Category Archives: Tributes

JENNY HOCKING. Harold Holt: The legacy is evident, 50 years after his disappearance.

Posted on 23 December 2017

It was a quintessential Australian death. On 17 December 1967, Australia’s 17th prime minister, Harold Edward Holt, waded into the churning surf at Victoria’s Cheviot Beach, defying a swift current and a strong under-tow that left others in his party … Continue reading →

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PETER BROWNE. Historian of the present.Ken Inglis

Posted on 8 December 2017

When I visited Ken Inglis early last month, a few weeks before he died, I found him engrossed in the day’s edition of the Sunday Age. It was perhaps eighty years since he’d begun reading the papers as a schoolboy … Continue reading →

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CAROL SUMMERHAYES. Another Trans-Siberian experience.

Posted on 29 September 2017

John Tulloh’s post brought back memories of my Trans-Siberian train journey, some twenty-three years after his.  He was there in 1967, and not a lot had changed when I was there in 1990, travelling in the reverse direction.

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BOB CARR. Tribute to Johno Johnson. ‘Keep the faith…both of them’

Posted on 23 August 2017

The separation of church and state was not a fetish of John Richard Johnson.  He adored the Cross on Calvary.  And rallied to The Light on The Hill.

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MICHAEL KEATING. An appreciation of Ian Marsh.

Posted on 15 June 2017

Ian Marsh who passed away last week, was a highly original thinker with the genuine curiosity of a true intellectual. Ian liked to describe himself as one of the last ‘Deakinite Liberals’. This apt description reflected: Ian’s contributions to industrial … Continue reading →

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ALBERT MISPEL. 1938-2017

Posted on 22 March 2017

Pearls & Irritations advises the sad news that Albert Mispel, who was instrumental in getting this blog started (and indeed, suggested its name) has passed away. Albert had an exciting life during which he taught school in New Guinea, was … Continue reading →

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PETER GIBILISCO. Where are the public intellectuals like Hugh Stretton.

Posted on 16 February 2017

“The worst kind of bad social science, Stretton argues, purports to select the things to be explained, and the ways of explaining them, without resort to values and valuation”  

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IAN WEBSTER. A tribute to Anne Deveson – understanding the homeless mentally ill

Posted on 23 January 2017

Anne Deveson’ s media presence spearheaded the media’s involvement in public health and mental health. She contributed at so many levels – social commentaries and documentaries -which challenged our sensibilities.

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BINOY KAMPMARK. Des Ball: The man who sank the myth of controlled nuclear warfare

Posted on 22 October 2016

The late Professor Des Ball of the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre came as close as any on being a public intellectual on nuclear strategy. While some of his counterparts in the United States felt that using … Continue reading →

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NICHOLAS FARRELLY. What is King Bhumibol’s legacy?

Posted on 15 October 2016

New Mandala co-founder Nicholas Farrelly reflects on a remarkable and contentious reign. The 70-year reign of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej started and ended inauspiciously. It was a family tragedy that unexpectedly brought Bhumibol to the throne. He went on to … Continue reading →

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GRAHAM FREUDENBERG. On Gough Whitlam’s 100th birthday, 11 July 2016.

Posted on 11 July 2016

This tribute is being published as a foreword to the book ‘Not just for this life’. Wendy Guest has put together all the tributes paid to Gough Whitlam in the House and the Senate in October 2014. This tribute to … Continue reading →

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Eric Walsh. Tribute to Brian Johns.

Posted on 12 January 2016

The death of Brian Francis Johns, 79, in the early hours of New Years Day marked the end of one of the most impressive Australian media careers of the last half century. During this period Johns engaged in and excelled … Continue reading →

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John Menadue. Vale Malcolm Fraser.

Posted on 11 January 2016

Repost from 21/03/2015 I am sure that Malcolm Fraser’s concerns for human rights were always there. But as he grew and matured, that concern flourished and became obvious to all. He became our moral compass on human rights. I was … Continue reading →

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Edmund Campion. Homily for the funeral service of Brian Johns.

Posted on 8 January 2016

Family, friends, colleagues of Brian Johns. The other morning, after Brian had died, it came to me, so this is the end of a conversation that endured for more than sixty years. Then I recalled that one name had dominated … Continue reading →

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Julianne Schultz. Tribute to Brian Johns.

Posted on 8 January 2016

Brian Johns: A critical Australian romantic Brian had a gift for friendship. I first got to know him in the late 1970s; I know that many of you knew him for longer. Over the years as some of his closest … Continue reading →

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Tributes to Malcolm Fraser.

Posted on 22 March 2015

See below, tributes from Fred Chaney and Robert Manne on Malcolm Fraser’s achievements in public life. John Mendue. Fred Chaney in The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/malcolm-fraser-a-leader-who-believed-there-is-a-moral-compass-in-our-nations-life Robert Manne in The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/frasers-great-conservative-achievement-cementing-whitlams-progress-on-race

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Ian Macphee. Personal memories of Malcolm Fraser.

Posted on 22 March 2015

I first met Malcolm in 1973 when he was shadow minister for Industrial Relations in the Coalition opposition. I was Director of the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures and intensely involved in industrial relations. Malcolm had just been given that responsibility … Continue reading →

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Graham Freudenberg. Gough Whitlam Commemorative Oration.

Posted on 4 March 2015

 You will see below what I think is a remarkable speech by Graham Freudenberg about Gough Whitlam’s contemporary relevance.  This oration is much longer than I normally post on this blog, but it is an outstanding oration which I am … Continue reading →

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Graham Freudenberg. Gough being Gough.

Posted on 12 December 2014

LAUNCH OF JAMES CARLETON’S ‘THE WIT OF WHITLAM’,BELLEVUE HOTEL, PADDINGTON, NSW, 8 DECEMBER 2014 As Henry Kissinger discovered to his chagrin in Beijing in 1971, Gough made a habit of getting there first.  The Bellevue is no exception.  Most of … Continue reading →

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Steve FitzGerald on Gough Whitlam, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou

Posted on 17 November 2014

Of the many things I admired and loved about Gough, one of the most delicious, next to our shared liking for food, was that he was the best person I’ve ever been privileged to brief. It wasn’t just that he … Continue reading →

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John Mant. Tribute to Gough Whitlam

Posted on 10 November 2014

It is difficult to make this speech – so much to say about this great man and his times. I observed him from a number of angles: Working with Tom Uren and Gough Whitlam on urban policy proposals before the … Continue reading →

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Antony Whitlam. Tribute to Gough Whitlam

Posted on 7 November 2014

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service The Honourable Antony Whitlam QC Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014   Auntie Millie Ingram gave a moving Welcome to Country. I also wish to acknowledge the Gadigal people of … Continue reading →

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Noel Pearson. Tribute to Gough Whitlam.

Posted on 6 November 2014

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service Noel Pearson Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014   Paul Keating said the reward for public life is public progress. For one born estranged from the nation’s citizenship, into a … Continue reading →

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John Faulkner. Tribute to Gough Whitlam

Posted on 6 November 2014

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC Senator John Faulkner State Memorial Service Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 “Dying will happen sometime.  As you know, I plan for the ages, not just for this life.” As those words show, … Continue reading →

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Graham Freudenberg AM. Tribute to Gough Whitlam.

Posted on 5 November 2014

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service Graham Freudenberg AM Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014   This is the greatest privilege of my very privileged life.  And I thank the Whitlam Family for it. Gough Whitlam … Continue reading →

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Richard Woolcott. Whitlam on the world stage: Courage, vision and wit

Posted on 5 November 2014

Gough Whitlam had political courage and a vision for Australia. A forward-looking, pragmatic realist, he sought to reshape Australia’s approach to the countries of North and Southeast Asia, the region in which we are forever situated. It was stimulating to … Continue reading →

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Eric Walsh. Gough Whitlam – Australia’s greatest reforming Prime Minister.

Posted on 29 October 2014

Australian media had never seen anything like it. Suddenly print, radio, television and social media were overwhelmed – blanket coverage of a single event. Edward Gough Whitlam, Australia’s 21st and greatest reforming Prime Minister, was dead. Newspapers were turned over to … Continue reading →

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Kelvin Canavan.   Gough Whitlam: a tribute to an education visionary.  

Posted on 29 October 2014

I first met E. G. Whitlam when he spoke at a series of ‘State Aid’ rallies in Sydney prior to the 1969 federal election.  He was in full voice before a Catholic community that had packed halls and cinemas on … Continue reading →

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Mike Steketee. Whitlam: the power of persuasion.

Posted on 27 October 2014

This article was first published by The Drum. Gough Whitlam’s sheer presence, drive and ambitions disguised some deep flaws. But his vision and achievements stand in stark contrast to the politics we often have seen since, writes Mike Steketee. “It’s … Continue reading →

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Race Mathews. Whitlam eyed our conscience, not our wallet.

Posted on 26 October 2014

Gough Whitlam’s objective was equality for all. He believed the proper business of politics was to secure informed public consent for necessary change, through objective information from trusted sources. He gave back hope to my generation of Labor Party members. … Continue reading →

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