Gundagai’s Niagara Cafe in 1942

I woke in the middle of the night recently with a vivid memory: a radio feature I produced back in 1992. I was hosting the ABC Radio Morning Show in Wagga Wagga at the time.

Nearby, Gundagai was hosting a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of a late-night visit by wartime Prime Minister John Curtin to a local cafe.

I recall the event clearly—it drew a huge national media contingent, and Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe was in attendance.

Here’s the report I filed for the national radio program “The World Today,” courtesy of the ABC Radio Archives.

Richard Palfreyman: And finally, Gundagai is about as Australian as any town can get, home to the dog on the tucker box and the subject of a much-loved song. But Gundagai is also home to another legend: the night when a wartime Prime Minister stopped off for a midnight meal. Last night, more than 100 people celebrated the 50th anniversary of that event, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Brian Howe. James O’Brien takes up the story of how a legend was celebrated.

James O’Brien: The legend began one cold August night in 1942, when there was a strange knock at the door of Gundagai’s Niagara Cafe. The co-owners at the time were Jack and Vic Castrisson. They were surprised to discover that it was, in fact, the Prime Minister, John Curtin.

Jack or Vic Castrisson: Just closing up, midnight, and we saw Mr. Curtin at the door, with two or three other ministers. So we went and opened the door, let them in, took them in the kitchen, made them a meal. We sat them down, they had their meal and thanked us very much.

James O’Brien: As they left, I heard they also made a bit of a promise to you.

Jack or Vic Castrisson: Yeah, he mentioned something about the tea, you know, not enough tea.

James O’Brien: Is that because of the war?

Jack or Vic Castrisson: Yeah, yeah, it was rationed. We might have signed to one of the other ministers and we got £100 instead of £28. And that was good, you know, that was a big help to us.

James O’Brien: Fifty years later, another famous politician made his way to the same cafe, this time the Deputy Prime Minister, Brian Howe. But the tune this time was somewhat different to 1942. And this time, too, the menu was much different.

Jack or Vic Castrisson (maybe someone else): It’s moussaka, roast, this is meat, it’s Greek style. And Greek salad and Spanakopita, pie, cheese pie, feta. Greek sweet, you can see the fish over there, oh, oh, look at the beauty.

James O’Brien: More than 100 people crammed into this small cafe in this very famous Australian town, including newspapers, radio stations, and TV crews from four different networks. All of them wanting to know why Brian Howe, the Deputy Prime Minister, would take time out from this year’s budget to celebrate something which happened 50 years ago. But it soon became obvious as memories of Labour past came flooding forth.

Brian Howe: Well, I think they achieved the foundations of modern Australia. They’re essentially people that stood between the 1930s, which was a terrible time, where Australia had no industrial economy. And what they helped to do was to create a capacity to fight militarily. But that required the sinews of an industrial economy. And post-war Australia benefited from what they achieved, you know, right through to the ’70s.

James O’Brien: So what you’re doing now, is that building upon what they did? Or are you pushing new ground as well?

Brian Howe: Well, I think just as they were very innovative and creative. You think of the public service at the time. It was made of very young people who went on to lead the public service for many years. And I think now we’re involved in a new situation. We’re creating the foundations of a very different economy, building, if you like, a new model. If Chifley was responsible for the Holden, we’ve got to be responsible for a rather more sophisticated vehicle these days that’s able to compete internationally and to help Australia earn its way in a pretty tough world.

James O’Brien: Has the election of Paul Keating as Prime Minister led to a regeneration for the Labour Party?

Brian Howe: Well, I think Paul Keating is as Curtin was. He’s a tough man and he has a tough, great capacity to carry through what he seeks to achieve.

James O’Brien: As a member of the Labour Party’s left, would you class that as a move back to the left?

Brian Howe: Well, I think it’s certainly been a year in which people see the Labour Party in progressive terms. I think that there’s real enthusiasm for One Nation. I think there’ll be some enthusiasm for the Budget. And it’s important, I think, every now and then to strike a chord, as we did in the Niagara tonight. People had a sense of what it is that makes Labour, Labour.

Richard Palfreyman: And James O’Brien compiled that report, ending today’s program. I’m Richard Palfreyman, inviting you to join me and the team again tomorrow, lunchtime, for another 60 minutes of the latest news and current affairs on The World Today.