[2] She and Ben Chifley, an engine driver like her father, had known each other since their youth, but their romance did not commence until 1912 when they were both in their late twenties.

Her family was relatively wealthy, she played the symbol of respectability, the piano, she was skilled in the domestic arts of cooking and sewing, she was suitably religious and still had a great sense of fun.

[5] Following their marriage, each continued to attend their own church and Ben was said to be always conscious of his lapse from Catholic precepts.

After Ben Chifley was elected to the House of Representatives in 1928, Elizabeth rarely travelled to Canberra, Sydney or other locations where her husband's political duties summoned him.

[3] It was at the hotel where Ben Chifley suffered a fatal heart attack in 1951, predeceasing his wife by eleven years.