Portraits of Australian prime ministers since Federation

I asked my students if they knew all 29 Australian Prime Ministers since Federation (1901). Everyone knew the first two P.Ms, but no-one knew the rest, until Menzies in WW2.

The gallery of portraits of past Prime Ministers (top image) 

Parliament House Canberra

So I referred students to The His­tor­ic Memorials Collection, the Australian art programme founded by Andrew Fisher in 1911. It was guided by the Historic Mem­or­ials Committee, chaired by each P.M. The Committee comm­issioned official port­raits of the Governors-General, P.Ms, Senate Presidents etc. All of the 25 portraits of Australian P.Ms are dis­played in order in Parliament’s Members’ Hall. Some portraits hang in King's Hall between the House of Representatives & Sen­ate cham­bers, Canberra. From 1927-88 it was the heart of Old Parl­iament House.

Portraits of Australian Prime Ministers  

1. Edmund Barton (1849-1920). Barton was sworn in as leader of the new Commonwealth of Australia on 1 Jan 1901, after being in the NSW Parliament. A leader of Federat­ion movement, he help­ed draft Australia’s Constitution and later became a judge of our High Court. Was P.M 1901-1903. Artist: Norman Carter. 

2. Alfred Deakin (1856-1919) This Member for Ballarat Victoria held the office of P.M three times after Federation. Deakin built on Aus­tralia’s constitut­ional foundations, introd­uced legislation for a site for a new national capital and estab­lish­ed the High Court. Was P.M: 1903-4; 1905-8; 1909-10. Artist: Frederick McCubbin. 

Robert Menzies

by Ivor Hele

3. John Watson (1867-1941) Member for a NSW electorate 1906-10, Watson was considered the world’s first national Labour government leader. Appointed as P.M at 37, he remained Australia’s youngest. Was P.M 1904-1904! Artist: John Longstaff.

4. George Reid (1845-1918) Reid was NSW Premier from 1894-9. He led the Free Trade Party, and was the Federal Oppos­it­ion Leader for 6 years of Parliament, then as PM from 1904-5. Artist John Longstaff.

5. Andrew Fisher (1862-1928) A Labor member in Qld, Fisher was one of only two Australian P.Ms to have held office on 3 occasions. Fis­h­er established the Commonwealth Bank, found­ed Canberra and created the Royal Aust­ral­ian Navy. Was P.M: 1908-9; 1910-3; 1914-5. Artist: E Phillips Fox.

6. Joseph Cook (1860-1947) Member for Parramatta, this NSW Liberal man was P.M from 1913-1914, until he prov­oked a double dissol­ution election and was defeated by Fisher. Artist: Norman Carter.

7. Billy Hughes (1862-1952) A member for Labor Party NSW. He joined the Nationalist Party and was the longest continuous House of Repres­entatives member, 51.5 years. During the hardest years of WWI, The Little Digger was P.M 1915-1923. Artist: George Lambert.

8. Viscount Stanley Bruce, (1883-1967) was a Nationalist Party member in Vict­or­ia. During his term, the government was transferred from Melb­ourne to the new capit­al. Bruce was the first P.M to work in Canberra’s Old Parliament House and to live in the P.M’s official Canberra residence, The Lodge. Was P.M 1923-1929. Artist: William McInnis.

9. James Scullin (1876-1953) was a Victorian Labor member. When his term started, Wall St crashed and he focused on managing the fail­ing economy. And he nomin­ated Isaac Isaacs as the first Australian-born Governor-General. Was P.M 1929-1932. Artist: William McInnes.

10. Joseph Lyons 1879-1939, a member of the United Australia Party, was elected to Federal Parliament in 1929, having ser­ved as Premier of Tasmania. He established the Australian Broad­casting Commission and regulated the growing air travel industry. Was P.M 1932-1939, the only Tas­manian ever. Artist: William McInnes.

11. Earle Page (1880-1961) represented NSW from 1919-61. He was one of the longest serving parliamentarians, 42 years, and a co-founder of the Coun­try Party. Page was P.M briefly in April 1939, after Lyons’ death. Artist: Fred Leist.

12. Robert Menzies (1894-1978) represented Kooyong Vic­toria for the United Australia Party. In 1941 he resigned as PM, hav­ing lost his Cabinet support. As leader of the new Lib­eral Party, Menzies won the 1949 election, setting new goals in immigration, social services, hospit­als, schools & universities. Was P.M 1939-1941, 1949-1966 when he retired, longest serving P.M ever. Artist: Ivor Hele.

13. Arthur Fadden (1894-1973) Country Party member in Qld in 1936-49 and 1949-58: Fadden replaced Menzies after his resignat­ion in 1941, briefly as P.M. During his 22-year parl­iam­ent­ary career, Fadden also served as Treasurer. Artist: William Dargie.

14. John Curtin (1885-1945) Labor member for Fremantle WA 1928-31 and 1934-45, Curtin was most remembered for his leadership of the nation during WW2. Was P.M 1941-1945, dying in office, before WW2 ended.

15. Frank Forde (1890-1983) Labor member in Q­ld, Forde served as a deputy leader to James Scullin, John Curtin and Ben Chifley, then was Australia’s shortest serving P.M after Curtin’s death in 1945.

16. Ben Chifley (1885-1951) Member for Macquarie NSW 1928-31 and 1940-51, Labor man Chifley became P.M after Curtin’s death in 1945. Chifley started Australia’s post-war renew­al with an immigration programme, Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme and Australian National University. Was P.M 1945-1949. Artist: Archibald Colquhoun.

17. Harold Holt (1908-1967) Liberal member for Victorian from 1935-67, Holt became P.M after Menzies’ retire­ment in 1966. His gov­ernment used the 1967 referendum to recog­nise Indigenous Australians, relaxed immigration laws and increased Aus­t­ralia’s Vietnam War role. Was P.M 1966-1967. In Dec 1967, Holt drowned at sea. Artist: William Pidgeon.

18. John McEwen (1900-80) Member for Victoria 1934-71, this Country Party man was caretaker P.M after Harold Holt drowned (1967-1968). McEwen became as Deputy P.M until retire­ment in 1971.

Malcolm Fraser

by Ivor Hele

19. John Gorton (1911-2002) A member in Victoria 1949-75, Gorton became P.M in 1968, winning the Liberal Party leadership ballot af­ter Holt’s drowning. He established the Australian Arts Council, and the National Film & Television Training School. Was P.M 1968-1971 when Gorton lost office in a no-confidence vote. Artist: June Mendoza.
  

20. William McMahon (1908-1988) NSW Liberal member from 1949-82, McMahon became P.M in 1971. He was the first P.M to appoint a Min­is­t­er for Aboriginal Aff­airs. Was P.M 1971-2, in Par­liam­ent until retiring in 1982. Artist: Ivor Hele.

21. Gough Whitlam (1916-2014) Labor member in NSW 1952-78 who ended our fighting in the Vietnam War, int­roduced free tert­iary education and a national health scheme. He was the first Australian P.M to visit People’s Rep­ublic of China. Was P.M 1972-1975 until his govern­ment was dismissed by Governor-General John Kerr in Nov 1975. The por­t­rait was painted by Clifton Pugh for the Archibald Prize competition.

22. Malcolm Fraser (1930-2015) This Victorian Liberal became caretaker P.M, after Whitlam govern­ment's dismissal and won the next election. Fraser promoted multi­culturalism, introduced fam­ily allowances, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and commis­sioned a new Parl­iam­ent House. Was P.M 1975-1983. Artist: Ivor Hele. 

23. Bob Hawke (1929-2019) This Victorian Hawke won the 1983 elect­ion and became Australia’s longest-serving Labor P.M. He focused on globalisation, micro-economic reform and industrial relations, floating the Australian dollar and reducing tariffs. Was P.M 1983-1991 when Hawke was defeated by his own party’s ballot.

Bob Hawke

by Bill Leak

24. Paul Keating (1944- ) A Labor member in NSW 1969-96, and after eight years as Treasurer in the Hawke government, Keating became P.M. He continued economic ref­orms, wrote Indigenous land rights legislation and reformed vocat­ion­al ed­ucation. Was P.M 1991-1996. Artist: Robert Hannaford.

25. John Howard (1939- ). Member for NSW Liberals 1974-2007, he was Australia’s 2nd longest serving P.M. He introduced major taxation reform & the Goods and Services Tax. He brought in strict gun control legislation after the Port Arthur mass­ac­re. But he, who was brutal to refugees, was P.M until the govern­ment was def­eated.

Portraits have not yet been painted for Labor P.Ms, Kevin Rudd & Julia Gillard, and Conservative P.Ms Tony Abbot & Malcolm Turnball. Or read  Political Lives: Australian Prime Ministers and their biographers, Chris Wallace, 2023