John Curtin was a labour man and this diary reveals his whole hearted commitment to the cause and paints a picture of the life of a remarkable man.

While this is not an exhaustive account of Curtin's activities, it does provide a detailed listing of where he was and what he was doing at different times in his life. It is hoped to add entries to the diary over time, allowing a fuller, but alas never complete, account.

The diary entries were compiled from a variety of sources. The WA labour newspaper, the Westralian Worker, was used extensively, together with other sources such as family papers, photographs and published biographies. Once Curtin was elected to parliament, and particularly after he rose to be a significant national figure, state newspapers, parliamentary digests, abstracts of speeches, minutes of Caucus meetings and reports of press conferences became more important as sources of information.

The diary begins with John Curtin moving from Melbourne to Perth in February 1917 to take up the post of editor of the labour weekly, the Westralian Worker, and ends with his death in July 1945 while still serving his country as Prime Minister.