Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He won the leadership after the death of John Curtin in 1945. His government tried to take over of all Australia's banks. This was not popular and the High Court said that it would not be allowed. Opposition leader Robert Menzies said that Chifley and the Labor Party were not strict against Communism. This is one of the main reasons why Chifley lost the 1949 election. He died soon after losing the 1951 election to Menzies.
Rt Hon Ben Chifley | |
|---|---|
| 16th Prime Minister of Australia | |
| In office 13 July 1945 – 19 December 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Forde |
| Succeeded by | Robert Menzies |
| Constituency | Macquarie (New South Wales) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 September 1885 Bathurst, New South Wales |
| Died | 13 June 1951 (aged 65) |
| Political party | Labor |
| Prime Ministers of Australia | |
|---|---|
| Barton | Deakin | Watson | Reid | Fisher | Cook | Hughes | Bruce | Scullin | Lyons | Page | Menzies | Fadden | Curtin | Forde | Chifley | Holt | McEwen | Gorton | McMahon | Whitlam | Fraser | Hawke | Keating | Howard | Rudd | Gillard | Abbott | |
Ben Chifley Media
Chifley (middle) and Bert Evatt (left) with Clement Attlee (right) at the Dominion and British Leaders Conference, London, 1946
Chifley (left) meets with Premier of South Australia Tom Playford (centre) and Governor of South Australia Sir Willoughby Norrie (right) in 1946
Chifley at the launching of the Holden 48-215 (Australia's first Made Car) on 29 November 1948
Chifley lying in state in Old Parliament House, June 1951
Ben Chifley's House at 10 Busby Street, Bathurst, now a heritage site and house museum
Mrs Elizabeth Chifley, wife of Ben Chifley
Bust of Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949 *Ben Chifley by sculptor Ken Palmer located in the Prime Minister's Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens