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Edmund Barton – 1901–03 Alfred Deakin – 1903–04, 1905–08, 1909–10 Chris Watson – 1904 George Reid – 1904–05 Andrew Fisher – 1908–09, 1910–13, 1914–15 Joseph Cook – 1913–14 William Morris Hughes – 1915–23 Stanley Melbourne Bruce – 1923–29 James Scullin – 1929–32 Joseph Lyons – 1932–39 Earle Page – 1939 Robert Menzies – 1939–41, 1949–66 Arthur Fadden – 1941 John Curtin – 1941–45 Francis Forde – 1945 Ben Chifley – 1945–49 Harold Holt – 1966–67 John McEwen – 1967–68 John Gorton – 1968–71 William McMahon – 1971–72 Gough Whitlam – 1972–75 Malcolm Fraser – 1975–83 Robert Hawke – 1983–91 Paul Keating – 1991–96 John Howard – 1996–2007 Kevin Rudd – 2007–
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Edmund Barton

Federation was Edmund Barton’s ‘one great thing’. One of the key architects of Australia’s Constitution, Barton became the new nation’s first Prime Minister at a grand ceremony in Centennial Park, Sydney, on 1 January 1901.

Crowds greet the new Prime Minister Edmund Barton

Crowds greet the new Prime Minister Edmund Barton (third from left) and Governor-General Lord Hopetoun (third from right), as they leave the rotunda in Sydney's Centennial Park, where the Commonwealth of Australia was born on 1 January 1901.

Keenan, JJ, Inaugural Celebrations of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1904

Admired for his intellect and calm temper, Barton’s glowing eyes revealed a keen sense of humour, while his ample girth was evidence of a love of good food, fine wine and stimulating conversation. With a rich and engrossing voice, he commanded authority wherever he spoke.

In 1903 Barton resigned to become one of the three judges who founded Australia’s High Court.

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