Ming plus forty

Mark McGinness writes to note a date that has been almost entirely overlooked:

Forty years ago this week. R.G.Menzies died at the age of 83. It is now half a century since he was Prime Minister. Revisionism and ignorance have left nothing but an image of the silver-haired, silver-tongued, double-breasted statesman setting off for Britain. But there was much more to the man and his life: the tongue-tied boy from Jeparit, the clever scholar, the brilliant counsel, the youngest Attorney-General, the consummate campaigner, the polished Parliamentarian, the neighbourly resident of the Lodge, the father of Canberra, the protector of the public purse; traveller, counsellor and friend.

The anniversary is an opportunity to reread two intimate accounts of his life. In 2011 Heather Henderson edited two decades of her father’s correspondence to her, entitled Letters To My Daughter (Murdoch Books), written while she was abroad with her husband, the distinguished diplomat, Peter Henderson. They were a revelation — Ming The Merciless posthumously appeared, in his own intimate, unguarded words, to be an affectionate paterfamilias, a supportive sibling, a generous boss. Two years later, Heather’s memoir, A Smile For My Parents (Allen & Unwin), confirmed and amplified that image.

The anecdotes flow like sarsaparilla – sweet, refreshing, nostalgic – an elixir for an age that has passed. Menzies sharing the latest whodunit with Ben Chifley; stopping his car to speak to an Embassy gardener; sending money to friends in need; personally meeting his staff’s expenses. There is Dame Pattie on the floor of The Lodge’s kitchen trying to fix the Aga before a dinner; and on a dais during the Royal Tour of 1954 allowing the seven-year-old son of their neighbour to wander through the throng to sit on her lap for the entire ceremony. It is unlikely to find anyone eclipsing RGM but Dame Pattie (herself the daughter of a politician, Senator John Leckie) emerges here not just as a remarkable consort but an outstanding figure from Old Australia. Her beaming face, full of character, shines from the pages.

That great Double Act have been painted as stodgy, upper-middle class Protestant Tory monarchists, but what their daughter convincingly presents is a steady, decent, down-to-earth, passionately Australian couple. Family and friends remained at the core, bringing ballast and brio to a very public life.

Their values and beliefs also influenced that public life. Menzies was scrupulous about separating personal — and party — from public interests. This was, of course, another, simpler age and perhaps it is unfair to compare the giants of that era with the mere men and women who govern today but these accounts of Menzies’ life should hearten a legion of Australians — and maybe even inspire his successors.

For Gerard Henderson on Menzies, follow this link or the one below.

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