The Curtin Family Home

Curtin Family Home is a single-storey brick and tile house, a typical Inter-war California bungalow. Built in 1923, it has tuck-pointed brickwork on limestone foundations. Verandahs originally ran along three sides and were gradually enclosed with weatherboard and brick as the family’s needs changed. Only the entry verandah remains. The weatherboard outdoor laundry, brick ‘dunny’ and timber-framed garage are still there too. The house matters as the family home of John Curtin, journalist, political activist, Labor politician, leader of the Australian Labor Party and Prime Minister of Australia. He was the first representative of a Western Australian electorate to become Prime Minister, serving from 1941 until his death in 1945. His wife, Elsie Curtin CBE, was also a prominent figure in public life at local and state level in Western Australia. She lived here until her death in 1975, and their daughter, Elsie Curtin, continued to make it her family home until 1998.