Australia Day, January 26th 1916. When John Curtin wrote this Australia Day letter to his future wife, Elsie Needham, he had spent the previous night at the small Victorian … Continue reading 40. Australia Day Letter from John Curtin to Elsie, 1916
New Years Honour, 1970 Before the creation of the Australian Honours system in 1975, awards under the Imperial Honours System were announced in the New Year’s list and in the Queen’s birthday list. On New Year’s Day 1970, the list … Continue reading 39. Commander of the British Empire medal awarded to Elsie Curtin, 1970
At his first Christmas as Prime Minister, John Curtin was to spend the holiday in Canberra while Elsie was with the family at home in Western Australia. Object #37 is the telegram sent by John to Elsie during this first war time Christmas … Continue reading 37. Christmas Telegram, 1941.
Handel’s Messiah is most frequently associated with Christmas, but this popular English oratorio was originally performed in the weeks before Easter. This copy of the music score belonged to Elsie Curtin, wife of Prime Minister John Curtin. Inside the front cover Elsie listed performances of Messiah and other choral works in which she sang. Most of these performances were held in the weeks before Christmas, with a few before Easter and other times, from 1909 until 1926. Continue reading “13. The Messiah: A Sacred Oratorio in Vocal Score composed by G.F. Handel.”