The Left Imperial Cave was renamed Chifley Cave in 1952 to commemorate Joseph Benedict Chifley. He was Prime Minister of Australia until 1949 and represented our local federal electorate, passing away in 1951.

From Train Driver to Prime Minister

With only limited education, he joined the NSW Railways and was the youngest train driver in the state. One of the locomotives he drove can be seen today, fully restored, outside Bathurst railway station.

For 14 years, ‘Chif’, as he was popularly known, represented the Australian Labour Party seat of Macquarie, in which Jenolan Caves is situated. He remained MP for Macquarie until his death.

Ben Chifley was Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. His Government embraced an agenda of intensive reforms and infrastructure development including:

• Initiation of the Snowy Mountain Hydro Electric Scheme, which would deliver electricity to new industries;

• Assistance to General Motors Holden, to build a car specifically designed for Australian conditions – the iconic ‘Australia’s own car the Holden’;

• A domestic airline – Trans Australian Airlines (TAA);

• Establishment of the CSIRO;

• Establishment of the Australian National University, with an emphasis on science; and

• A comprehensive progressive social welfare program, including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and federal funds for housing.

His government created the building blocks that sustained a long period of unparalleled economic prosperity throughout the 50’s and 60’s, long after the Chifley government left office in 1949.  

What was Ben Chifley like as a person?

Ben and his wife, Elizabeth, lived in Bathurst, in a very modest terrace house, which is now open as a museum. Ben and Elizabeth spent their whole married life there, even while Ben was Prime Minister. The Chifley Home is a 'time capsule' - a testament to the austerity of Ben and Elizabeth Chifley. 

Robert Menzies, who defeated Chifley in the 1949 election, described their relationship in a radio broadcast as ‘continuous and close’ saying ‘It would have been hard to have a personal quarrel with him, for he had in abundance those human qualities of easy informality, of deep conviction, of quiet humour, and of engaging frankness which made him, in the old phrase, a ‘man’s man’’.

Chifley was highly visible and approachable. Neighbours would not hesitate to seek a reference from him on behalf of a young family member looking for employment. They would receive a letter written in Chifley’s own hand on official Prime Ministerial letter-head.

Jenolan Named a Cave in Chifley's Honour

After Ben Chifley died in 1951, the esteem he had been held in continued. At Jenolan Caves – which he had visited the week before he died - it was decided to change the name of the Left Imperial Cave to the Chifley Cave in his honour

The fine brass plaque at the exit to the Chifley Cave reads:

“As a tribute to the memory of The Rt. Hon. J.B.Chifley who represented this electorate in the Federal Parliament this cave was named the Chifley Cave by the Hon. Clive Evatt QC MLA Chief Secretary of NEW South Wales.”

1. Crisp L.F. Ben Chifley A Political Biography. Cordell hull was President Roosevelt’s Secretary of State before and during WW2.

2. Radio Broadcast made by Menzies after Chifley’s death 14 June 1951 SP 369/1, AAS quoted in Day D Chifley.