Muresk Institute is an educational, training, research, conference and function facility based in Northam , situated approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Perth , in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia . Until 1985 it was known as Muresk Agricultural College .
102-596: The College, situated on 898 hectares (2,220 acres) of research and farming land, was established in 1926 by the Western Australian Government and incorporated into the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) in 1969. The college was managed by WAIT and later Curtin University of Technology from 1969 until 2012, when responsibility for Muresk's operation was transferred from Curtin to
204-670: A campus in Singapore , its second offshore presence. In 2009, Curtin became the first university in the Australian Technology Network to be listed on the Academic Ranking of World Universities of research universities. In 2010, Curtin dropped the "of Technology" suffix, from then operating as "Curtin University". Curtin University's main campus is in Bentley, Western Australia , about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-east of
306-530: A hung parliament . The ALP eventually formed a minority government in October 1941, when the Fadden government lost a confidence motion. The Japanese attacks on British Malaya and Pearl Harbor occurred two months after Curtin became prime minister, and Australia entered the war against Japan. Bombing raids on northern Australia soon followed. Curtin led the nation's war effort and made significant decisions about how
408-470: A 17-seat swing. The Coalition was reduced to only 19 seats nationwide, including only one west of Broken Hill . Fadden's Country Party took a particularly severe beating, winning only seven seats. Labor also won the primary vote in all states in the Senate, and thus all 19 seats, to hold a majority of 22 out of 36 seats. Buoyed by this success, Curtin called a referendum which would give the government control of
510-586: A campus in Sydney from 2005 to 2016. Curtin University is a member of the Australian Technology Network . Curtin is active in research in a range of academic and practical fields. As of 2020, it is Western Australia's only university whose students have won the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering's Postgraduate Student Gold Medal. Curtin University was founded in 1966 as
612-627: A compulsory medical examination. He moved to Perth the following year to become the editor of the Westralian Worker , and later was state president of the Australian Journalists' Association . After three unsuccessful attempts, Curtin was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1928 federal election , winning the Division of Fremantle . He is the only prime minister to have represented
714-528: A constituency in Western Australia . He remained loyal to the Labor government during the party split of 1931 . He lost his seat in Labor's landslide defeat at the 1931 election , but won it back in 1934. The following year, Curtin was elected party leader in place of James Scullin , defeating Frank Forde by a single vote. The party gained seats at the 1937 and 1940 elections , with the latter resulting in
816-483: A death considered by beacons of the local press to be a self-sacrificial casualty of war, a sentiment echoed by Presbyterian minister Hector Harrison. At 4:00 am on 5 July 1945, as Australia's 7th Division began its last operation against Japanese forces in the Battle of Balikpapan , John Curtin died at The Lodge. Aged just 60, he was the second Australian prime minister to die in office within six years,
918-642: A fact even contemporary commentators ascribed to the extreme stressors such an office demanded. The next day, Curtin's body was laid in state at the King's Hall in Parliament House , where a memorial service was held, conducted by one of his friends, the Presbyterian minister Hector Harrison. Ben Chifley and Enid Lyons were seen to weep openly. Harrison seemed to include Curtin among the Australian servicemen who had made
1020-515: A focus on contemporary art , learning and research. The university is one of the partners in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study , one of the largest cohorts of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world. Curtin University has achieved "Top 10 Australia University" status in 6 out of 10 major global rankings (ARWU, US News, CWUR, Leiden, RUR, URAP). Curtin
1122-507: A graduate business school in St Georges Terrace . In 2002 it was moved to Murray Street , where it remains. The school was developed on the foundation of Curtin's existing Master of Business Administration program. In 2005, Curtin and Murdoch University were engaged in a feasibility study into the possibility of a merger. On 7 November 2005, the institutions announced that a merger would not be undertaken. In 2008, Curtin opened
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#17328808106671224-624: A listed building on the State Register of Heritage Places. In 2016, Curtin entered into an agreement with the National Trust of Australia (WA) to use the restored Old Perth Boys' School at 139 St Georges Terrace for community and industry engagement. In 2018, Curtin renovated the original Perth Technical College building at 137 St Georges Terrace to create meeting rooms and learning spaces for professional development and postgraduate courses. Exploration Geophysics and Petroleum Engineering are at
1326-630: A matter of urgency." Curtin made crucial decisions linking Australia to the United States. On 28 December, the Sydney Daily Telegraph published a public statement of his government's new attitude: We look for a solid and impregnable barrier of the Democracies against the three Axis powers, and we refuse to accept the dictum that the Pacific struggle must be treated as a subordinate segment of
1428-564: A member of the Victorian Socialist Party Curtin held strong anti-imperialist and anti-militarist views, and in opposition to the mainstream of the Labor movement, opposed racism due to his belief that racial hatred was used as a tool of the "exploiting class". Labor historian Graeme Osborne describes Curtin's stance as "anticipating Lenin in the view that imperialism was capitalism in its last stage". He wrote for radical and socialist newspapers. From 1911 until 1915, Curtin
1530-408: A mission station, and to children who were maintained from a deceased estate. The Child's Allowance was introduced in 1943, payable at the rate of five shillings per week for a first for an unendowed child under 16 years dependent on an invalid or permanently incapacitated old-age pensioner. From July 1945 onwards, Additional Benefit for Children of five shillings per week became payable in respect of
1632-541: A number of events throughout the year, most notably the Toga Party held in semester one and the previous notable event Grasslands Music Festival held in semester two. The guild publishes Grok magazine. The Student Guild is governed independently of the University by students through the Guild Council, which consists of executive members: president, vice-presidents, secretary and councillors. All other representatives sit on
1734-568: A purpose-built campus was opened as Curtin's first offshore campus and the first foreign university campus in East Malaysia. It has around 4,000 students from over 45 countries, and academics from more than 15 countries. Curtin Malaysia is the only approved CISCO Networking University in Miri and Brunei. Curtin University opened a Singapore-based campus on 23 November 2008. Curtin Singapore courses use
1836-536: A roof at Curtin University collapsed, killing a 23-year-old construction worker after he fell more than 20 m (66 ft), and leaving two other construction workers injured. John Curtin Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1941–1945) Ministries Elections John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as
1938-629: A sense it was a people's war in which they were full participants. In terms of social policy, the Curtin government enacted a wide range of progressive social reforms during its time in office. Pensions were introduced for deserted wives and widows, while the establishment of the Women's Employment Board led to increased wages for some women during the war. Aboriginal Australians were provided with significantly increased entitlement to welfare benefits, while maternity allowances were extended. In addition, pensions for
2040-538: A small country town in north-west Victoria. His father had failed to prosper in Melbourne, which was in the middle of an economic downturn. In Charlton, he took over the lease of a pub owned by his brother-in-law, John Bourke. Curtin was enrolled in the local state school, as a Catholic school had not yet been established. He excelled academically, and was seen as a potential "scholarship boy". However, he and his family left Charlton in 1896. Struggling financially, they spent
2142-439: A state law "relating to the control of Aboriginal natives" or if they lived in a state where they could not be exempt from such laws but were of eligible for pension on the grounds of "character, standard of intelligence and development". That same year, pension became exempt from income tax. In 1943, funeral benefits were introduced, together with a Wife's Allowance for wives of incapacitated age pensioners "where she lived with him,
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#17328808106672244-593: A strong voice in Washington, D.C., and he wanted that voice to be MacArthur's. He gave over control of Australian forces to MacArthur, directing Australian commanders to treat MacArthur's orders as if they came from the Australian Government. Biographer John Edwards wrote: A lesser Australian leader might have grated against MacArthur's vanity, cavilled at his assumption of command, contradicted his grandiloquent claims, satirised his manner. Curtin did not. He seized
2346-488: A warder at Pentridge Prison . He later joined the Victoria Police , where in thirteen years he never rose above the rank of a constable; he received reprimands for indecent assault and using excessive force against children. In 1883, he married Catherine Agnes Bourke (known as "Kate"), who had arrived in Melbourne in 1875. She was the sister of one of his police colleagues. Curtin was born with congenital strabismus of
2448-543: Is also a highly equipped conference and accommodation venue suitable for corporate and community events. 31°44′57″S 116°41′02″E / 31.749247°S 116.684013°E / -31.749247; 116.684013 Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology ) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley , Perth , Western Australia. It
2550-609: Is involved in a number of business, management, and research projects, particularly in supercomputing, where the university participates in a tri-continental array with nodes in Perth, Beijing , and Edinburgh . The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the Woodside -funded hydrocarbon research facility during his visit to Australia in 2005. Funding from major Chinese companies connected to the state have led to concerns that Curtin University has limited academic freedom on certain topics. In 2020,
2652-670: Is named after John Curtin , Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945, and is Western Australia's largest university, with 58,607 students in 2022. WAIT was established in 1966. Curtin was conferred university status after the Parliament of Western Australia passed legislation in 1986. Since then, the university has expanded its presence and has campuses in Singapore , Malaysia , Dubai and Mauritius , and has ties with 90 exchange universities in 20 countries. The university comprises five main faculties with over 95 specialists centres. It had
2754-488: Is ranked 160th globally and 10th nationwide by U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings in 2023. Curtin University is again ranked in the world's top one percent of universities and ninth in Australia based on the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities . In addition, Curtin University has achieved its highest-ever result in the annual QS World University Rankings by rising to 174th globally in
2856-538: Is the only course offered in Geraldton. The Muresk Institute at Northam left Curtin in 2012. The Hayman Theatre was established in 1973 as Hayman Hall, for the use of theatre arts students. The Hall's name derives from George Hayman, who played a major part in establishing WAIT in 1967. The theatre study company Theatreground as well as the Western Australian Theatre Company used the space. It
2958-463: The 1914 federal election . The strain of this period led him to drink heavily and regularly, a vice which blighted his career for many years. He proposed to Elsie Needham on St Kilda Beach , and they were married on 21 April 1917 in the dining room of a private home in West Leederville . Curtin moved to Perth, Western Australia , in 1917 to become an editor for the Westralian Worker ,
3060-458: The 1943 election in a very strong position. Even allowing for the advantages that an incumbent government has in wartime, Fadden and Hughes had been unable to get the better of Curtin, and the Coalition had become almost moribund. In the election, Curtin led Labor to its greatest-ever victory, winning two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives on a two-party preferred vote of 58.2% and
3162-476: The Advisory War Council . In October 1941, Arthur Coles and Alexander Wilson , the two independent MPs who had been keeping the Coalition in office since 1940 (first under Menzies, then under Fadden), joined forces with Labor in defeating Fadden's budget and bringing the government down. Governor-General Lord Gowrie was reluctant to call an election for a Parliament barely a year old, especially given
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3264-554: The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command in the Netherlands East Indies for the defence of Java and Sumatra . Before they could arrive, Singapore fell on 15 February 1942. Most of the 8th Division was taken into captivity, although a small number, including its commander, Major General Gordon Bennett , managed to escape. "The fall of Singapore", Curtin announced in a radio address to
3366-613: The Berlei Building . Curtin Sydney's operation was contracted out to private tertiary education provider Navitas Group . It offered international students diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In 2014 Curtin Sydney was involved in a cash-for-results scandal where students since 2012 had paid MyMaster, a Sydney company, up to $ 1,000 each to write essays and assignments for them, as well as to sit online tests. In 2015, Curtin announced that Curtin Sydney would close in 2017. From 2007,
3468-606: The Brunswick Cricket Club , where he had a reputation as a solid batsman . He remained involved in both sports throughout the remainder of his life, as an administrator and supporter. He was said to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of cricket statistics. From a young age, Curtin was active in both the Australian Labor Party and the Victorian Socialist Party , which was a Marxist organisation. While
3570-749: The National Premier Leagues Women's structure. The team was previously part of the Women State League Division 1 from (at least) 2012 to 2019. Curtin University offers on campus accommodation at five separate precincts, managed by UniLodge: Kurrajong Village, Erica Underwood House, Guild House, Vickery House and St Catherine's College. Notable people who have attended Curtin University include: Curtin's faculty includes prominent scholars such as environmental scientist Peter Newman , writer Kim Scott and isotope geochemist Kliti Grice . Past prominent faculty members include
3672-656: The Pacific War broke out when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor . Curtin addressed the nation on the radio, saying, "Men and women of Australia...we are at war with Japan. This is the gravest hour of our history. We Australians have imperishable traditions. We shall maintain them. We shall vindicate them. We shall hold this country and keep it as a citadel for the British-speaking race and as a place where civilisation will persist." On 10 December, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were both sunk by Japanese bombers off
3774-492: The Perth central business district. The campus was developed on a former pine plantation established in the 1930s. Curtin has multiple smaller off-site campuses in the Perth metropolitan area. The Graduate School of Business building is in the Perth central business district in the renovated former Government Printing Office, and the law school is on Murray Street in the old Public Health Department and Chief Secretary's building,
3876-669: The Transperth public transport network. The stations are also linked to the Mandurah railway line 's Canning Bridge Station by a shuttle bus service. Curtin also has an internal bus network trialling autonomous buses on campus. Curtin has campuses outside Perth , the largest being the Western Australian School of Mines at Kalgoorlie , and a number of micro-campuses in Esperance , Margaret River , Geraldton , and elsewhere. Nursing
3978-640: The 2025 edition. It was ranked 2nd in the world for Engineering – Mineral & Mining and 5th in Australia for Architecture in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject . Curtin's Creative Writing staff and alumni have won the Miles Franklin Award seven times. The Curtin Student Guild is the student union at Curtin University. It was founded in 1969 as the WAIT Student Guild. The guild provides student representation services through
4080-610: The Bentley campus is the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, holding a large collection of papers relating to John Curtin as well as other special collections, including the papers of political figures John Dawkins, Geoff Gallop, Hazel Hawke, and Carmen Lawrence, and Curtin academics Mike Daube (tobacco control) and Jules Black (sexology). The John Curtin Gallery (JCG) is on the Bentley campus, in building 200A. It has
4182-525: The British Isles without any solid partnership in place with the United States. This speech also received criticism at high levels of government in Australia, Britain and the US; it angered Churchill, and Roosevelt said that it "smacked of panic". The speech nevertheless achieved the effect of drawing attention to the possibility that Australia would be invaded by Japan . Before this speech, the Australian response to
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4284-503: The British war effort. In 1941, Menzies travelled to Britain to discuss Australia's role in the war strategy, and to express concern at the reliability of Singapore's defences, only to be drawn into Winston Churchill 's disastrous Greek campaign . While he was in Britain, Menzies lost the support of his own party, and was forced to resign as prime minister. The Coalition elected Arthur Fadden ,
4386-809: The Carnabys, play in the University Basketball League (UBL). The men's team of the Curtin University Football Club is based on the main campus. The club currently ( 2023 ) competes in the Football West State League Division 2 . The Curtin University FC women's team were one of the inaugural teams in the National Premier Leagues WA Women competition (which commenced in 2020), and is a part of
4488-643: The Malayan coast. Curtin cabled the President of the United States , Franklin D. Roosevelt , and Churchill on 23 December, saying, "The fall of Singapore would mean the isolation of the Philippines, the fall of the Netherlands East Indies and attempts to smother all other bases. It is in your power to meet the situation... we would gladly accept United States commanders in the Pacific area. Please consider this as
4590-423: The Pacific in 1942. Curtin had previously opposed conscription for overseas service during World War I, and again in 1940 when it was introduced by Menzies, although he had supported softening it to allow conscripts to serve in Australian territories. Curtin recognised that the restriction of the Australian conscripts to Australia and its territories was morally indefensible and politically unviable. To remove what
4692-516: The Pacific. Australia moved closer to New Zealand, and suggested a lesser role for the United States after the war. Washington was annoyed. Concurrently, the Curtin government enacted the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 , under which Australia accepted the dominion status which Britain had conferred in 1930, but which the Australian federal government had not accepted until then. The Adoption Act took effect retroactively as of 3 September 1939,
4794-615: The Representation Board. Students elect their representatives annually in September. Major Groups that contest elections include Illuminate, consisting of broadly left-wing Independent students ; Left Action, aligned with Socialist Alternative ; groups aligned with the Labor Right ; and Joke Ticket's , from various political leanings. The Guild currently has an Illuminate majority. As of 2023, Curtin University's basketball teams,
4896-679: The South-West Pacific Area as the Governor-General proclaims as being territories associated with the defence of Australia". The stress of the war and especially this bitter internal battle within Labor took a great toll on Curtin's health, which had never been robust even at the best of times. He had suffered all of his life from stress-related illnesses, and depression; he was also a heavy smoker. Curtin made very heavy use of newspapers and broadcast media, especially through press conferences, speeches, and newsreels. Australians gained
4998-559: The State Government. The Department of Training and Workforce Development established the Muresk Institute as a multi-tenanted, multi-functional facility for training, higher education, research, professional development and learning extension. Muresk Institute offers a wide range of nationally accredited courses, as well as workshops and professional development, hand-picked from leading training providers and industry experts across
5100-472: The Western Australian Institute of Technology. The four people who drove its establishment were Lesley Phillips, who was Superintendent of Technical Education from 1943 to 1948; George Hayman, who held the same position from 1948 to 1962; T. L. Robertson, Director of Education; and Haydn Williams, Director of Technical Education. Its nucleus comprised the tertiary programs of the Perth Technical College , which opened in 1900. The university's Bentley campus
5202-412: The age of 13 and became involved in the labour movement in Melbourne . He joined the Labor Party at a young age and was also involved with the Victorian Socialist Party . He became state secretary of the Timberworkers' Union in 1911 and federal president in 1914. Curtin was a leader of the "No" campaign during the 1916 referendum on overseas conscription, and was briefly jailed for refusing to attend
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#17328808106675304-487: The age of 14 years, 16 pounds where there were one or two other children, and 17 pounds 10 shillings in cases of three or more children. These amounts included an additional allowance of 25 shillings per week in respect of the period four weeks before and four weeks after the birth, to be paid after the birth of the child. That same year, eligibility for Child Endowment was extended to children in Government institutions, to Aboriginal children who lived for six months per year on
5406-416: The basis that he promise to give up alcohol, which he subsequently did. Although Labor made little progress at the 1937 election , by 1939 Labor's position had vastly improved. Curtin led Labor to a five-seat swing in the 1940 election , which resulted in a hung parliament. In that election, Curtin's own seat of Fremantle had been in doubt. United Australia Party challenger Frederick Lee appeared to have won
5508-399: The chance to share authority with MacArthur, refused to offend his vanity, drew him as close as he could. Of Curtin's military decisions, it was the cleverest, most fruitful, most abidingly successful. By mid-1942, the results of the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway had averted the perceived threat of invasion. Despite the "beat Germany first" policy, 346,000 Americans were fighting in
5610-533: The co-location research facilities of the Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC), which also houses offices of CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering and National Measurement Institute. The ARRC is in the Technology Park Bentley, adjacent to the main Bentley campus. Some university staff, researchers and students on practicum work in other locations, such as the Oral Health Centre of WA (OHCWA) in Nedlands and at Royal Perth Hospital , amongst other organisations. Curtin has two bus stations , connected to
5712-588: The country. Training delivered on site includes the Diploma of Agribusiness Management, Diploma of Agriculture and other industry-driven short courses. Curtin University offers an Associate Degree in Agribusiness at Muresk and at the Geraldton Universities Centre, with the intensive laboratory elements delivered at Muresk. Muresk Institute is home to Western Australia’s first demonstration SMART Farm which uses cloud-based technology, sensors and global positioning systems to provide farmers with data to make highly informed choices and improve efficiency. Muresk Institute
5814-435: The deputy leader of the party since 1931 who had been closely associated with the economic policies of the Scullin government. This led left wing factions and trade unions to support Curtin, in an attempt to block Forde from getting the leadership. With their support, Curtin was able to defeat Forde by just one vote to become Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition . The groups that had supported Curtin did so on
5916-507: The door to the vast manpower of China and the jumping-off fields for the devastation of Japanese cities. Multitudes of the finest lives of Australia, Britain, and America would have been saved; the long years of toil, death, and separation, which assuredly stretch ahead, would have been shortened." Curtin formed a close working relationship with the Allied Supreme Commander in the South West Pacific Area , General Douglas MacArthur . Curtin realised that Australia would be ignored unless it had
6018-445: The economy and resources for five years after the war was over. The 1944 Australian Referendum contained one referendum question: "Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944'?" Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944 was known as the 14 powers, or 14 points referendum. It sought to give
6120-426: The elderly and infirm were increased. In 1942, temporary public employees became eligible to apply to join the Commonwealth superannuation scheme if they had been employed for no less than five years and were certified as having indefinite future employment, while the Commonwealth Employees' Furlough Act of 1943 provided long service leave for all temporary Commonwealth employees. In 1943, the Universities Commission
6222-542: The first child to any person qualified to receive unemployment or sickness benefit having the custody, care and control of one or more children under the age of 16. In 1945, Curtin ordered the preparation of the White Paper on Full Employment in Australia . The White Paper was the defining document of the official economic policy in Australia until the 1970s. For the first time, the Australian government accepted an obligation to guarantee full employment and to intervene as necessary to implement that guarantee. Curtin went into
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#17328808106676324-508: The following two years moving around country Victoria, as his father managed pubs in Dromana , Drouin , and Mount Macedon . Curtin attended the local state schools, ending his formal education in 1898 at the age of 13. In early 1899, Curtin began working as an office boy at a weekly magazine called The Rambler , earning five shillings per week. His employer was the artist and writer Norman Lindsay , who had also grown up in Creswick and knew his family. The magazine did not last long, and over
6426-412: The following years Curtin held down a series of short-term jobs, including as a copy boy at The Age , a potter's apprentice, and a houseboy at a gentlemen's club . These were interspersed with periods of unemployment. He did not secure a permanent job until he was 18, taking up a position as an estimates clerk with the Titan Manufacturing Company in South Melbourne in September 1903. By that time he
6528-506: The fullest say in the direction of the Democracies' fighting plan. Without any inhibitions of any kind, I make it clear that Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom. We know the problems that the United Kingdom faces. We know the dangers of dispersal of strength, but we know too, that Australia can go and Britain can still hold on. We are, therefore, determined that Australia shall not go, and we shall exert all our energies towards
6630-402: The general conflict. By that it is not meant that any one of the other theatres of war is of less importance than the Pacific, but that Australia asks for a concerted plan evoking the greatest strength at the Democracies' disposal, determined upon hurling Japan back. The Australian Government, therefore regards the Pacific struggle as primarily one in which the United States and Australia must have
6732-451: The government power, over a period of five years, to legislate on monopolies, corporations, trusts , national health, family allowances, freedom of speech , religion, ex-servicemen rehabilitation, the ability to legislate for Indigenous Australians , and safeguards against the abuse of legislative power. The referendum was defeated, receiving a majority only in Western Australia and South Australia. Nationally overall, 54 percent voted against
6834-479: The hazards of the conflict but threw himself into his work with an utter devotion which at length laid him low and at last called for the supreme sacrifice. We pay him today the homage of a grateful people as one whose name will live forever more in the land he loved and among the free peoples of the world. Bearing his coffin from the King's Hall were Opposition Leader Robert Menzies , and former prime ministers Billy Hughes , Earle Page and James Scullin . His body
6936-406: The international situation. He summoned Coles and Wilson and made them promise that if he named Curtin prime minister, they would support him for the remainder of the Parliament to end the instability in government. The independents agreed, and Curtin was sworn in as prime minister on 7 October, aged 56. He became the first and only prime minister to come from Western Australia. On 8 December 1941,
7038-429: The leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most notable for leading the country through the majority of World War II , including all but the last few weeks of the war in the Pacific . Curtin's leadership skills and personal character were acclaimed by his political contemporaries and he is frequently ranked as one of Australia's greatest prime ministers and political leaders. Curtin left school at
7140-431: The leader of the Country Party , as Menzies' replacement, even though the UAP was the senior partner in the Coalition. Curtin adroitly refused calls from his own caucus to bring about the defeat of the government through a motion of no confidence . Curtin had refused Menzies' initial offer to form a wartime " national government ", partly because he feared that it would split the Labor Party, although he did agree to join
7242-429: The left eye, which remained noticeable throughout his life. It was largely a cosmetic defect, but he was quite self-conscious about it. According to his biographer David Day , it had "a considerable psychological effect" on him, and likely exacerbated his natural shyness. Curtin lived in Creswick until 1890, when his father retired from the police. His father suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis and syphilis , and
7344-553: The loss, Curtin became the advocate for the Western Australian Government with the Commonwealth Grants Commission . He stood for his old seat in 1934 after Watson announced his retirement for the second time, and was able to win it back. In 1935, when Scullin resigned as Labor Leader, Curtin stood in the election to replace him, although he was not expected to win. His opponent was Frank Forde ,
7446-548: The nation on 16 February, "can only be described as Australia's Dunkirk. It will be recalled that the fall of Dunkirk initiated the Battle for Britain. The fall of Singapore opens the Battle for Australia. On its issue depends not merely the fate of this Commonwealth but the frontier of the United States of America and, indeed, all the Americas and, therefore, in a large measure the fate of the British-speaking world." The Japanese threat
7548-426: The official trade union newspaper. He settled in the suburb of Cottesloe where his residence is now heritage-listed as " John Curtin's House ". He enjoyed the less pressured life of Western Australia and his political views gradually moderated. He joined the Australian Journalists' Association (AJA) in 1917 and was elected its Western Australian President in 1920. He wore his AJA badge (WA membership #56) every day he
7650-585: The outbreak of World War II. Although politically a product of the government's policy of re-orientation towards the United States, constitutionally, this marked the moment that Australia became an independent nation with a separate Crown , no longer subject to the supremacy of British law and the British Crown. The Curtin government agreed that the Australian Army's I Corps – centred on the 6th and 7th Divisions – would be transferred from North Africa to
7752-437: The postmodernist Niall Lucy , writer Elizabeth Jolley and journalist Robert Duffield . The broadcaster Erica Underwood was the first woman to serve on the main council in 1974 when it was the council of the Western Australian Institute of Technology . Curtin has become active in research and partnerships overseas, particularly in mainland China, and has received funding from major Chinese companies, such as Tencent . It
7854-519: The provision of faculty, international, postgraduate and equity representatives and the professional support service Student Assist. The guild operates most food and beverage outlets on campus, including Guild Cafés (Central, Engineering, Library), Angazi, Concept Coffee Co and Mallokup food outlets. Other commercial services include G-Mart, Curtin University's general store , printing, stationery and news outlet and The Tav. The guild operates and funds all Curtin student clubs and societies. It also runs
7956-456: The question in the referendum. By 1944—a time when he was travelling to and from London and Washington for meetings with Churchill, Roosevelt and other Allied leaders—Curtin had already developed heart disease . He had a heart attack in November 1944, and did not return to work until January 1945. With the end of the war in sight, his health began to deteriorate seriously and at a rapid pace,
8058-676: The same structure and unit curriculum as those at the Bentley campus. Curtin University opened its fourth international campus in Mauritius on 3 May 2018 on the campus of Charles Telfair Institute in Moka south of Port Louis . Curtin University Sydney (Curtin Sydney) was established on 20 June 2005. The first campus was in The Rocks area. It later moved to the suburb of Chippendale , where it occupied
8160-703: The same structure and unit curriculum as those at the Bentley campus. Curtin University Dubai is accredited by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). The academic qualifications Curtin grants are certified by KHDA and recognised in the Emirate of Dubai by all public and private entities. Curtin's largest international campus is in Miri , Sarawak , Malaysia. Curtin's operations in Miri began in February 1999. In 2002,
8262-486: The seat on the second count after most of independent Guildford Clarke's preferences flowed to him, and it was not until the final counting of preferential votes that Curtin knew he had won the seat. In September 1939, the Second World War commenced when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. In line with the king's declaration of war, Prime Minister Robert Menzies declared war on Germany and announced Australia's support for
8364-476: The second count. Re-elected in Labor's sweeping election victory the following year , he expected to be named as a member of Prime Minister James Scullin 's Cabinet, but disapproval of his heavy drinking habit meant that he remained on the backbench. William Watson chose to briefly come out of retirement in 1931 , and easily defeated Curtin in an election that saw Labor collapse to just 14 seats in Parliament. After
8466-494: The shaping of a plan, with the United States as its keystone, which will give to our country some confidence of being able to hold out until the tide of battle swings against the enemy. This speech was one of the most important in Australia's history, marking a turning point in Australia's relationship with its founding country, the United Kingdom. Many felt that Prime Minister Curtin was abandoning Australia's traditional ties to
8568-519: The stresses of the war. Many of his post-war reconstruction plans were implemented by his successor Ben Chifley , who in 1946 led the ALP to consecutive victories for the first time. Curtin was born in Creswick , Victoria , on 8 January 1885. He was christened "John Joseph Ambrose", although his middle names were not recorded on his birth certificate and he stopped using them in later life. Within his family he
8670-511: The ultimate sacrifice: "His Calvary was the anguish of a man of peace who loathed war with all his heart and soul. A one who spent his life in an attempt to promote human understanding, and journeyed oft in that attempt. And yet who, by a strange irony of fate, was chosen by destiny to lead the nation in her hour of direst peril... when the hosts of the North came down like a mighty flood, confident in strength and exalted in victory, he did not shrink from
8772-525: The university's teaching and research was divided into five faculties (previously known as divisions), which each include a number of schools. These schools were consolidated in 2020 during a period of staff cuts. These are: The main library building is the TL Robertson Library, on the Bentley campus. It opened in 1972. After the building was extended in the 1990s, the university began a major refurbishment in 2021, due for completion in 2023. Also on
8874-488: The war effort had been troubled by attitudes swinging from "she'll be right" to gossip-driven panic. By 1943, when the threat of Japanese invasion had passed, Curtin increasingly returned to a commitment to the British Empire. Downplaying nationalism, he said that Australia comprised "seven million Britishers". He saw the United States as a predatory economic and military power that would threaten Australia's own ambitions in
8976-615: The war was conducted. He placed Australian forces under the command of the American general Douglas MacArthur , with whom he formed a close relationship, and successfully negotiated the issue of overseas conscription that had split his party during World War I. The ALP won almost two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives at the 1943 election , which remains a party record. Curtin died in office in July 1945, after months of ill health attributed to
9078-766: Was assessed as medically unable to resume his police duties. He was offered a choice between an annual pension and a lump-sum pay-out, and opted for the latter. He subsequently moved his family to inner Melbourne , taking over the lease of a pub on Little Lonsdale Street and moving into rented accommodation in Brunswick . Curtin began his education at St Francis' Boys School, a Christian Brothers school attached to St Francis' Church . He later briefly attended St Bridget's School in Fitzroy . He also attended Macedon Primary School in Macedon . In 1894, Curtin and his family moved to Charlton ,
9180-531: Was employed as state secretary of the Timberworkers' Union . He was elected federal president of the union in 1914. During World War I he was a militant anti-conscriptionist; he was briefly imprisoned in December 1916 for refusing to attend a compulsory medical examination, even though he knew he would fail the exam due to his very poor eyesight. He also stood (unsuccessfully) as the Labor candidate for Balaclava in
9282-517: Was established to exempt students from war service to undertake or continue university studies and to assist those students by exempting them from fees and, subject to a means test, by providing them with living allowances. "Asiatics" who were subjects of Australia became eligible for a pension in 1941, and eligibility was extended the following year to Pacific Islanders known as "Kanakas", and from that July that year "Aboriginal natives" of Australia became eligible for pensions if they were not subject to
9384-413: Was exempted from income tax. In 1942, eligibility for maternity allowances was extended to Aboriginal women who were exempted from State laws relating to the control of Aboriginal natives and who were considered suitable to receive the benefits. From 1943, the income test for maternity allowances was abolished and the rate of the allowance was increased to 15 pounds where there were no other children under
9486-649: Was further underlined on 19 February, when Japan bombed Darwin , the first of many air raids on northern Australia . Churchill attempted to divert I Corps to reinforce British troops in Burma, without Australian approval. Curtin insisted that it return to Australia. Roosevelt supported Churchill, offering to send an American division to Australia instead, while the Chief of the Australian General Staff , Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee , threatened to resign if his advice
9588-603: Was his legal wife and did not receive a pension in her own right". From June 1942, Widows' Pension Class B was paid to widows without dependent children who were aged 50 and over. The term "widow" included de facto widows who had lived with the deceased spouse for at least three years prior to his death and had been maintained by him. Eligibility was also extended to deserted de jure wives who had been deserted for at least six months, divorced women who had not remarried and women whose husbands were in hospitals for those considered to be insane. From July that year, Widows' Pension Class B
9690-439: Was ignored and the troops were diverted to Burma. Curtin prevailed, although he agreed that the main body of the 6th Division could garrison Ceylon . In the 1943 Australian federal election campaign the following year, Curtin was forced to publicly defend his decision. "Had we held Rangoon , or had we even held the district, of Akyab ", media magnate Keith Murdoch wrote in an editorial on 13 August 1943, "we would have held
9792-616: Was known as "Jack". Curtin was the oldest of four children – his younger brother George was born in 1887, followed by his younger sisters Molly and Hannah in 1889 and 1891. His parents were both born in County Cork , Ireland. His father, John Curtin Sr., had arrived in South Australia in 1873, with two of his brothers. His brothers settled in Adelaide , but he moved on to Victoria and found work as
9894-505: Was made a university, under provisions of the WA Institute of Technology Amendment Act 1986 . Curtin University took its name from former Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin . In 1987, Curtin University of Technology became Western Australia's third university and Australia's first university of technology. By the mid-1990s, it had enrolments of 20,000 students, making it one of Australia's largest universities. In 1993, Curtin founded
9996-601: Was now a major obstacle to the government's re-election prospects, he moved to remove the restriction. While there was support from the Communist Party of Australia and its sympathisers, there was trenchant opposition from the Catholic Church, represented by B. A. Santamaria and Arthur Calwell . Ultimately, the Defence Act was amended so that conscripts could be deployed outside of Australia to "such other territories in
10098-548: Was prime minister. In addition to his stance on labour rights, Curtin was also a strong advocate for the rights of women and children. In 1927, the Federal Government convened a Royal Commission on Child Endowment, and Curtin was appointed as a member of that commission. Curtin stood for Parliament a second time in 1925 , this time for Fremantle , although he lost heavily to the incumbent William Watson . Watson retired in 1928 , and Curtin ran again, this time winning on
10200-642: Was refurbished in 1977, creating the Theatre Upstairs above the main stage. After the Bentley Campus was expanded, in 2017 Hayman Theatre moved to Building 302. In April 2017 Curtin University established its newest campus in Dubai at Dubai International Academic City . Australian Ambassador to the UAE HE Arthur Spyrou officially opened the campus on 10 September 2017. Curtin University Dubai courses use
10302-693: Was selected in 1962 and officially opened in 1966. The first students enrolled in 1967. Haydn Williams was the first director of WAIT. In 1969, three more institutions were merged with WAIT: the Kalgoorlie School of Mines (opened in 1902), the Muresk Agricultural College (opened in 1926), and the Schools of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy (in operation since the 1950s at Shenton Park ). Between 1966 and 1976 WAIT experienced an expansion from 2,000 to 10,000 students. In December 1986 WAIT
10404-574: Was the family's primary breadwinner, as his father was a virtual invalid. As a youth, Curtin was a talented sportsman. Between 1903 and 1907, he played as a half-forward flanker for the Brunswick Football Club in the semi-professional Victorian Football Association (VFA). His teammates gave him the nickname "Bumble". His nephew Claude played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Curtin also played cricket for
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