
• postwar reconstruction

Photographic and multimedia records relating to Curtin

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Photograph of WM Hughes, the Duke of Gloucester and J Curtin, 1945	1945	M1218, 9
	Audio tape of J Curtin's declaration of war on Japan, 1941	1941	C102, POL18
	Film of J Curtin talking for the talkies, 1941	1941	SP109/1, 78/12/51
	Film of J Curtin's visit to England, 1944	1944	SP109/1, 78/11/51
	Photographs relating to J Curtin's term as Prime Minister, 1941–45	1941–45	M1218

Relevant research guides

The National Archives has produced a number of research guides and fact sheets that may assist you with your research on John Curtin. These are available from the website and in print versions.

John Curtin: Guide to Archives of Australia's Prime Ministers

Records of Australian prime ministers, 1901–71 (Fact Sheet 70)

John Joseph Ambrose Curtin (Fact Sheet 80)

James Henry Scullin (Fact Sheet 75)

Joseph Aloysius Lyons (Fact Sheet 76)

Arthur William Fadden (Fact Sheet 79)

Francis Michael Forde (Fact Sheet 81)

Joseph Benedict Chifley (Fact Sheet 82)

JT Lang and Lang Labor (Fact Sheet 96)

Sir Frederick Shedden and the Shedden collection (Fact Sheet 99)

War Cabinet records (Fact Sheet 127)

National service and war, 1939–45 (Fact Sheet 162)

Canberra air disaster, 1940 (Fact Sheet 142)

Cowra outbreak, 1944 (Fact Sheet 198)

World War II internee, alien and POW records held in Canberra (Fact Sheet 59)

The Sinking of HMAS Sydney (Research Guide 3)

Near Neighbours: Records of Australia's Relations with Indonesia (Research Guide)

Sound Recordings in the National Archives (Research Guide)

Safe Haven: Records of the Jewish Experience in Australia (Research Guide 12)

Federation: The Guide to Records (Research Guide)

Inside the War Cabinet: Directing Australia's War Effort 1939–45 (out of print but available in Archives reading rooms)

Research databases

RecordSearch contains searchable descriptions of millions of items from our collection. Many of them are wholly digitised.

PhotoSearch allows you to search and browse over 110 000 photographs from our collection.