Menzies’s Death
Menzies’s Funeral. Image from The Age Archives.
On this day, 15 May 1978 at 4.30pm, Sir Robert Menzies passes away in his home at 2 Haverbrack Avenue in Malvern at the age of 83. The cause of death was a coronary heart attack while reading in his study; his doctor and neighbour George Morrison rushed to his aid but it was to no avail. By his side at the end was Dame Pattie, Menzies’s wife for almost 60 years.
Menzies’s health had been deteriorating for some time. He suffered a mild stroke in September 1968, followed by a more significant one in November 1971 which necessitated a significant stay in Mercy Hospital in Melbourne. He had quite enjoyed his early retirement, writing his memoirs Afternoon Light and The Measure of the Years, serving as Chancellor of the University of Melbourne from 1967 to 1972, lecturing on Australian federalism in Virginia and turning those lectures into the book Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth, and making annual trips to Britain to conduct his ceremonial duties as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. However, from 1972 Menzies grew wearier and these exploits began to dry up. He entertained notable guests in his home, most frequently B.A. Santamaria, had a special platform installed to watch his beloved Carlton Football Club’s games from his car, and one of his last significant outings was to attend the Centenary Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, during which he was Knighted in the Order of Australia by Queen Elizabeth II.
Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser learned of the news of Menzies’s death while boarding a plane at Essendon Airport bound for Canberra. When he landed, he hastily convened a press conference where he sombrely informed the nation that their longest serving leader was no more:
‘It is with the deepest regret that I record tonight the death of Sir Robert Menzies. All Australians will mourn his passing. Sir Robert leaves an enduring mark on Australian history. His time as Prime Minister, from 1949-1966, was a time of stability and growth. He was the founder of the Liberal Party. He gave his Party and his country strength and inspiration. I valued greatly his counsel and support, and his friendship. Like all other Australians I held Sir Robert in great respect and affection. On behalf of all of us, I extend my deepest sympathy to Dame Pattie and to the other members of Sir Robert's family.’
On 19 May a state funeral was held in Melbourne. The ceremony was conducted in Scots Church by Menzies’s old friend the Reverend Fred McKay, with Prince Charles and many other dignitaries in attendance. After it concluded, the body passed by a crowd of up to 100,000 people, as it made its way to Springvale crematorium where it was met by a lone piper playing ‘Flowers of the Forest’. It all concluded with a 19-gun salute.
In July a second memorial service would be held in Westminster Abbey, addressed by former British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home. Dame Pattie made the trip to the heart of the old empire to receive the respects of a long line of diplomats and guests of honour, all of whom turned out to show their appreciation of the Lord Warden and an elder statesman of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Menzies left politics with little money, and the home he died had been purchased by well-wishers and supporters, whose charity Menzies had only accepted on the condition that after he passed away the home would be sold and the proceeds given away. When he did pass, Dame Pattie moved out to a smaller Melbourne home, and eventually 2 Haverbrack Avenue was auctioned and the money donated to Fintona Girls’ School and Ruyton Girls’ School in Melbourne, which had been attended by Pattie and daughter Heather. The Haverbrack home was demolished in 2021, a historical loss dubbed an ‘act of vandalism’.
Despite being one of the greatest benefactors of the growth of the national capital, Menzies opted out of the tradition of having a Canberra suburb named after him. While there are suburbs named Evatt and Calwell after the Opposition Leaders Menzies faced, our longest serving Prime Minister insisted that he not be given the same honour. Instead, he is immortalised in the R.G. Menzies Walk along the north side of Lake Burley Griffin, memorials in his home town of Jeparit, a Prime Ministerial Library and Museum at his old alma mater the University of Melbourne, and in various libraries, parks and institutions throughout the country.
Dame Pattie lived until 1995, spending her final years in Canberra to be close to her family. In June 1996 Menzies’s ashes were buried with those of his wife in the newly established Prime Ministers’ Memorial Garden in Melbourne general cemetery. The memorial garden also houses the ashes of John Gorton, the body of Malcolm Fraser, and a memorial to Harold Holt whose remains are lost, while nearby the wider cemetery is home to the older grave of James Scullin.
Further Reading:
A.W. Martin, Robert Menzies, A Life Volume 2 1944-1978 (Melbourne University Press, 1999).
Troy Bramston, Robert Menzies: The Art of Politics (Scribe, 2019).