John Curtin Oration
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Eighty years ago acting Prime Minister Frank Forde rose in the House of Representatives and told a still and sombre chamber:
“The Captain has been stricken in sight of the shore.”
Through the dark days of conflict, Curtin had urged the men and women of Australia forward to:
“Victory in war, victory for the peace”.
He would not live to see either, yet no Australian did more to achieve both.