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.