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John Curtin came from a humble family and left school at just 13. How did this Western Australian become one of Australia’s greatest prime ministers, leading our nation through the Second World War with courage and wisdom? What lessons does his leadership offer today, and how did his era shape modern Australian society?
These are some of the questions explored in Curtin University’s new free online credential, John Curtin’s Vision: Legacy and Leadership.
Curtin Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said the free course was designed for professionals working across the private and public sectors to further their professional development.
This Curtin initiative is about more than history, it’s about inspiring future leaders through the lens of one of the nation’s most influential figures,’ Professor Hayne said. ‘The course will also benefit history enthusiasts, political scientists, journalists and educators seeking a deeper understanding of the legacy of Australia’s greatest Prime Minister.
The John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library (JCPML) is proud to have partnered with the Faculty of Humanities to develop the credential. The course content is led by lecturer in history Dr Andre Brett and JCPML’s special collections librarian and archivist Dr Nathan Hobby.
Using objects once owned by John Curtin from JCPML’s collections, Nathan appears in a series of videos telling the story of John Curtin’s life. The textbook for the credential is For Australia and Labor: A Brief Biography of John Curtin by Geoffrey Serle. Originally released as JCPML’s first publication in 1998, we have revised the book and published it as an ebook for the first time. The revised edition features references for all the quotations used, new photographs, and new formatting; it is now available through our catalogue.
The credential also draws on digitised primary sources from the JCPML catalogue and our webpages about different aspects of John Curtin’s life and career. It is free and open to the general public.
Photograph: John Curtin working at his desk on a Sunday morning, Lodge study, Canberra, 1942, JCPML00376/6.
