A National Archives exhibition developed in conjunction with the John Curtin Centre, Perth, WA.

John Curtin: A Man of Peace, A Time of War tells the story of one of Australia’s most influential Prime Ministers, and the nation he led through the darkest hours of World War II.

John Curtin was the poor country boy who became Prime Minister; the young socialist turned political pragmatist; the pacifist called upon to lead Australia in wartime. Through documents, photographs, oral histories and film footage drawn mainly from the National Archives’ collection, the exhibition explores Curtin’s story, and provides a glimpse of the social and political turmoil of Australia at war.