Joseph Benedict Chifley (1885 - 1951)

Born 22 Sep 1885 in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Gibson (McKenzie) Chifley — married 6 Jun 1914 in Presbyterian Church, Glebe, New South Wales, Australia

Died 13 Jun 1951 at age 65 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

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Biography

Ben Chifley is Notable.

Joseph Benedict "Ben" Chifley was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, on 22 September 1885^[1], the eldest of the three sons of Patrick Chifley (1862-1921), a native-born blacksmith, and wife Mary Anne, née Corrigan (1856?-1929), from Ireland.

At the age of 5 Ben went to live on his grandfather's farm at Limekilns, near Bathurst. Although his father visited him occasionally, he rarely saw his mother or brothers over the next nine years. He then spent two years at the Patrician Brothers School, Bathurst, before starting full-time work as a cashier's assistant in a general store.

He joined the NSW Government Railways as a shop boy at 17, then worked as a cleaner and fireman before becoming a locomotive driver. In 1912 he became an advocate for his union, the Locomotive Enginemen's Association. He was dismissed from the Railways because of his part in the union's national strike in 1917, but was reinstated as a cleaner on appeal.

Family

On 6 June 1914 Joseph Benedict "Ben" Chifley married Elizabeth Gibson McKenzie at Glebe, New South Wales^[2] They had no children.

After deciding to fight for unionists' rights by entering parliament, he prepared himself by learning economics and finance. He became a highly competent and successful private investor and financial manager.

He was elected as the Federal Member for the NSW rural seat of Macquarie in 1928, lost in 1931 and returned in 1940. He was Treasurer from 1941 to 1945, and replaced John Curtin as Prime Minister and Labor Party Leader in 1945. He lost the 1949 and 1951 elections and died in Canberra on 13 June 1951.^[3]

He was buried in the Catholic portion of the Bathurst Cemetery.^[4]

See also

http://en.wikipedia.org^[5]
http://adb.anu.edu.au^[6]
https://www.nma.gov.au/^[7]
https://primeministers.moadoph.gov.au^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales BDM - Reg. No. #14114/1885, Births. Parents Patrick and Mary A
2. ↑ New South Wales BDM - Reg. No. #5942/1914, Marriages
3. ↑ A.C.T Historic Death Index Reg. No. #20001618 on 13 June 1951 showing parents Patrick Joseph Chifley and Mary Anne Chifley
4. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images memorial page for Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 Sep 1885–13 Jun 1951), Find A Grave: Memorial #11088593, citing Bathurst Cemetery, Bathurst, Bathurst Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia ; Maintained by Find A Grave findagrave.com
5. ↑ Wikipedia entry on Ben Chifley en.wikipedia.org
6. ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography - Joseph Benedict (Ben) Chifley adb.anu.edu.au
7. ↑ National Museum of Australia - Ben Chifley nma.gov.au
8. ↑ Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) - Ben Chifley primeministers.moadoph.gov.au