Menzies Government (1939–1941)
Encyclopedia
The Menzies Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
. Menzies led the United Australia Party
in the Australian Parliament from 1939–1941. Menzies served a later and longer term as Prime Minister as leader of a successor party, the Liberal Party of Australia
from 1949–1966 (see Menzies Government (1949–1966)
).
(UAP) was formed in 1931 as a response to the more radical proposals of Labor Party members to deal with the Great Depression. Led by former Labor minister and fiscal conservative Joseph Lyons
, the new party swept into office in 1931 against the Australian Labor Party
led by James Scullin
. Labor had split over the issue of economic policy, with Lang Labor
seeking to cease overseas debt repayments.
Lyons served seven years as Prime Minister, overseeing Australia's recovery from the Great Depression
. Defence issues became increasingly dominant in public affairs with the rise of Fascism
in Europe and militant Japan in Asia. Lyons negotiated a coalition with the Country Party, led by Earle Page, following the 1934 election, however the parties continued to differ on some questions of economic policy: the Country Party wanted low tariffs and opposed introduction of a national unemployment insurance scheme.
On 7 April 1939, with the storm clouds of the Second World War gathering in Europe and the Pacific, Joseph Lyons became the first Prime Minister of Australia to die in office, suffering a heart attack. The UAP's Deputy leader, Robert Menzies, now openly antipathetic to Country Party leader Earle Page, had resigned in March, citing the coalition's failure to implement a plan for national insurance as the cause for his resignation. In the absence of a UAP deputy, the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie
, appointed Country Party leader Earl Page as his temporary replacement, pending the selection of Lyons' successor by the UAP.
The Country Party under Earle Page announced that they would refuse to work in coalition under a Menzies led government. The UAP selected Menzies to succeed Lyons regardless.
for the first time on 26 April 1939, following the death of Joseph Lyons. He led a minority United Australia Party
government – Country Party leader Earle Page
had temporarily served as Prime Minister after the death of Lyons, but he refused to serve in a government led by Menzies, and withdrew the support of the Country Party from coalition with the UAP.
In addition to the office of Prime Minister, Menzies served as Treasurer. The First Menzies Ministry
included the ageing former Prime Minister Billy Hughes
and the young future Prime Minister Harold Holt
. Menzies tried and failed to have the issue of national insurance examined by a committee of parliamentarians. Though no longer in formal coalition, his government survived because the Country Party preferred a UAP government to that of a Labor government.
The growing threat of war dominated politics through 1939. Menzies supported British policy against Hitler's Germany (negotiate for peace, but prepare for war) and – fearing Japanese intentions in the Pacific – established independent embassies in Tokyo and Washington in order to receive independent advice about developments.
On 3 September 1939, the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies
, made a national radio broadcast:
Australia had entered World War II
. Earle Page
, as leader of the Country and John Curtin
as leader of the Labor Party both pledged support to the declaration of war. Australia was ill-prepared for war. A National Security Act was passed. The recruitment of a volunteer military force for service at home and abroad was announced, the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, and a citizen militia organised for local defence. Troubled by Britain's failure to increase defences at Singapore, Menzies was cautious in committing troops to Europe. In 1940–41, Australian forces played prominent roles in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre
, including Operation Compass
, the Siege of Tobruk
, the Greek campaign, the Battle of Crete
, the Syria-Lebanon campaign
and the Second Battle of El Alamein
.
A special War Cabinet was created after war was declared – initially composed of Prime Minister Menzies and five senior ministers (RG Casey
, GA Street, Senator McLeay, HS Gullet and World War I
Prime Minister Billy Hughes
).
In January 1940, Menzies dispatched potential leadership rival Richard Casey
to Washington as Australia's first "Minister to the United States". In a consequent by-election, the UAP suffered a heavy defeat and Menzies re-entered coalition negotiations with the Country Party. In March 1940, troubled negotiations were concluded with the Country Party to re-enter Coalition with the UAP. The replacemnt of Earl Page as leader by Archie Cameron
allowed Menzies to reach accommodation. A new Coalition ministry was formed including the Country Party's Archie Cameron, Harold Thorby and John McEwen
, as well as junior ministers Arthur Fadden and Horace Nock.
In Europe, the Phoney War gave way to a succession of Allied defeats, as Germany over ran the Low Countries
, Norway and France. By June 1940, the British Empire
stood alone against Germany. Menzies called for an ‘all in’ war effort and with the support of Curtin, amended the National Security Act to extend government powers to tax, acquire property, control businesses and the labour force and allow for conscription of men for the "defence of Australia". Essington Lewis, the head of Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd was appointed Director-General of Munitions Supply to assist with mobilisation of national resources.
With the 1940 election looming, Menzies lost his Chief of the General Staff and three loyal ministers in a Royal Australian Airforce crash at Canberra airport. In response, Menzies recalled Harold Holt
, a minister who had resigned to join the army. The Labor Party meanwhile experienced a split along pro and anti Communist lines over policy towards the Soviet Union for its co-operation with Nazi Germany in the invasion of Poland. The Communist Party of Australia
(CPA) opposed and sought to disrupt Australia's "imperialist" war effort against Nazism in the early stages of the War. Menzies banned the CPA after the fall of France in 1940, but by 1941 Stalin was forced to join the allied cause when Hitler reneged on the Pact and invaded the USSR. The USSR came to bear the brunt of the carnage of Hitler's war machine and the Communist Party in Australia lost its early war stigma as a result. In Menzies later term of office, anti-communism became an important plank of his foreign policy.
Labor narrowly lost the September 1940 Election. The UAP–Country Party coalition and the Labor parties won 36 seats each and the Menzies Government was forced to rely upon the support of two Independents, Alex Wilson and Arthur Coles to continue in office.
Menzies proposed an all party unity government to break the impasse, but the Labor Party refused to join. John Curtin agreed instead to take a seat on a newly created Advisory War Council in October 1940. New Country Party leader Arthur Fadden
became Treasurer and Menzies unhappily conceded to allow Earle Page back into his ministry.
In January 1941, Menzies flew to Britain to discuss the weakness of Singapore's defences and sat with Winston Churchill
's British War Cabinet. En route he inspected Singapore's defences – finding the alarmingly inadequate – and visited Australian troops in the field Mid-East. Menzies was well received by the British press. He at times clashed with Churchill in the War Cabinet, and sought assurances for Australian involvement in the Greek campaign. He was unable to achieve significant assurances for increased commitment to Singapore's defences, but undertook morale boosting excursions to war affected cities and factories. He spent eight successive weekend at Chequers with Churchill, addressed Parliament, stayed with the King, visited Dublin to lobby Ireland to join the war effort and generally raised awareness in Britain of Australia's contribution to its war effort. He Returned to Australia via Canada and the United States - addressing the Canadian parliament and lobbying President Roosevelt for more arms production. After four months, Menzies returned to Australia to face a lack of enthusiasm for his global travels and a war-time minority government under ever increasing strain.
In Menzies's absence, John Curtin had co-operated with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Fadden of the Country Party in preparing Australia for the expected Pacific War
. With the threat of Japan imminent and with the Australian army suffering badly in the Greek
and Crete
campaigns, Menzies re-organised his ministry and announced multiple multi-party committees to advise on war and economic policy. Government critics however called for an all-party government. In August, Cabinet decided that Menzies should travel back to Britain to represent Australia in the War Cabinet – but this time the Labor caucus refused to support the plan. Menzies announced to his Cabinet that he thought he should resign and advise the Governor General to invite John Curtin to form Government. The Cabinet instead insisted he approach Curtin again to form a war cabinet. Unable to secure Curtin's support, and with an unworkable parliamentary majority, Menzies then resigned as Prime Minister and leader of the UAP on 29 August 1941.
Billy Hughes
replaced Menzies as leader of the UAP and the UAP-Country Party Coalition held office for another month with Arthur Fadden
of the Country Party as Prime Minister, before the independents switched allegiance. On 3 October, the independents, Coles and Wilson, voted with Labor to defeat the government. John Curtin
was sworn in as Prime Minister o 7 October 1941. Eight weeks later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
.
. Menzies called a conference of conservative parties and other groups opposed to the ruling Australian Labor Party
which met in Canberra on 13 October 1944, and again in Albury
in December 1944. The formation of a new party – the Liberal Party of Australia
– was formally announced at Sydney Town Hall
on 31 August 1945.
After an initial loss to Labor at the 1946 election
, Menzies led the Liberals to victory at the 1949 election
against the incumbent Labor government led by Ben Chifley
, and the Coalition stayed in office for a record 23 years.
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
. Menzies led the United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
in the Australian Parliament from 1939–1941. Menzies served a later and longer term as Prime Minister as leader of a successor party, the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
from 1949–1966 (see Menzies Government (1949–1966)
Menzies Government (1949–1966)
The Menzies Government was the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from 1949–1966. Menzies led the Liberal-Country Coalition to...
).
Background
The United Australia PartyUnited Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
(UAP) was formed in 1931 as a response to the more radical proposals of Labor Party members to deal with the Great Depression. Led by former Labor minister and fiscal conservative Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
, the new party swept into office in 1931 against the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
led by James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
. Labor had split over the issue of economic policy, with Lang Labor
Jack Lang
Jack Lang may refer to:*Jack Lang *Jack Lang *Jack Lang , former American football player*Jack Lang , American sportswriter...
seeking to cease overseas debt repayments.
Lyons served seven years as Prime Minister, overseeing Australia's recovery from the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Defence issues became increasingly dominant in public affairs with the rise of Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
in Europe and militant Japan in Asia. Lyons negotiated a coalition with the Country Party, led by Earle Page, following the 1934 election, however the parties continued to differ on some questions of economic policy: the Country Party wanted low tariffs and opposed introduction of a national unemployment insurance scheme.
On 7 April 1939, with the storm clouds of the Second World War gathering in Europe and the Pacific, Joseph Lyons became the first Prime Minister of Australia to die in office, suffering a heart attack. The UAP's Deputy leader, Robert Menzies, now openly antipathetic to Country Party leader Earle Page, had resigned in March, citing the coalition's failure to implement a plan for national insurance as the cause for his resignation. In the absence of a UAP deputy, the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie
Lord Gowrie
Lord Gowrie may refer* Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie* William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie...
, appointed Country Party leader Earl Page as his temporary replacement, pending the selection of Lyons' successor by the UAP.
The Country Party under Earle Page announced that they would refuse to work in coalition under a Menzies led government. The UAP selected Menzies to succeed Lyons regardless.
Terms in office
Robert Gordon Menzies was sworn in as Prime Minister of AustraliaPrime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
for the first time on 26 April 1939, following the death of Joseph Lyons. He led a minority United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
government – Country Party leader Earle Page
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:...
had temporarily served as Prime Minister after the death of Lyons, but he refused to serve in a government led by Menzies, and withdrew the support of the Country Party from coalition with the UAP.
In addition to the office of Prime Minister, Menzies served as Treasurer. The First Menzies Ministry
First Menzies Ministry
The First Menzies Ministry was the twenty-sixth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 26 April 1939 to 14 March 1940.United Australia Party*Rt Hon Robert Menzies, KC MP: Prime Minister, Treasurer...
included the ageing former Prime Minister Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
and the young future Prime Minister Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
. Menzies tried and failed to have the issue of national insurance examined by a committee of parliamentarians. Though no longer in formal coalition, his government survived because the Country Party preferred a UAP government to that of a Labor government.
The growing threat of war dominated politics through 1939. Menzies supported British policy against Hitler's Germany (negotiate for peace, but prepare for war) and – fearing Japanese intentions in the Pacific – established independent embassies in Tokyo and Washington in order to receive independent advice about developments.
On 3 September 1939, the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, made a national radio broadcast:
Australia had entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Earle Page
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:...
, as leader of the Country and John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
as leader of the Labor Party both pledged support to the declaration of war. Australia was ill-prepared for war. A National Security Act was passed. The recruitment of a volunteer military force for service at home and abroad was announced, the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, and a citizen militia organised for local defence. Troubled by Britain's failure to increase defences at Singapore, Menzies was cautious in committing troops to Europe. In 1940–41, Australian forces played prominent roles in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre
Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
The African, Mediterranean and Middle East theatres encompassed the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...
, including Operation Compass
Operation Compass
Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The attack was a complete success...
, the Siege of Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...
, the Greek campaign, the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
, the Syria-Lebanon campaign
Syria-Lebanon campaign
The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, in June–July 1941, during World War II. Time Magazine referred to the fighting as a "mixed show" while it was taking place and the campaign remains little known, even...
and the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
.
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, GA Street, Senator McLeay, HS Gullet and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Prime Minister Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
).
In January 1940, Menzies dispatched potential leadership rival Richard Casey
Richard Casey
Richard Casey may refer to:*Richard Casey, Baron Casey , Australian politician and diplomat*Richard C. Casey , U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York...
to Washington as Australia's first "Minister to the United States". In a consequent by-election, the UAP suffered a heavy defeat and Menzies re-entered coalition negotiations with the Country Party. In March 1940, troubled negotiations were concluded with the Country Party to re-enter Coalition with the UAP. The replacemnt of Earl Page as leader by Archie Cameron
Archie Cameron
Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:...
allowed Menzies to reach accommodation. A new Coalition ministry was formed including the Country Party's Archie Cameron, Harold Thorby and John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
, as well as junior ministers Arthur Fadden and Horace Nock.
In Europe, the Phoney War gave way to a succession of Allied defeats, as Germany over ran the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, Norway and France. By June 1940, the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
stood alone against Germany. Menzies called for an ‘all in’ war effort and with the support of Curtin, amended the National Security Act to extend government powers to tax, acquire property, control businesses and the labour force and allow for conscription of men for the "defence of Australia". Essington Lewis, the head of Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd was appointed Director-General of Munitions Supply to assist with mobilisation of national resources.
With the 1940 election looming, Menzies lost his Chief of the General Staff and three loyal ministers in a Royal Australian Airforce crash at Canberra airport. In response, Menzies recalled Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
, a minister who had resigned to join the army. The Labor Party meanwhile experienced a split along pro and anti Communist lines over policy towards the Soviet Union for its co-operation with Nazi Germany in the invasion of Poland. The Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
(CPA) opposed and sought to disrupt Australia's "imperialist" war effort against Nazism in the early stages of the War. Menzies banned the CPA after the fall of France in 1940, but by 1941 Stalin was forced to join the allied cause when Hitler reneged on the Pact and invaded the USSR. The USSR came to bear the brunt of the carnage of Hitler's war machine and the Communist Party in Australia lost its early war stigma as a result. In Menzies later term of office, anti-communism became an important plank of his foreign policy.
Labor narrowly lost the September 1940 Election. The UAP–Country Party coalition and the Labor parties won 36 seats each and the Menzies Government was forced to rely upon the support of two Independents, Alex Wilson and Arthur Coles to continue in office.
Menzies proposed an all party unity government to break the impasse, but the Labor Party refused to join. John Curtin agreed instead to take a seat on a newly created Advisory War Council in October 1940. New Country Party leader Arthur Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
became Treasurer and Menzies unhappily conceded to allow Earle Page back into his ministry.
In January 1941, Menzies flew to Britain to discuss the weakness of Singapore's defences and sat with Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's British War Cabinet. En route he inspected Singapore's defences – finding the alarmingly inadequate – and visited Australian troops in the field Mid-East. Menzies was well received by the British press. He at times clashed with Churchill in the War Cabinet, and sought assurances for Australian involvement in the Greek campaign. He was unable to achieve significant assurances for increased commitment to Singapore's defences, but undertook morale boosting excursions to war affected cities and factories. He spent eight successive weekend at Chequers with Churchill, addressed Parliament, stayed with the King, visited Dublin to lobby Ireland to join the war effort and generally raised awareness in Britain of Australia's contribution to its war effort. He Returned to Australia via Canada and the United States - addressing the Canadian parliament and lobbying President Roosevelt for more arms production. After four months, Menzies returned to Australia to face a lack of enthusiasm for his global travels and a war-time minority government under ever increasing strain.
In Menzies's absence, John Curtin had co-operated with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Fadden of the Country Party in preparing Australia for the expected Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. With the threat of Japan imminent and with the Australian army suffering badly in the Greek
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
and Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
campaigns, Menzies re-organised his ministry and announced multiple multi-party committees to advise on war and economic policy. Government critics however called for an all-party government. In August, Cabinet decided that Menzies should travel back to Britain to represent Australia in the War Cabinet – but this time the Labor caucus refused to support the plan. Menzies announced to his Cabinet that he thought he should resign and advise the Governor General to invite John Curtin to form Government. The Cabinet instead insisted he approach Curtin again to form a war cabinet. Unable to secure Curtin's support, and with an unworkable parliamentary majority, Menzies then resigned as Prime Minister and leader of the UAP on 29 August 1941.
Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
replaced Menzies as leader of the UAP and the UAP-Country Party Coalition held office for another month with Arthur Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
of the Country Party as Prime Minister, before the independents switched allegiance. On 3 October, the independents, Coles and Wilson, voted with Labor to defeat the government. John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
was sworn in as Prime Minister o 7 October 1941. Eight weeks later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Demise of the United Australia Party
The UAP disintegrated after suffering a heavy defeat in the 1943 electionAustralian federal election, 1943
Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 August 1943. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin easily defeated the opposition Country Party led...
. Menzies called a conference of conservative parties and other groups opposed to the ruling Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
which met in Canberra on 13 October 1944, and again in Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
in December 1944. The formation of a new party – the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
– was formally announced at Sydney Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall
The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...
on 31 August 1945.
After an initial loss to Labor at the 1946 election
Australian federal election, 1946
Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, Menzies led the Liberals to victory at the 1949 election
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
against the incumbent Labor government led by Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
, and the Coalition stayed in office for a record 23 years.
See also
- History of AustraliaHistory of AustraliaThe History of Australia refers to the history of the area and people of Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians are believed to have first arrived on the Australian mainland by boat from the Indonesian archipelago between 40,000 to...
- History of Australia since 1945History of Australia since 1945The history of Australia since 1945 has seen long periods of economic prosperity and the introduction of an expanded and multi-ethnic immigration program, which has coincided with moves away from Britain in political, social and cultural terms and towards engagement with the United States and...
- First Menzies MinistryFirst Menzies MinistryThe First Menzies Ministry was the twenty-sixth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 26 April 1939 to 14 March 1940.United Australia Party*Rt Hon Robert Menzies, KC MP: Prime Minister, Treasurer...
- Second Menzies MinistrySecond Menzies MinistryThe Second Menzies Ministry was the twenty-seventh Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 14 March 1940 to 28 October 1940.United Australia Party–Australian Country Party Coalition...
- Third Menzies MinistryThird Menzies MinistryThe Third Menzies Ministry was the twenty-eighth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 28 October 1940 to 28 August 1941.United Australia Party–Australian Country Party Coalition...