A Nation Mourns


		THE PRIME MINISTER IS DEAD
	At 4 a.m. on 5 July 1945, Labor Prime Minister John Curtin died from a heart attack. For four years he had led Australia through the darkest hours of World War II. His death only six weeks before the end of the Pacific War stunned the nation.	Prime Minister John Curtin's memorial service at King's Hall, Old Parliament House, Canberra, 6 July 1945. National Library of Australia 40410663.
	Mourners gather at Parliament House for Curtin's memorial service. National Library of Australia Portraits A10.	AUSTRALIA MOURNS Politicians and dignitaries crowded Kings Hall in Canberra's Parliament House for a moving memorial service.
	Telegram from US General Douglas MacArthur to Elsie Curtin. National Archives of Australia A5954/1, 1945/25.	Elsie Curtin and her son John arrive at Parliament House for the memorial service. Australian War Memorial Negative 110533.
	Twelve fighter planes escorted the aircraft which flew Curtin's body back to his home in Perth. As his funeral procession slowly made its way to Karrakatta Cemetery, thousands lined the streets to pay their respects.	ALP Federal and State Members of Parliament march through the streets of Perth in Curtin's funeral procession. Records of the Curtin family. JCPML00376/185.
	Curtin's funeral at Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth, 8 July 1945. Records of the Curtin family. JCPML 00376/179.	The nation mourned Curtin as a casualty of war, a man who gave his life for his country.