Prime Minister Curtin greets General MacArthur, 1943

Description

This is a photograph of Prime Minister John Curtin and United States General Douglas MacArthur greeting each other in Sydney on 7 June 1943. MacArthur is wearing army uniform including a leather bomber jacket and his own specially designed peaked cap while Curtin is in a pinstriped suit.

Educational value

This resource is useful because it:

• This asset indicates the warm regard and friendship the two men felt for each other - they worked closely together in the middle of the Second World War, Curtin as Prime Minister of Australia and MacArthur as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the South-West Pacific.
• This asset represents the alliance between the two men and their countries - Prime Minister Curtin 'turned to America' and away from the United Kingdom to seek assistance in 1942, the darkest year of war when Australia was under threat of invasion by the Japanese; the USA responded by sending MacArthur to Australia in March 1942 as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the South-West Pacific.
• This asset was taken when MacArthur flew to Sydney for a conference to discuss Allied strategy in the South-West Pacific zone with Prime Minister Curtin - the meeting between the two men lasted for more than five hours and was marked by the 'greatest degree of cordiality'; after the meeting, Curtin told newspaper reporters that he thought the danger of invasion by Japan was now past.
• This asset shows the clothing worn by two significant men in the Pacific theatre in the Second World War - the Prime Minister of Australia in a basic pinstriped suit and the smart uniform of the US General; MacArthur had his cap especially made (it wasn't standard US Army issue) and took particular care with his uniform.