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good catch'. Her family was relatively wealthy, she played the symbol of respectability, the piano, she was skilled in the domestic arts of cooking and sewing, she was suitably religious and still had a great sense of fun. Ben was like
Elizabeth's father, serious, dependable, civic-minded and a man of growing stature. Ben was determined to marry her and this they did on 6 June 1914 at the Presbyterian Church in
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198:, to George and Isabella McKenzie. She was the eldest of their two daughters, Lizzie and Annie. The family was moderately well-off, Scottish and Presbyterian. She was active in local civic organisations and the church, but does not appear to have been active or interested in the labour movement or politics.
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papal decree issued several years earlier, which forbade
Catholics to marry outside of their church. Ben was reported to have said "One of us has to take the knock" and "It had better be me". By travelling to Sydney for the ceremony they sought to avoid as much antagonism as possible. Following their
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She and Ben
Chifley, an engine driver like her father, had known each other since their youth, but their romance did not commence until 1912 when they were both in their late twenties. Their relationship began at a dance although Ben did not like dancing. In those days, Elizabeth was considered 'a
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The
Chifleys' wedding present from her parents was tenancy of a house at 10 Busby Street, Bathurst which was owned by her parents. In 1920, the parents gave the house to the couple, and they would spend the rest of their lives there.
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in 1928, Elizabeth rarely travelled to
Canberra, Sydney or other locations where her husband's political duties summoned him. On several occasions during Chifley's premiership, Elizabeth did act as a hostess at
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Elizabeth
Chifley died at her Busby Street home on 9 September 1962. She left much of her estate to the Presbyterian Church, including a bequest to build a preschool named after her.
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when in
Canberra. It was at the hotel where Ben Chifley suffered a fatal heart attack in 1951, predeceasing his wife by eleven years.
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marriage, each continued to attend their own church and Ben was said to be always conscious of his lapse from
Catholic precepts.
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S. Brodie (1986) 'Statesmen
Leaders and Losers: The Twenty-Three Prime Ministers Of Australia, Dreamweaver Books, Sydney
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M. MacCallum (2012) 'The good, the bad & the unlikely: Australia's prime ministers', Black Inc., Collingwood
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C. A. Hughes (1976) 'Australian Prime
Ministers 1901-1972', Oxford University Press, Oxford
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396:Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia
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371:(Issue 3, 2011), Department of Treasury.
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163: 1914; died 1951)
439:Australian people of Scottish descent
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318:Australian Dictionary of Biography
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358:Ben Chifley: The True Believer
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238:House of Representatives
177:Elizabeth Gibson Chifley
187:from 1945 to 1949.
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363:5 May 2013 at the
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190:Chifley was born
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230:miscarriage
181:Ben Chifley
149:Ben Chifley
135:Nationality
130:, Australia
63:Preceded by
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256:References
138:Australian
105:1886-08-01
68:Vera Forde
243:The Lodge
234:scoliosis
217:Ne Temere
53:In office
361:Archived
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