The inaugural John Curtin Memorial Lecture
was held at the University of Western Australia Australian Labor Party (ALP)
Branch in 1960. The lectures were conceived as an annual commemoration of
Prime Minister John Curtin (1941-1945). However, there were years when no
lecture took place. In a few instances, although there was a lecture no
copy of the speech was obtained.
From 1992 onwards the John Curtin Memorial Lecture ceased to exist at the
University of WA and was replaced by the John Curtin Memorial Breakfasts.
A paper copy of each of the lectures was kept by the Australian Labor Party
of Western Australia. In 1995 the ALP donated the original copies of these
lectures to the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library (JCPML) for its collection.
The JCPML has assumed responsibility for maintaining and preserving these
lectures for the purposes of research. The original copies of the speeches
are accessioned into the JCPML collection. To enhance access to this collection the JCPML
has now made this material available in a digital format and has provided
links to biographies on each of the lecturers.
Copyright to the lectures has been donated to the JCPML, Curtin University
of Technology.