A humble wooden chair that once seated former prime minister Ben Chifley at St Christopher’s Cathedral is being given a fitting tribute at St Mary MacKillop College, Canberra. Source: Catholic Voice.
The chair is the centre of a student craftsmanship project. Under the guidance of staff and with timber sourced from Chifley’s hometown of Bathurst, senior trade students are constructing a Perspex case to honour both the object and the man behind it.
“It is a simple kitchen chair that speaks loudly of the man who used it,” Principal Michael Lee said.
“Ben Chifley was Australia’s prime minister from 1945-1949. In his 20s, he married a Presbyterian, which put him outside the Catholic Church.”
When Mr Chifley took his vows in a Presbyterian Church, he defied the Papal decree forbidding Catholics from marrying outside the Church. While the couple continued to worship in their separate churches, Mr Chifley was no longer allowed to take communion.
“He went to Mass every Sunday that he was in Canberra at St Christopher’s Cathedral,” Mr Lee said.
“And when he went, he didn’t sit in the pews with everyone else – he sat in this chair. ‘Chif’s Chair’.”
A former Bathurst resident and a friend of the Chifley family, Mr Lee was quick to say yes when the opportunity came up to preserve the artefact for display.
The chair has been centre stage at school assemblies and parent information nights, drawing curiosity from students who stop by Mr Lee’s office for a closer look — though none are allowed to sit on it.
“It’s quite a relic,” he said. “I’ve kept it under lock and key in my office, where I gaze upon it and draw inspiration from it.”
Mr Lee said the chair was much more than just a historical artefact.
“It tells the story of a sectarian time, which has now passed, and is emblematic of a time when Australian society was quite divided along faith lines,” he said.
Once completed, the chair and its new case will return to St Christopher’s Cathedral Precinct.
FULL STORY
Chif’s Chair honoured: Students craft tribute to former PM’s legacy (By Veronika Cox, Catholic Voice)
