Fast facts
Fast facts is a ready reference section for personal and political profiles of Australia's prime ministers.
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A showcase of revealing records of prime ministers’ lives.
Oklahoma, OK!
While in the United States in June 1944, John and Elsie Curtin visited New York to see the Broadway hit, Oklahoma!
The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical had opened to rave reviews the year before, and delighted them both. Too keyed up to sleep after the show, John Curtin sent out for the score. The couple stayed up all night, with Elsie Curtin playing the songs on the hotel’s piano.
Did you know ...
Prime ministers and parliamentarians commence their terms when they are sworn in by the governor-general. A term ends when the governor-general accepts a resignation or ‘determines’ the office. This happens if a prime minister dies in office, but it also happened in 1975, when Sir John Kerr ended the term of prime minister Gough Whitlam.