Last May we noted plans to honour former Labor greats, Prime Ministers Curtin and Chifley in Parkes.
This morning Senator Kate Lundy has tweeted this picture of the not yet Labor great Julia Gillard unveiling the bronzes.
UPDATE: Chief Minister Gallagher’s put out a media release on this:
The ACT Government-commissioned work is by eminent Australian sculptor Peter Corlett and located as close as possible to where the original photograph was taken along the footpath next to Walpole Crescent, Parkes.
It appears to capture the two leaders in a private moment of conversation and the Chief Minister said this informal approach encouraged a more intimate engagement with the figures which would excite curiosity in viewers about their lives.
“I am sure that this statue will become a much-loved feature of the Parliamentary zone and I hope it will inspire people to examine the legacy of these two men,” the Chief Minister said.
John Curtin and Ben Chifley were the 14th and 16th Prime Ministers of Australia respectively. John Curtin was Prime Minister when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War II.
The Chifley Government was responsible for the post-war immigration scheme under Arthur Calwell, the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1949, the Snowy Mountains Scheme, overseeing the creation of airlines Qantas and TAA, and founding the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
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