Episode 2 - The 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government
Episode 2 - The 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government
Catriona Jackson

Episode 2 - The 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government

In this second episode of Pearlcast from John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations, we return to the dramatic events of 11 November 1975 – the day the Governor-General dismissed the Whitlam Labor government.

Presenter and Pearls and Irritations Editor Catriona Jackson is joined again by two guests at the heart of the story:

• Professor Jenny Hocking, historian and author of The Palace Letters

• John Menadue, former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Whitlam, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Pearls and Irritations

Together they examine the final hours and the immediate aftermath of the crisis – the shock, secrecy and constitutional impropriety that led to what John Menadue describes as a “revolt of the establishment.”

The day an unelected representative of the Queen sacked Australia’s Prime Minister.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.

Catriona Jackson

Catriona Jackson is the Editor, Pearls and Irritations

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