Harold Holt
Encyclopedia
Harold Edward Holt, CH
(5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia
.
His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria
, and was presumed drowned.
Holt spent 32 years in Parliament, including many years as a senior Cabinet Minister, but was Prime Minister for only 22 months. This necessarily limited his personal and political impact, especially when compared to his immediate predecessor Sir Robert Menzies
, who was Prime Minister for a total of 18 years.
Today, Holt is mainly remembered for his somewhat controversial role in expanding Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War
, for his famous "All the way with LBJ
" quote, and for the sensational circumstances of his death. In the opinion of his biographer Tom Frame
, these have tended to obscure the many achievements of Holt's long and distinguished political career.
As Minister for Immigration
(1949–1956), Holt was responsible for the relaxation of the White Australia policy
and as Treasurer under Menzies he initiated major fiscal reforms including the establishment of the Reserve Bank of Australia
and launched and guided the process to convert Australia to decimal currency. As Prime Minister, he oversaw landmark changes including the historic decision not to devalue the Australian dollar in line with the British pound, and the 1967 constitutional referendum
in which an overwhelming majority of Australians voted in favour of giving the Commonwealth power to legislate specifically for indigenous Australians
.
Harold Holt was the elder of Thomas and Olive (Williams) Holt's two children. He was born in the Sydney suburb of Stanmore
on 5 August 1908. He and his brother Cliff (Clifford Thomas Holt, born 1910) spent their early life in Sydney and attended three different schools in Sydney and Adelaide
between 1913 and 1919.
In 1921 Thomas Holt enrolled his sons at Wesley College
in Melbourne, where the future Prime Minister Robert Menzies
had been a star pupil. By this time Thomas Holt had left teaching and moved into theatrical and artist management in partnership with the noted entrepreneur Hugh D. McIntosh
, owner of the Tivoli
theatre circuit. For several years in the early 1930s he was based in London.
Harold Holt's parents divorced in 1918. His mother died in 1924, when he was sixteen, and he did not attend her funeral. A lack of parental affection, his parents' divorce and his mother's early death instilled deep feelings of loneliness and insecurity in the young Holt. This drove him to seek approval and acclaim through personal endeavour and career achievement, and fuelled his eagerness to please others and his need to be liked. A formative event was his singing performance at his school's annual Speech Night in December 1926 – none of his family were present, and the sense of loneliness he felt that night remained with him throughout his life.
Holt won a scholarship to Queen's College
at the University of Melbourne
and began his law degree in 1927. He excelled in many areas of university life – he won College 'Blues' for cricket
and Australian rules football
, as well as the College Oratory and Essay Prize. He was a member of the Melbourne Inter-University Debating team and the United Australia Organization 'A' Grade debating team, and was president of both the Sports and Social Club and the Law Students' Society.
While at university, Holt met Zara Kate Dickins
, and they soon became lovers. However, the couple split up in 1934 and Zara travelled overseas. In London she met Captain James Fell, a British Army officer, and they married in March 1935. Her first son Nicholas was born in 1937, followed by twin boys Sam and Andrew, born in 1939. By this time, however, she had renewed her relationship with Holt and her marriage to Fell ended soon after the twins' birth. Tom Frame's biography reveals that Holt was the twins' biological father. Zara and Fell subsequently divorced, she married Holt in 1946 and he adopted the three boys. Although they remained married until Holt's death in 1967, Zara's memoirs confirmed longstanding rumours that Holt had a number of extramarital affairs.
Holt graduated with a Bachelor of Laws
in 1930. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar
in November 1932 and served his articles
with the Melbourne firm of Fink, Best & Miller, but the Depression
meant that he was unable to find work as a barrister. His father, based in London at the time, wanted him to further his studies in England, but the worsening economy also made this impossible.
Holt was drawn to politics in the early 1930s and joined the Prahran
branch of the United Australia Party
(UAP) in 1933. At the 1934 federal election
Holt unsuccessfully contested the safe Labor
seat of Yarra
for the UAP, running against former Prime Minister James Scullin
. In March 1935, he unsuccessfully contested the safe Victorian state Labor seat of Clifton Hill
. Holt stood again for the federal House of Representatives on 17 August 1935, at a by-election for the marginally conservative seat of Fawkner
, this time successfully. At age 27, he was one of Australia's youngest-ever MPs.
From this point on Holt dedicated himself single-mindedly to a career in politics and he reportedly had few outside interests, apart from his well-known passion for sport and the sea. He was a 'workaholic', typically working up to 16 hours a day and subsisting on 4–5 hours sleep each night.
In 1939 Holt's mentor Robert Menzies
became Prime Minister after the sudden death of the incumbent Joseph Lyons
and the short-term caretaker ministry of Sir Earle Page
. Holt's energy, dedication and ability earned him rapid promotion and in April 1939 he was appointed Minister without Portfolio assisting the Minister for Supply and Development. In October 1939 he became Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research
, and during November–December 1939 he was Acting Minister for Air and Civil Aviation.
In May 1940, without resigning his seat, Holt joined the Second Australian Imperial Force
as a gunner, but a few months later three Cabinet ministers and several of Australia's top military staff were killed in an air crash
in Canberra
. Menzies recalled Holt from the army, appointing him Minister without Portfolio assisting the Minister for Trade and Customs, and his recall earned him the ironic nickname "Gunner Holt."
In October 1940 Holt was elevated to Cabinet, becoming Minister for Labour and National Service
, and one of his most significant achievements in this portfolio was the introduction of the Child Endowment Act, passed in April 1941.
In August 1941, a front-bench revolt forced Menzies to resign as Prime Minister. He was replaced by the Country Party
leader Arthur Fadden
. Holt was among those who withdrew their support, although he never revealed his reasons for doing so. In October 1941, the UAP was ousted by a no-confidence vote, the ALP
leader John Curtin
was invited to form a new government, and Menzies resigned as UAP leader. By 1944 the UAP had effectively disintegrated and in 1945 Menzies formally established a new political party, the Liberal Party of Australia
, and forged an enduring coalition with the Country Party
. Holt was one of the first members to join the Liberal Party's Prahran branch.
and Menzies began his record-setting second term as Prime Minister. Holt at this election after a redistribution moved seats to the new division of Higgins
. Holt was appointed to the prestigious portfolios of Minister for Labour and National Service
(1949–1958; he had previously served in this portfolio 1940–41) and Minister for Immigration
(1949–1956), by which time he was being touted in the press as a "certain successor to Menzies and a potential Prime Minister". In Immigration, Holt continued and expanded the massive immigration program initiated by his ALP predecessor, Arthur Calwell
, and he displayed a more flexible and caring attitude than Calwell, who was a strong advocate of the White Australia policy
.
Holt excelled in the Labour portfolio and has been described as one of the best Labour ministers since Federation. Although the conditions were ripe for industrial unrest—Communist influence in the union movement was then at its peak, and the right-wing faction in Cabinet was openly agitating for a showdown with the unions—the combination of strong economic growth and Holt's enlightened approach to industrial relations saw the number of working hours lost to strikes fall dramatically, from over two million in 1949 to just 439,000 in 1958.
Holt fostered greater collaboration between the government, the courts, employers and trade unions. He enjoyed good relationships with union leaders like Albert Monk, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
, and Jim Healy, leader of the radical Waterside Workers Federation
and he gained a reputation for tolerance, restraint and a willingness to compromise, although his controversial decision to use troops to take control of cargo facilities during a waterside dispute in Bowen, Queensland
in September 1953 provoked bitter criticism.
Holt's personal profile and political standing grew through the 1950s. He served on numerous committees and overseas delegations, he was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1953, and in 1954 he was named one of Australia's six best-dressed men. In 1956 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and became Leader of the House
, and from this point on he was generally acknowledged as Menzies' heir apparent.
In December 1958, following the retirement of Arthur Fadden
, Holt was appointed Treasurer
. He delivered his first Budget in August 1959 and his achievements included major reforms to the banking system (originated by Fadden) including the establishment of the Reserve Bank of Australia
and the planning and preparation for the introduction of decimal currency.
However, in November 1960, Holt made one of the few major missteps of his career. He brought down a mini-budget in an attempt to slow consumption, control inflation and reduce the deficit, but it triggered the worst credit squeeze since 1945—the economy was driven into recession, the stock market slumped, private investment, housing activity and motor vehicle sales fell, unemployment rose to almost 2 percent (the highest rate since the Depression) and several major companies collapsed.
Holt's blunder damaged his career and brought the Coalition dangerously close to losing the 1961 election
, which they won with a precarious one-seat majority (the seat, Moreton
, was won by Jim Killen
). Holt was roundly criticised, his public profile was damaged, and he later described 1960–61 as "my most difficult year in public life". But his political stock, like the economy, soon recovered.
He continued as federal Treasurer until January 1966, when Menzies finally retired and Holt was elected leader, thus becoming Prime Minister. By this time he had been an MP for almost thirty-one years—the longest wait of any non-caretaker Australian Prime Minister.
Holt was sworn in as Prime Minister on Australia Day
, 26 January 1966. His original Cabinet included:
Holt's term in office covered almost exactly the tumultuous calendar years of 1966–67. His short tenure meant that he had limited personal and political impact as Prime Minister, and he is mainly remembered for the dramatic circumstances of his disappearance and presumed death. This has tended to obscure the major events and political trends of his term in office, especially his role in maintaining and expanding Australia's military commitment to the Vietnam War.
Holt's tenure fell during one of the hottest periods of the Cold War
era, and his government faced some unenviable foreign policy challenges. Global political, commercial and military alignments were rapidly reconfigured as the Soviets and the US vied for world domination in diverse theatres of conflict. Australia's ties with the UK dwindled rapidly as Britain closed foreign bases, disengaged from its former territories East of Suez
and began courting the EEC, as a result of which American investment in Australia skyrocket and Australia's onetime enemy Japan take over from the UK as Australia's major trading partner.
Strategically, the period was dominated by Lyndon Johnson's fateful decision to escalate the war in South East Asia. Australia's involvement in Vietnam increased significantly under Holt, with Australian troops fighting and dying in sometimes desperate battles like Long Tan
. Growing community unrest about the draft, the rising tide of casualties and social debate about the moral rectitude of the war fuelled the first significant stirrings of organised domestic opposition, such as the influential community anti-conscription organisation Save Our Sons.
There was also considerable anxiety about the volatile situation in Indonesia, in which saw Sukarno
was replaced by General Suharto, while the Chinese Communist Party launched the cataclysmic Cultural Revolution
. The precarious international situation reached a crisis point in June 1967 when the Six Day War flared in the Middle East and six days later China tested its first H-bomb. As the Space Race
gathered momentum, the continuing turmoil of decolonisation visited wars, coups, famine, armed uprisings and violent repression on countries across South and Central America, Africa and Asia.Harolds Life (1908-1967)
Harold Edward Holt was born in 1908 on the 5th of August in stanmore. Harold went to school at Randwick public. He and his brother were then sent to Wesley Prepartory School in Melbourne.
In 1947 Harold Holt married Zara Bate who was a fashion designer.
At the age of 27 Harold was one of the worlds youngest MPs. Harold Holt was pm in 1966 but only for one year.
Harold was the third prime minister die during office but he was the only one to die while swimming. Harold died in 1976 and lived for 61 years.
Important Dates and Events
1908: Holt was born.
1940: Holt joined the army then five months later retired because he was called in for parliment.
1947: Harold married Zara Bate.
The transfer of power from Menzies to Holt in February 1966 was smooth and unproblematic, and at the federal election
later that year the electorate overwhelmingly endorsed Holt, re-electing the Holt-McEwen Coalition government with 56% of the two party preferred vote. As of 2007, this still stands as the greatest winning margin at a federal election in Australian political history.
Behind the scenes, however, Menzies' retirement had created a power vacuum in the party, and internal divisions soon emerged. Menzies' domination of the party, and the fact that Holt's succession had been established for many years, meant that a secure second rank of leadership had not been developed. Holt's disappearance at the end of 1967 forced the party to choose a "wild card" successor from the Senate after the leading contender, deputy Liberal leader William McMahon
, was unexpectedly eliminated from the contest due to a dispute with their Coalition partners, the Country Party
.
Political historian James Jupp
says that, in domestic policy, Holt identified with the reformist wing of Victorian Liberalism. One of his most notable achievements was to initiate the process of breaking down the preferential White Australia policy
by ending the distinction between Asian and European migrants and by permitting skilled Asians to settle with their families. He also established the Australian Council for the Arts (later the Australia Council
), which began the tradition of federal government support for Australian arts and artists, an initiative that was considerably expanded by Holt's successor John Gorton
.
In the area of constitutional reform, undoubtedly the most significant event of Holt's time as Prime Minister was the 1967 referendum
in which an overwhelming majority of Australians voted in favour of giving the Commonwealth power to legislate specifically for indigenous Australians
and to include them in the Commonwealth census.
In economics, Holt's tenure began with the phasing in of Australia's new system of decimal currency, launched on 14 February 1966, and it was marked by a major realignment of commercial and military ties away from the UK and towards the US and Asia. Although all the preparatory work for the decimal changeover had been done while Menzies was Prime Minister, Holt had particular responsibility as Treasurer for currency matters, and he was centrally involved in both the decision to change and its implementation.
In 1967 the Holt government made the historic decision not to depreciate the Australian dollar
in line with Britain's depreciation of the pound sterling
, a custom that Australia had previously always followed, but this decision created considerable dissent within the Coalition; Country Party leader John McEwen
was particularly angered by the move—he saw it as a threat to Australia's balance of payments and feared that it would lead to increased production costs for primary industry.
In terms of party politics, one of the most significant features of Holt's brief tenure as PM is that his unexpected death triggered the beginning of an unprecedented period of turmoil within the Liberal Party and a rapid decline in the Coalition's electoral fortunes. For twenty-two years, from its founding in 1944 to his retirement in 1966, the Liberal Party had had only one leader, Robert Menzies. After Menzies' retirement, the party had three leaders in six years and in December 1972 the Coalition's hold on power was ended by a resounding electoral loss to the ALP under Gough Whitlam
.
During Holt's term in office, the Vietnam War
was the dominant foreign policy issue. The Holt government significantly increased Australia's military involvement in the war and Holt vehemently defended U.S. policy in the region. Holt also forged a close relationship with U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
, whom he had first met in Melbourne in 1942. Holt visited Washington in mid-1966 and Johnson visited Australia in October that year, the first time a serving American president had visited Australia.
Whilst Holt stated that his friendship with Johnson was reflected in the strong relationship between Australia and the US, former Australian diplomat and foreign affairs expert Alan Renouf
was more cynical in his assessment of the situation. In the chapter on Vietnam in The Frightened Country, his 1979 book on Australian foreign policy, Renouf bluntly suggested that Holt was in effect "seduced" by Johnson, and notes that the Johnson administration criticized the Holt government for not doing enough and repeatedly pressured Australia to increase its troop commitment in Vietnam.
On taking office, Holt declared that Australia had no intention of increasing its commitment to the war, but just one month later, in December 1966, he announced that Australia would treble its troop commitment to 4,500, including 1,500 National Service
conscripts, creating a single independent Australian task force based at Nui Dat
.
Five months later, in May, Holt was obliged to announce the death of the first National Service conscript in Vietnam, Private Errol Wayne Noack, aged 21. Just before his disappearance, Holt approved a further increase in troop numbers, committing a third battalion to the war—a decision that was subsequently revoked by his successor, John Gorton
.
Holt visited the US in late June 1966, where he gave a speech in Washington in the presence of President Johnson. Reported in The Australian
on 1 July 1966, Holt's speech concluded with a remark which has come to be seen as encapsulating his unquestioning support for Johnson, for America's Vietnam policy and for continued Australian military involvement in the Vietnam War:
Following his Washington visit Holt went on to London and in a speech there given on 7 July he was sharply critical of the UK, France and other U.S. allies that had refused to commit troops to the Vietnam War.
On 20 October 1966, President Johnson arrived in Australia at Holt's invitation for a three-day state visit, the first to Australia by a serving U.S. President. The tour marked the first major anti-war demonstrations staged in Australia. In Sydney, protesters lay down in front of the car carrying Johnson and the Premier of New South Wales
, Robert Askin
(prompting Askin's notorious order to "Run over the bastards"). In Melbourne, a crowd estimated at 750,000 turned out to welcome Johnson, although a vocal anti-war contingent demonstrated against the visit by throwing paint bombs at Johnson's car and chanting "LBJ, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?".
In December, Australia signed a controversial agreement with the United States that would allow the U.S. to establish a secret strategic communications facility at Pine Gap
in the Northern Territory
. On 20 December 1966, Holt announced that Australia's military force in Vietnam was to be increased again to 6,300 troops plus an additional twelve tanks, two minesweepers and eight bombers.
bitterly opposed Australia's part in the war and promised that Australian troops would be brought home if Labor won office, and opposition to overseas service by Australian conscripts had long been part of ALP policy.
Although domestic opposition to the war was beginning to build, Australia's involvement in Vietnam still enjoyed majority popular support. The Coalition scored a stunning victory over the ALP, winning many former ALP seats and sweeping back into power with (at the time) the largest parliamentary majority since Federation
. The Liberal Party increased its numbers from 52 to 61, and the Country Party from 20 to 21, with Labor dropping from 51 to 41 seats, and one Independent. Among the new members elected was future federal Treasurer Phillip Lynch
.
succeeded him. Whitlam proved a far more effective opponent, both in the media and in parliament, and Labor soon began to recover from its losses and gain ground, with Whitlam repeatedly besting Holt in Parliament. By this time the long-suppressed tensions between the Coalition partners over economic and trade policies were also beginning to emerge. Throughout his reign as Liberal leader, Menzies had enforced strict party discipline but, once he was gone, dissension began to surface. Some Liberals soon became dissatisfied by what they saw as Holt's weak leadership. Alan Reid
asserts that Holt was being increasingly criticised within the party in the months before his death, that he was perceived as being "vague, imprecise and evasive" and "nice to the point that his essential decency was viewed as weakness".
Holt's popularity and political standing was damaged by his perceived poor handling of a series of controversies that emerged during 1967. In April, the ABC
's new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight
ran a story which criticised the government's decision not to reappoint the Chair of the ABC Board, Sir James Darling
. Holt responded rashly, questioning the impartiality of the ABC and implying political bias on the part of journalist Mike Willesee
(whose father Don Willesee
was an ALP Senator and future Whitlam government minister) and his statement drew strong protests from both Willesee and the Australian Journalists' Association.
In May, increasing pressure from the media and within the Liberal Party forced Holt to announce a parliamentary debate on the question of a second inquiry into the 1964 sinking
of HMAS Voyager
to be held on 16 May. The debate included the maiden speech
by newly-elected NSW Liberal MP Edward St John
QC, who used the opportunity to criticize the government's attitude to new evidence about the disaster. An enraged Holt interrupted St John's speech, in defiance of the parliamentary convention that maiden speeches are heard in silence; his blunder embarrassed the government and further undermined Holt's support in the Liberal Party. A few days later, Holt announced a new Royal Commission
into the disaster.
In June Holt travelled to London via Canada, where on 6 June he opened the Australian Pavilion at Expo 67
in Montreal; on the return journey the Holts stayed with the Johnsons at the presidential summer resort, Camp David
, in Maryland
.
In October the government became embroiled in another embarrassing controversy over the alleged misuse of VIP aircraft, which came to a head when John Gorton
(Government Leader in the Senate) tabled documents which showed that Holt had unintentionally misled Parliament in his earlier answers on the matter. Support for his leadership was eroded even further by his refusal to sack the Minister for Air Peter Howson
in order to defuse the scandal, fuelling criticism from within the party that Holt was "weak" and lacked Menzies' ruthlessness.
In November 1967 the government suffered a serious setback in the Senate elections
, winning just 42.8 per cent of the vote against Labor's 45 per cent. The coalition also lost the seats of Corio
and Dawson
to Labor in by-elections. Alan Reid says that within the party the reversal was blamed on Holt's mishandling of the VIP planes scandal. In December, days before Holt disappeared, the Chief Government Whip Dudley Erwin
decided to meet with Holt and confront him about growing unrest in the party. According to Alan Reid's account, Erwin had no concerns about policy—his anxiety was entirely focussed on Holt's leadership style, his parliamentary performance and his public image.
The notes Erwin made for his planned meeting with Holt (which he evidently provided to Reid) indicate that he and others were worried that Holt was too susceptible to traps set for him by the ALP over issues like the VIP jets scandal, and that he had repeatedly let himself become the target of Opposition "harassment" instead of letting his ministers take the heat on controversial issues.
sail through Port Phillip Heads in his boat Lively Lady to complete a leg of his solo circumnavigation of the globe, which started and ended in England. Around noon, the party drove to one of Holt's favourite swimming and snorkelling spots, Cheviot Beach on Point Nepean near Portsea
, on the eastern arm of Port Phillip Bay
. Holt decided to go swimming, although the surf was heavy and Cheviot Beach was notorious for its strong currents and dangerous rip tides
.
Ignoring his friends' pleas not to go in, Holt began swimming but soon disappeared from view. Fearing the worst, his friends raised the alert. Within a short time the beach and the water off shore were being searched by a large contingent of police, Royal Australian Navy
divers, Royal Australian Air Force
helicopters, Army personnel from nearby Point Nepean and local volunteers. This quickly escalated into one of the largest search operations
in Australian history, but no trace of Holt could be found.
Two days later, on 19 December 1967, the government made an official announcement that Holt was presumed dead. The Governor-General Lord Casey
sent for the Country Party leader and Coalition Deputy Prime Minister John McEwen
, and he was sworn in as caretaker Prime Minister until such time as the Liberals elected a new leader.
Holt was a strong swimmer and an experienced skindiver
, with what Holt's biographer Tom Frame describes as "incredible powers of endurance underwater". However, his health was evidently far from perfect at the time of his death — he had collapsed in Parliament earlier in the year, apparently suffering from a "vitamin deficiency", and this raised fears among some senior Liberals that he might have a heart condition.
In September 1967 Holt had suffered a recurrence of an old shoulder injury, which reportedly caused him agonising pain, and for this he was prescribed strong painkillers. He ignored recent advice from his doctor Marcus de Laune Faunce
not to play tennis or swim until the shoulder healed and reportedly obtained a prescription for morphine
from another doctor. Tom Frame also records that Holt had already got into trouble twice while skindiving earlier in 1967 — on the first occasion, while snorkeling at Portsea in May, he got into severe difficulties due to a leaking snorkel and had to be pulled from the water by friends, gasping for breath, blue in the face and vomiting seawater.
in Melbourne on 22 December was attended by a number of international dignitaries including President Johnson and Charles, Prince of Wales
. Among the many Asian leaders were Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
, President of South Vietnam
and Park Chung-hee
, President of South Korea. It was also one of the first events to be transmitted from Australia to other countries via satellite
.
There have been reports from Chinese spies working for CIA who have given a great deal of evidence concerning Holt's alleged presence in China. Additionally, at the time of Holt's disappearance, there was a major ongoing investigation searching for a communist spy that was known to be operating at the highest levels of the Australian government. Holt would have been aware of this effort and that it was a matter of time before the traitor would be caught.
Journalist Ray Martin
made a documentary, Who Killed Harold Holt?
, screened in November 2007, which suggested that Holt might have committed suicide. The Bulletin
magazine featured a story supporting the suicide theory. In support of the view, The Bulletin quoted fellow cabinet minister Doug Anthony
who spoke about Holt's depression shortly before his death. The suggestion of suicide was rejected by Holt's son Sam, by his biographer Tom Frame, and by former prime minister and Holt's Cabinet colleague at the time, Malcolm Fraser
.
On 23 October 2008 ABC Television broadcast the one-hour docudrama The Prime Minister is Missing, starring 1960s pop idol Normie Rowe
as Holt. This program covered much of the same ground as Martin's documentary, but rejected Martin's suggestion that Holt had committed suicide, stating that he was a vocal 'life affirmer'. The documentary also noted that Holt was suffering a shoulder injury and had been advised by his physician Marcus de Laune Faunce
not to play tennis or swim, advice that was ignored on both counts. A different doctor had prescribed morphine
for the injured shoulder and the documentary suggested that the effect of the drug might have impaired Holt's judgement in entering the dangerous surf.
The law in Victoria was changed in 1985, and in 2003 the Victoria Police
Missing Persons Unit formally reopened 161 pre-1985 cases in which drowning was suspected but no body was found. Holt's son Nicholas Holt said that after 37 years there were few surviving witnesses and no new evidence would be presented. On 2 September 2005, the Coroner's finding was that Holt had drowned in accidental circumstances on 17 December 1967.
leader John McEwen
publicly declared that neither he nor his Country Party colleagues would serve in a Coalition if the deputy Liberal leader William McMahon
were elected as Liberal leader. McEwen refused to give his reasons, saying only that McMahon knew what they were. In the interim, on 19 December, McEwen was sworn in as Prime Minister on the understanding that his commission would continue only until such time as the Liberals could elect a new leader. With McMahon unexpectedly eliminated from the contest, Senator John Gorton
was elected Liberal leader on 9 January 1968, and was sworn in as Prime Minister on 10 January, replacing McEwen.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1968, Holt's widow Zara Holt
was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
, becoming Dame Zara Holt DBE. She later married for a third time, to a Liberal party colleague of Holt's, Jeff Bate, and was then known as Dame Zara Bate.
In 1968 the newly commissioned United States Navy
Knox class destroyer escort
USS Harold E. Holt (FF-1074)
was named in his honour. She was launched by Holt's widow Dame Zara at the Todd Shipyards
in Los Angeles on 3 May 1969, and was the first American warship to bear the name of a foreign leader.
In 1969 a plaque commemorating Holt was bolted to the seafloor off Cheviot Beach after a memorial ceremony. It bears the inscription:
Other memorials include:
Holt is most famously commemorated by the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre, a swimming pool
complex in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris
. The complex was already under construction at the time of Holt's disappearance, and since he was Malvern's local member it was named in his memory. The irony of commemorating him with a swimming pool has been the source of wry amusement to some Australians.
By way of a folk memorial, he is recalled in the Australian vernacular
expression "do a Harold Holt" (or "do the Harry"), rhyming slang for "do a bolt" meaning "to disappear suddenly and without explanation", although this is usually employed in the context of disappearance from a social gathering rather than a case of presumed death.
(published in the US as In a Sunburned Country) to Holt's disappearance.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
.
His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria
Portsea, Victoria
Portsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula....
, and was presumed drowned.
Holt spent 32 years in Parliament, including many years as a senior Cabinet Minister, but was Prime Minister for only 22 months. This necessarily limited his personal and political impact, especially when compared to his immediate predecessor Sir Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, who was Prime Minister for a total of 18 years.
Today, Holt is mainly remembered for his somewhat controversial role in expanding Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, for his famous "All the way with LBJ
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
" quote, and for the sensational circumstances of his death. In the opinion of his biographer Tom Frame
Tom Frame (bishop)
Tom Frame is an Australian Anglican bishop, historian, academic, author and social commentator.Frame was born in Stanmore, New South Wales and raised in Wollongong by his adoptive parents.-Career:...
, these have tended to obscure the many achievements of Holt's long and distinguished political career.
As Minister for Immigration
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
(1949–1956), Holt was responsible for the relaxation of the White Australia policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
and as Treasurer under Menzies he initiated major fiscal reforms including the establishment of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
and launched and guided the process to convert Australia to decimal currency. As Prime Minister, he oversaw landmark changes including the historic decision not to devalue the Australian dollar in line with the British pound, and the 1967 constitutional referendum
Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1967, which became law on 10 August 1967 following the results of the referendum...
in which an overwhelming majority of Australians voted in favour of giving the Commonwealth power to legislate specifically for indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
Early life
Stanmore, New South Wales
Stanmore is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Stanmore is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Marrickville Council.-History:...
on 5 August 1908. He and his brother Cliff (Clifford Thomas Holt, born 1910) spent their early life in Sydney and attended three different schools in Sydney and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
between 1913 and 1919.
In 1921 Thomas Holt enrolled his sons at Wesley College
Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
in Melbourne, where the future Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
had been a star pupil. By this time Thomas Holt had left teaching and moved into theatrical and artist management in partnership with the noted entrepreneur Hugh D. McIntosh
Hugh D. McIntosh
Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh was an Australian show-business entrepreneur born to parents of Scottish and Irish origin and modest means in Sydney's Surry Hills, then a ramshackle suburb with a reputation for crime and vice among the largely Irish immigrant population. His policeman father Hugh...
, owner of the Tivoli
Tivoli circuit
The Tivoli Circuit was a successful and popular Australian entertainment circuit which flourished from 1893 and the 1950s. The circuit suffered a catastrophic decline in popularity after the introduction of television in Australia in 1956, and the last Tivoli show was staged in 1966.-History:The...
theatre circuit. For several years in the early 1930s he was based in London.
Harold Holt's parents divorced in 1918. His mother died in 1924, when he was sixteen, and he did not attend her funeral. A lack of parental affection, his parents' divorce and his mother's early death instilled deep feelings of loneliness and insecurity in the young Holt. This drove him to seek approval and acclaim through personal endeavour and career achievement, and fuelled his eagerness to please others and his need to be liked. A formative event was his singing performance at his school's annual Speech Night in December 1926 – none of his family were present, and the sense of loneliness he felt that night remained with him throughout his life.
Holt won a scholarship to Queen's College
Queen's College (University of Melbourne)
Queen's College is a residential College affiliated with the University of Melbourne providing accommodation to 220 students who are attending the University of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts, RMIT University and Monash University's Victorian College of Pharmacy.In addition to the...
at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
and began his law degree in 1927. He excelled in many areas of university life – he won College 'Blues' for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, as well as the College Oratory and Essay Prize. He was a member of the Melbourne Inter-University Debating team and the United Australia Organization 'A' Grade debating team, and was president of both the Sports and Social Club and the Law Students' Society.
While at university, Holt met Zara Kate Dickins
Zara Bate
Dame Zara Kate Bate DBE was an Australian fashion designer and wife of the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt....
, and they soon became lovers. However, the couple split up in 1934 and Zara travelled overseas. In London she met Captain James Fell, a British Army officer, and they married in March 1935. Her first son Nicholas was born in 1937, followed by twin boys Sam and Andrew, born in 1939. By this time, however, she had renewed her relationship with Holt and her marriage to Fell ended soon after the twins' birth. Tom Frame's biography reveals that Holt was the twins' biological father. Zara and Fell subsequently divorced, she married Holt in 1946 and he adopted the three boys. Although they remained married until Holt's death in 1967, Zara's memoirs confirmed longstanding rumours that Holt had a number of extramarital affairs.
Holt graduated with a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in 1930. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar
Victorian Bar
The Victorian Bar is the bar association for the Australian State of Victoria. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 19 January 2006, there were 1627 counsel practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Once a barrister has been admitted to practice by the Supreme Court...
in November 1932 and served his articles
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
with the Melbourne firm of Fink, Best & Miller, but the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
meant that he was unable to find work as a barrister. His father, based in London at the time, wanted him to further his studies in England, but the worsening economy also made this impossible.
Early political career
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
branch of the United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
(UAP) in 1933. At the 1934 federal election
Australian federal election, 1934
Federal elections were held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons with coalition partner the Country Party led...
Holt unsuccessfully contested the safe Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
seat of Yarra
Division of Yarra
The Division of Yarra was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was located in inner eastern suburban Melbourne, and was named after the Yarra River, which originally formed the eastern border of the Division, and eventually ran through it. It originally covered the suburbs...
for the UAP, running against former Prime Minister James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
. In March 1935, he unsuccessfully contested the safe Victorian state Labor seat of Clifton Hill
Electoral district of Clifton Hill
Electoral district of Clifton Hill was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria.-Members for Clifton Hill:...
. Holt stood again for the federal House of Representatives on 17 August 1935, at a by-election for the marginally conservative seat of Fawkner
Division of Fawkner
The Division of Fawkner was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1906 , and was abolished itself in 1969. It was named for John Pascoe Fawkner, one of the founders of Melbourne. It was located in the inner southern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various...
, this time successfully. At age 27, he was one of Australia's youngest-ever MPs.
From this point on Holt dedicated himself single-mindedly to a career in politics and he reportedly had few outside interests, apart from his well-known passion for sport and the sea. He was a 'workaholic', typically working up to 16 hours a day and subsisting on 4–5 hours sleep each night.
In 1939 Holt's mentor Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
became Prime Minister after the sudden death of the incumbent Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
and the short-term caretaker ministry of Sir Earle Page
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:...
. Holt's energy, dedication and ability earned him rapid promotion and in April 1939 he was appointed Minister without Portfolio assisting the Minister for Supply and Development. In October 1939 he became Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (Australia)
The current Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is Kim Carr, appointed on 3 December 2007. He administers his portfolio through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.-List of Ministers for Industry :...
, and during November–December 1939 he was Acting Minister for Air and Civil Aviation.
In May 1940, without resigning his seat, Holt joined the Second Australian Imperial Force
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
as a gunner, but a few months later three Cabinet ministers and several of Australia's top military staff were killed in an air crash
Canberra air disaster, 1940
The 1940 Canberra air disaster was a plane crash that occurred near Canberra, the capital of Australia, on 13 August 1940, during World War II. The six passengers, including three members of the Australian Cabinet and the Chief of the General Staff, and the four crew were all killed...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. Menzies recalled Holt from the army, appointing him Minister without Portfolio assisting the Minister for Trade and Customs, and his recall earned him the ironic nickname "Gunner Holt."
In October 1940 Holt was elevated to Cabinet, becoming Minister for Labour and National Service
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations is currently the Hon Senator Chris Evans.The Minister administers this portfolio, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations....
, and one of his most significant achievements in this portfolio was the introduction of the Child Endowment Act, passed in April 1941.
In August 1941, a front-bench revolt forced Menzies to resign as Prime Minister. He was replaced by the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
leader Arthur Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
. Holt was among those who withdrew their support, although he never revealed his reasons for doing so. In October 1941, the UAP was ousted by a no-confidence vote, the ALP
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
leader John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
was invited to form a new government, and Menzies resigned as UAP leader. By 1944 the UAP had effectively disintegrated and in 1945 Menzies formally established a new political party, the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, and forged an enduring coalition with the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
. Holt was one of the first members to join the Liberal Party's Prahran branch.
Ministerial career
After eight years in opposition, the Coalition won the federal election of December 1949Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
and Menzies began his record-setting second term as Prime Minister. Holt at this election after a redistribution moved seats to the new division of Higgins
Division of Higgins
The Division of Higgins is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria.The division was created in 1949 and is named after Justice H. B. Higgins , who was a Victorian Member of the legislative assembly , president of the Carlton Football Club , Australian Member of Parliament , and justice of the...
. Holt was appointed to the prestigious portfolios of Minister for Labour and National Service
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations is currently the Hon Senator Chris Evans.The Minister administers this portfolio, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations....
(1949–1958; he had previously served in this portfolio 1940–41) and Minister for Immigration
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
(1949–1956), by which time he was being touted in the press as a "certain successor to Menzies and a potential Prime Minister". In Immigration, Holt continued and expanded the massive immigration program initiated by his ALP predecessor, Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
, and he displayed a more flexible and caring attitude than Calwell, who was a strong advocate of the White Australia policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
.
Holt excelled in the Labour portfolio and has been described as one of the best Labour ministers since Federation. Although the conditions were ripe for industrial unrest—Communist influence in the union movement was then at its peak, and the right-wing faction in Cabinet was openly agitating for a showdown with the unions—the combination of strong economic growth and Holt's enlightened approach to industrial relations saw the number of working hours lost to strikes fall dramatically, from over two million in 1949 to just 439,000 in 1958.
Holt fostered greater collaboration between the government, the courts, employers and trade unions. He enjoyed good relationships with union leaders like Albert Monk, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
, and Jim Healy, leader of the radical Waterside Workers Federation
Maritime Union of Australia
The Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2011 the union has about 13,000 members. It is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents the...
and he gained a reputation for tolerance, restraint and a willingness to compromise, although his controversial decision to use troops to take control of cargo facilities during a waterside dispute in Bowen, Queensland
Bowen, Queensland
Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...
in September 1953 provoked bitter criticism.
Holt's personal profile and political standing grew through the 1950s. He served on numerous committees and overseas delegations, he was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1953, and in 1954 he was named one of Australia's six best-dressed men. In 1956 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and became Leader of the House
Leader of the House (Australia)
The office of Leader of the House in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia exists in order for the management of government business, involving such matters as the following:* the order in which Government issues are to be dealt with...
, and from this point on he was generally acknowledged as Menzies' heir apparent.
In December 1958, following the retirement of Arthur Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
, Holt was appointed Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
. He delivered his first Budget in August 1959 and his achievements included major reforms to the banking system (originated by Fadden) including the establishment of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
and the planning and preparation for the introduction of decimal currency.
However, in November 1960, Holt made one of the few major missteps of his career. He brought down a mini-budget in an attempt to slow consumption, control inflation and reduce the deficit, but it triggered the worst credit squeeze since 1945—the economy was driven into recession, the stock market slumped, private investment, housing activity and motor vehicle sales fell, unemployment rose to almost 2 percent (the highest rate since the Depression) and several major companies collapsed.
Holt's blunder damaged his career and brought the Coalition dangerously close to losing the 1961 election
Australian federal election, 1961
Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, which they won with a precarious one-seat majority (the seat, Moreton
Division of Moreton
The Division of Moreton is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named after Moreton Bay. The electorate is a bellwether in elections, having voted for the party winning government at every...
, was won by Jim Killen
James Killen
Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen, AC, KCMG , was an Australian politician.-Education and early career:Killen was born in Dalby, Queensland and educated at Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he graduated in law...
). Holt was roundly criticised, his public profile was damaged, and he later described 1960–61 as "my most difficult year in public life". But his political stock, like the economy, soon recovered.
He continued as federal Treasurer until January 1966, when Menzies finally retired and Holt was elected leader, thus becoming Prime Minister. By this time he had been an MP for almost thirty-one years—the longest wait of any non-caretaker Australian Prime Minister.
Holt as Prime Minister
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
, 26 January 1966. His original Cabinet included:
- John McEwenJohn McEwenSir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
(CP) Deputy Prime Minister, leader of the Country Party, Minister for Trade and Industry - William McMahonWilliam McMahonSir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
(LP), Treasurer - Paul HasluckPaul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
(LP), Minister for External Affairs - Allen FairhallAllen FairhallSir Allen Fairhall KBE was an Australian politician and Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Paterson from 1949 to 1969. During that period he held a number of ministerial portfolios, most notably Supply and Defence.Fairhall was born at Morpeth and attended East Maitland...
(LP), Minister for Defence - Charles AdermannCharles AdermannSir Charles Frederick Adermann KBE was an Australian federal politician and government minister.Adermann was born at Vernor Siding, near Lowood, Queensland, the son of German immigrants and educated at Lowood and Wooroolin State schools until he was 13...
(CP) Minister for Primary Industry - Charles BarnesCharles BarnesCharles Edward "Ceb" Barnes was a long serving member of the Australian House of Representatives who served as a Minister under five prime ministers....
(CP), Minister for Territories - David FairbairnDavid FairbairnSir David Eric Fairbairn KBE DFC was an Australian politician and cabinet minister.-Early life:Fairbairn was born in Claygate, Surrey, England...
(LP), Minister for National Development - Senator John GortonJohn GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
(LP), Minister for Works and Minister in Charge of Commonwealth Activities in Education and Research - Senator Denham HentyDenham HentySir Denham Henty, KBE was an Australian politician.Henty was born in Longford, Tasmania and educated at Launceston Church Grammar School. He left school at 14 to work in his fathers wholesale business. In March 1930 he married Faith Gordon Spotswood and they subsequently had three sons and a...
(LP), Minister for Supply - Alan HulmeAlan HulmeSir Alan Shallcross Hulme KBE was an Australian politician, accountant and cattle breeder. He was born in the Sydney suburb of Mosman and moved to Queensland before World War II, where he practised as an accountant...
(LP), Postmaster-General - Les BuryLes BuryLeslie Harry Ernest Bury CMG was an Australian politician.Bury was born in London and was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. During World War II, he served in the Second Australian Imperial Force from 1943 to 1945, with heavy artillery fixed defences and with the 12th Australian Radar...
(LP), Minister for Labour - Malcolm FraserMalcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
(LP), Minister for the Army
Holt's term in office covered almost exactly the tumultuous calendar years of 1966–67. His short tenure meant that he had limited personal and political impact as Prime Minister, and he is mainly remembered for the dramatic circumstances of his disappearance and presumed death. This has tended to obscure the major events and political trends of his term in office, especially his role in maintaining and expanding Australia's military commitment to the Vietnam War.
Holt's tenure fell during one of the hottest periods of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, and his government faced some unenviable foreign policy challenges. Global political, commercial and military alignments were rapidly reconfigured as the Soviets and the US vied for world domination in diverse theatres of conflict. Australia's ties with the UK dwindled rapidly as Britain closed foreign bases, disengaged from its former territories East of Suez
East of Suez
The phrase East of Suez is used in British military and political discussions in reference to imperial interests beyond the European theatre ....
and began courting the EEC, as a result of which American investment in Australia skyrocket and Australia's onetime enemy Japan take over from the UK as Australia's major trading partner.
Strategically, the period was dominated by Lyndon Johnson's fateful decision to escalate the war in South East Asia. Australia's involvement in Vietnam increased significantly under Holt, with Australian troops fighting and dying in sometimes desperate battles like Long Tan
Battle of Long Tan
The Battle of Long Tân was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tân, about north east of Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam...
. Growing community unrest about the draft, the rising tide of casualties and social debate about the moral rectitude of the war fuelled the first significant stirrings of organised domestic opposition, such as the influential community anti-conscription organisation Save Our Sons.
There was also considerable anxiety about the volatile situation in Indonesia, in which saw Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
was replaced by General Suharto, while the Chinese Communist Party launched the cataclysmic Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. The precarious international situation reached a crisis point in June 1967 when the Six Day War flared in the Middle East and six days later China tested its first H-bomb. As the Space Race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
gathered momentum, the continuing turmoil of decolonisation visited wars, coups, famine, armed uprisings and violent repression on countries across South and Central America, Africa and Asia.Harolds Life (1908-1967)
Harold Edward Holt was born in 1908 on the 5th of August in stanmore. Harold went to school at Randwick public. He and his brother were then sent to Wesley Prepartory School in Melbourne.
In 1947 Harold Holt married Zara Bate who was a fashion designer.
At the age of 27 Harold was one of the worlds youngest MPs. Harold Holt was pm in 1966 but only for one year.
Harold was the third prime minister die during office but he was the only one to die while swimming. Harold died in 1976 and lived for 61 years.
Important Dates and Events
1908: Holt was born.
1940: Holt joined the army then five months later retired because he was called in for parliment.
1947: Harold married Zara Bate.
The transfer of power from Menzies to Holt in February 1966 was smooth and unproblematic, and at the federal election
Australian federal election, 1966
Federal elections were held in Australia on 26 November 1966. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the...
later that year the electorate overwhelmingly endorsed Holt, re-electing the Holt-McEwen Coalition government with 56% of the two party preferred vote. As of 2007, this still stands as the greatest winning margin at a federal election in Australian political history.
Behind the scenes, however, Menzies' retirement had created a power vacuum in the party, and internal divisions soon emerged. Menzies' domination of the party, and the fact that Holt's succession had been established for many years, meant that a secure second rank of leadership had not been developed. Holt's disappearance at the end of 1967 forced the party to choose a "wild card" successor from the Senate after the leading contender, deputy Liberal leader William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, was unexpectedly eliminated from the contest due to a dispute with their Coalition partners, the Country Party
Country Party
Country Party may refer to* Country Party of Australia, now called "National Party of Australia"* In Great Britain:** Country Party , opponents of the Court Party and the government, late 17th early 18th century** Ultra-Tories, active 1829–32...
.
Political historian James Jupp
James Jupp
James Jupp AM is a British-Australian political scientist and author. He is Director of the Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University and an Adjunct Professor of the RMIT University in Melbourne...
says that, in domestic policy, Holt identified with the reformist wing of Victorian Liberalism. One of his most notable achievements was to initiate the process of breaking down the preferential White Australia policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
by ending the distinction between Asian and European migrants and by permitting skilled Asians to settle with their families. He also established the Australian Council for the Arts (later the Australia Council
Australia Council
The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council or arts funding body of the Government of Australia.-Function:...
), which began the tradition of federal government support for Australian arts and artists, an initiative that was considerably expanded by Holt's successor John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
.
In the area of constitutional reform, undoubtedly the most significant event of Holt's time as Prime Minister was the 1967 referendum
Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1967, which became law on 10 August 1967 following the results of the referendum...
in which an overwhelming majority of Australians voted in favour of giving the Commonwealth power to legislate specifically for indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
and to include them in the Commonwealth census.
In economics, Holt's tenure began with the phasing in of Australia's new system of decimal currency, launched on 14 February 1966, and it was marked by a major realignment of commercial and military ties away from the UK and towards the US and Asia. Although all the preparatory work for the decimal changeover had been done while Menzies was Prime Minister, Holt had particular responsibility as Treasurer for currency matters, and he was centrally involved in both the decision to change and its implementation.
In 1967 the Holt government made the historic decision not to depreciate the Australian dollar
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
in line with Britain's depreciation of the pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, a custom that Australia had previously always followed, but this decision created considerable dissent within the Coalition; Country Party leader John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
was particularly angered by the move—he saw it as a threat to Australia's balance of payments and feared that it would lead to increased production costs for primary industry.
In terms of party politics, one of the most significant features of Holt's brief tenure as PM is that his unexpected death triggered the beginning of an unprecedented period of turmoil within the Liberal Party and a rapid decline in the Coalition's electoral fortunes. For twenty-two years, from its founding in 1944 to his retirement in 1966, the Liberal Party had had only one leader, Robert Menzies. After Menzies' retirement, the party had three leaders in six years and in December 1972 the Coalition's hold on power was ended by a resounding electoral loss to the ALP under Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
.
Holt and Vietnam
During Holt's term in office, the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was the dominant foreign policy issue. The Holt government significantly increased Australia's military involvement in the war and Holt vehemently defended U.S. policy in the region. Holt also forged a close relationship with U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, whom he had first met in Melbourne in 1942. Holt visited Washington in mid-1966 and Johnson visited Australia in October that year, the first time a serving American president had visited Australia.
Whilst Holt stated that his friendship with Johnson was reflected in the strong relationship between Australia and the US, former Australian diplomat and foreign affairs expert Alan Renouf
Alan Renouf
Alan Phillip Renouf was a prominent Australian government official during the 1970s. During 1978 and 1979 he was the Australian Ambassador to the United States...
was more cynical in his assessment of the situation. In the chapter on Vietnam in The Frightened Country, his 1979 book on Australian foreign policy, Renouf bluntly suggested that Holt was in effect "seduced" by Johnson, and notes that the Johnson administration criticized the Holt government for not doing enough and repeatedly pressured Australia to increase its troop commitment in Vietnam.
On taking office, Holt declared that Australia had no intention of increasing its commitment to the war, but just one month later, in December 1966, he announced that Australia would treble its troop commitment to 4,500, including 1,500 National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
conscripts, creating a single independent Australian task force based at Nui Dat
Nui Dat
Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province was the location of a prominent Australian military base in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The site was chosen by Lieutenant General John Wilton in 1966 and was built mainly by men from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment...
.
Five months later, in May, Holt was obliged to announce the death of the first National Service conscript in Vietnam, Private Errol Wayne Noack, aged 21. Just before his disappearance, Holt approved a further increase in troop numbers, committing a third battalion to the war—a decision that was subsequently revoked by his successor, John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
.
Holt visited the US in late June 1966, where he gave a speech in Washington in the presence of President Johnson. Reported in The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
on 1 July 1966, Holt's speech concluded with a remark which has come to be seen as encapsulating his unquestioning support for Johnson, for America's Vietnam policy and for continued Australian military involvement in the Vietnam War:
- "You have in us not merely an understanding friend but one staunch in the belief of the need for our presence in Vietnam.
- "We are not there because of our friendship, we are there because, like you, we believe it is right to be there and, like you, we shall stay there as long as it seems necessary to achieve the purposes of the South Vietnamese Government and the purposes that we join in formulating and progressing together.
- "And so, sir, in the lonelier and perhaps even more disheartening moments which come to any national leader, I hope there will be a corner of your mind and heart which takes cheer from the fact that you have an admiring friend, a staunch friend that will be all the way with LBJ."
Following his Washington visit Holt went on to London and in a speech there given on 7 July he was sharply critical of the UK, France and other U.S. allies that had refused to commit troops to the Vietnam War.
On 20 October 1966, President Johnson arrived in Australia at Holt's invitation for a three-day state visit, the first to Australia by a serving U.S. President. The tour marked the first major anti-war demonstrations staged in Australia. In Sydney, protesters lay down in front of the car carrying Johnson and the Premier of New South Wales
Premiers of New South Wales
The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...
, Robert Askin
Robert Askin
Sir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...
(prompting Askin's notorious order to "Run over the bastards"). In Melbourne, a crowd estimated at 750,000 turned out to welcome Johnson, although a vocal anti-war contingent demonstrated against the visit by throwing paint bombs at Johnson's car and chanting "LBJ, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?".
In December, Australia signed a controversial agreement with the United States that would allow the U.S. to establish a secret strategic communications facility at Pine Gap
Pine Gap
Pine Gap is the commonly used name for a satellite tracking station at, some south-west of the town of Alice Springs in the centre of Australia which is operated by both Australia and the United States. The facility has become a key part of the local economy.It consists of a large computer complex...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. On 20 December 1966, Holt announced that Australia's military force in Vietnam was to be increased again to 6,300 troops plus an additional twelve tanks, two minesweepers and eight bombers.
1966 general election
Holt fought his first and only general election as Prime Minister on 26 November 1966, focusing his campaign on the issue of Vietnam and the supposed Communist threat in Asia. Labor leader Arthur CalwellArthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
bitterly opposed Australia's part in the war and promised that Australian troops would be brought home if Labor won office, and opposition to overseas service by Australian conscripts had long been part of ALP policy.
Although domestic opposition to the war was beginning to build, Australia's involvement in Vietnam still enjoyed majority popular support. The Coalition scored a stunning victory over the ALP, winning many former ALP seats and sweeping back into power with (at the time) the largest parliamentary majority since Federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
. The Liberal Party increased its numbers from 52 to 61, and the Country Party from 20 to 21, with Labor dropping from 51 to 41 seats, and one Independent. Among the new members elected was future federal Treasurer Phillip Lynch
Phillip Lynch
Sir Phillip Reginald Lynch KCMG was an Australian Liberal politician.Lynch held the House of Representatives seat of Flinders from 1966 to 1982. Between 1968 and 1972, he served variously as Minister for the Army, Minister for Immigration, and Minister for Labour and National Service, under Prime...
.
1967
In early 1967, Arthur Calwell retired as ALP leader and Gough WhitlamGough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
succeeded him. Whitlam proved a far more effective opponent, both in the media and in parliament, and Labor soon began to recover from its losses and gain ground, with Whitlam repeatedly besting Holt in Parliament. By this time the long-suppressed tensions between the Coalition partners over economic and trade policies were also beginning to emerge. Throughout his reign as Liberal leader, Menzies had enforced strict party discipline but, once he was gone, dissension began to surface. Some Liberals soon became dissatisfied by what they saw as Holt's weak leadership. Alan Reid
Alan Reid (journalist)
Alan Douglas Reid , nicknamed the Red Fox, was an Australian political journalist, who worked in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery from 1937 to 1985...
asserts that Holt was being increasingly criticised within the party in the months before his death, that he was perceived as being "vague, imprecise and evasive" and "nice to the point that his essential decency was viewed as weakness".
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs program of the late 1960s and early 1970s.- Overview :...
ran a story which criticised the government's decision not to reappoint the Chair of the ABC Board, Sir James Darling
James Ralph Darling
Sir James Ralph Darling OBE was the Headmaster of Geelong Grammar School , and Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission .-Early life:...
. Holt responded rashly, questioning the impartiality of the ABC and implying political bias on the part of journalist Mike Willesee
Mike Willesee
Michael Willesee is an Australian television presenter.Mike Willesee came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for the ABC's new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight , where his aggressive style quickly earned him a reputation as a fearless political interviewer.-Career:Willesee figured...
(whose father Don Willesee
Don Willesee
Donald Robert "Don" Willesee was an Australian politician, a member of the Australian Senate for 25 years representing Western Australia, and a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam government....
was an ALP Senator and future Whitlam government minister) and his statement drew strong protests from both Willesee and the Australian Journalists' Association.
In May, increasing pressure from the media and within the Liberal Party forced Holt to announce a parliamentary debate on the question of a second inquiry into the 1964 sinking
Melbourne-Voyager collision
The Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
of HMAS Voyager
HMAS Voyager (D04)
HMAS Voyager was a Daring class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy , that was lost in a collision in 1964.Constructed between 1949 and 1957, Voyager was the first ship of her class to enter Australian service, and the first all-welded ship to be built in Australia...
to be held on 16 May. The debate included the maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
by newly-elected NSW Liberal MP Edward St John
Edward St John
Edward Henry St John QC was a prominent Australian barrister, anti-nuclear activist and Liberal politician in the 1960s. His political career came to a controversial end after he criticised the Prime Minister John Gorton. His book A Time to Speak was an account of his eventful three years in...
QC, who used the opportunity to criticize the government's attitude to new evidence about the disaster. An enraged Holt interrupted St John's speech, in defiance of the parliamentary convention that maiden speeches are heard in silence; his blunder embarrassed the government and further undermined Holt's support in the Liberal Party. A few days later, Holt announced a new Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into the disaster.
In June Holt travelled to London via Canada, where on 6 June he opened the Australian Pavilion at Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
in Montreal; on the return journey the Holts stayed with the Johnsons at the presidential summer resort, Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
, in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
In October the government became embroiled in another embarrassing controversy over the alleged misuse of VIP aircraft, which came to a head when John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
(Government Leader in the Senate) tabled documents which showed that Holt had unintentionally misled Parliament in his earlier answers on the matter. Support for his leadership was eroded even further by his refusal to sack the Minister for Air Peter Howson
Peter Howson (Australian politician)
Peter Howson, CMG was an Australian politician.-Biography:Howson was born in London, England in 1919 to Jessie and George Arthur Howson, and was educated at Stowe School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
in order to defuse the scandal, fuelling criticism from within the party that Holt was "weak" and lacked Menzies' ruthlessness.
In November 1967 the government suffered a serious setback in the Senate elections
Australian Senate election, 1967
Half-senate elections were held in Australia on 25 November 1967.Independent: Reg Turnbull -See also:*Candidates of the Australian Senate election, 1967*Members of the Australian Senate, 1968–1971-References:...
, winning just 42.8 per cent of the vote against Labor's 45 per cent. The coalition also lost the seats of Corio
Division of Corio
The Division of Corio is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Corio Bay. It has always been based on the city of Geelong, although in the past it has also included parts of the western...
and Dawson
Division of Dawson
The Division of Dawson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Anderson Dawson, the first Labor Premier of Queensland and leader of the first parliamentary socialist government anywhere in the world...
to Labor in by-elections. Alan Reid says that within the party the reversal was blamed on Holt's mishandling of the VIP planes scandal. In December, days before Holt disappeared, the Chief Government Whip Dudley Erwin
Dudley Erwin
Dudley Erwin was an Australian politician and briefly Minister for Air.During World War II, Erwin served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force as a navigator in No. 31 Squadron and was involved in the South West Pacific. Prior to enter politics, he was an electrical radio...
decided to meet with Holt and confront him about growing unrest in the party. According to Alan Reid's account, Erwin had no concerns about policy—his anxiety was entirely focussed on Holt's leadership style, his parliamentary performance and his public image.
The notes Erwin made for his planned meeting with Holt (which he evidently provided to Reid) indicate that he and others were worried that Holt was too susceptible to traps set for him by the ALP over issues like the VIP jets scandal, and that he had repeatedly let himself become the target of Opposition "harassment" instead of letting his ministers take the heat on controversial issues.
Disappearance
On the morning of Sunday 17 December 1967, Holt, friends Christopher Anderson, Jan Lee and George Illson and his two bodyguards drove down from Melbourne to see the British lone yachtsman Alec RoseAlec Rose
Sir Alec Rose was a nursery owner and fruit merchant in England who had a passion for amateur single-handed sailing, for which he was ultimately knighted....
sail through Port Phillip Heads in his boat Lively Lady to complete a leg of his solo circumnavigation of the globe, which started and ended in England. Around noon, the party drove to one of Holt's favourite swimming and snorkelling spots, Cheviot Beach on Point Nepean near Portsea
Portsea, Victoria
Portsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula....
, on the eastern arm of Port Phillip Bay
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
. Holt decided to go swimming, although the surf was heavy and Cheviot Beach was notorious for its strong currents and dangerous rip tides
Rip current
A rip current, commonly referred to by the misnomer rip tide, is a strong channel of water flowing seaward from near the shore, typically through the surf line. Typical flow is at 0.5 metres per second , and can be as fast as 2.5 metres per second...
.
Ignoring his friends' pleas not to go in, Holt began swimming but soon disappeared from view. Fearing the worst, his friends raised the alert. Within a short time the beach and the water off shore were being searched by a large contingent of police, Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
divers, Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
helicopters, Army personnel from nearby Point Nepean and local volunteers. This quickly escalated into one of the largest search operations
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
in Australian history, but no trace of Holt could be found.
Two days later, on 19 December 1967, the government made an official announcement that Holt was presumed dead. The Governor-General Lord Casey
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
sent for the Country Party leader and Coalition Deputy Prime Minister John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
, and he was sworn in as caretaker Prime Minister until such time as the Liberals elected a new leader.
Holt was a strong swimmer and an experienced skindiver
Skindiving
Skindiving may refer to:* Free-diving, or breath-hold underwater diving* Scuba diving, as distinct from standard diving in an old-type heavy suit...
, with what Holt's biographer Tom Frame describes as "incredible powers of endurance underwater". However, his health was evidently far from perfect at the time of his death — he had collapsed in Parliament earlier in the year, apparently suffering from a "vitamin deficiency", and this raised fears among some senior Liberals that he might have a heart condition.
In September 1967 Holt had suffered a recurrence of an old shoulder injury, which reportedly caused him agonising pain, and for this he was prescribed strong painkillers. He ignored recent advice from his doctor Marcus de Laune Faunce
Marcus de Laune Faunce
Marcus de Laune "Marc" Faunce, CVO, AM, OBE, FRCP, FRACP was a Canberra consultant physician, head of Royal Canberra Hospital, doctor to five Australian Prime Ministers and six Governors-General of Australia and former Senior Physician Consultant to the RAAF.- Early medical career:Faunce was...
not to play tennis or swim until the shoulder healed and reportedly obtained a prescription for morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
from another doctor. Tom Frame also records that Holt had already got into trouble twice while skindiving earlier in 1967 — on the first occasion, while snorkeling at Portsea in May, he got into severe difficulties due to a leaking snorkel and had to be pulled from the water by friends, gasping for breath, blue in the face and vomiting seawater.
Memorial service
A memorial service held at St Paul's Anglican CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
in Melbourne on 22 December was attended by a number of international dignitaries including President Johnson and Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
. Among the many Asian leaders were Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...
, President of South Vietnam
Leaders of South Vietnam
This is a list of leaders of South Vietnam, since the establishment of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina in 1946 until the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975.-Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina :-Republic of South Vietnam :...
and Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...
, President of South Korea. It was also one of the first events to be transmitted from Australia to other countries via satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
.
Speculation
There were many rumours surrounding Holt's death, including claims that he had committed suicide or faked his own death in order to run away with his mistress. The mystery became the subject of numerous urban myths in Australia, including outlandish but persistent stories that he had been kidnapped by a Chinese submarine, or that he had been abducted by a UFO. In 1983, British journalist Anthony Grey published a controversial book in which he claimed that Holt had been an agent for the People's Republic of China and that he had been picked up by a Chinese submarine off Portsea and taken to China. Many of Holt's security detail had testified to seeing bubbles mysteriously surround him before he slipped beneath the waves. Much of this suspicion stems from the simple fact that his body was never found.There have been reports from Chinese spies working for CIA who have given a great deal of evidence concerning Holt's alleged presence in China. Additionally, at the time of Holt's disappearance, there was a major ongoing investigation searching for a communist spy that was known to be operating at the highest levels of the Australian government. Holt would have been aware of this effort and that it was a matter of time before the traitor would be caught.
Journalist Ray Martin
Ray Martin (television presenter)
Raymond George "Ray" Martin AM is an Australian television journalist. He is best known for his various on-air roles on Channel Nine from 1978 to 2008. In 2011 he returned to 60 Minutes....
made a documentary, Who Killed Harold Holt?
Who Killed Harold Holt?
Who Killed Harold Holt? was a television special which explored the disappearance of former Australian Prime Minister, Harold Holt. Broadcast on 20 November 2007 on the Nine Network, and hosted by Ray Martin, the special coincided with the 40th anniversary year of Harold Holt's disappearance.The...
, screened in November 2007, which suggested that Holt might have committed suicide. The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
magazine featured a story supporting the suicide theory. In support of the view, The Bulletin quoted fellow cabinet minister Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony
John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:...
who spoke about Holt's depression shortly before his death. The suggestion of suicide was rejected by Holt's son Sam, by his biographer Tom Frame, and by former prime minister and Holt's Cabinet colleague at the time, Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
.
On 23 October 2008 ABC Television broadcast the one-hour docudrama The Prime Minister is Missing, starring 1960s pop idol Normie Rowe
Normie Rowe
Norman John "Normie" Rowe AM was a major male solo performer of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Pat Aulton, house producer for the Sunshine Records, Spin Records and...
as Holt. This program covered much of the same ground as Martin's documentary, but rejected Martin's suggestion that Holt had committed suicide, stating that he was a vocal 'life affirmer'. The documentary also noted that Holt was suffering a shoulder injury and had been advised by his physician Marcus de Laune Faunce
Marcus de Laune Faunce
Marcus de Laune "Marc" Faunce, CVO, AM, OBE, FRCP, FRACP was a Canberra consultant physician, head of Royal Canberra Hospital, doctor to five Australian Prime Ministers and six Governors-General of Australia and former Senior Physician Consultant to the RAAF.- Early medical career:Faunce was...
not to play tennis or swim, advice that was ignored on both counts. A different doctor had prescribed morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
for the injured shoulder and the documentary suggested that the effect of the drug might have impaired Holt's judgement in entering the dangerous surf.
Inquiries into Holt's disappearance
No official federal government inquiry was conducted, on the grounds that it would have been a waste of time and money. Neither was an inquest held at the time because Victorian law did not provide any mechanism for reporting presumed or suspected deaths to the Victorian Coroner. However, the Commonwealth and Victoria Police compiled a 108-page report into the disappearance, including statements from all eyewitnesses and details of the search operation.The law in Victoria was changed in 1985, and in 2003 the Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
Missing Persons Unit formally reopened 161 pre-1985 cases in which drowning was suspected but no body was found. Holt's son Nicholas Holt said that after 37 years there were few surviving witnesses and no new evidence would be presented. On 2 September 2005, the Coroner's finding was that Holt had drowned in accidental circumstances on 17 December 1967.
Leadership crisis
Holt's disappearance triggered a leadership crisis in the Liberal Party which briefly raised the possibility of a split in the Coalition. On the morning of 18 December Country PartyCountry Party
Country Party may refer to* Country Party of Australia, now called "National Party of Australia"* In Great Britain:** Country Party , opponents of the Court Party and the government, late 17th early 18th century** Ultra-Tories, active 1829–32...
leader John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
publicly declared that neither he nor his Country Party colleagues would serve in a Coalition if the deputy Liberal leader William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
were elected as Liberal leader. McEwen refused to give his reasons, saying only that McMahon knew what they were. In the interim, on 19 December, McEwen was sworn in as Prime Minister on the understanding that his commission would continue only until such time as the Liberals could elect a new leader. With McMahon unexpectedly eliminated from the contest, Senator John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
was elected Liberal leader on 9 January 1968, and was sworn in as Prime Minister on 10 January, replacing McEwen.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1968, Holt's widow Zara Holt
Zara Bate
Dame Zara Kate Bate DBE was an Australian fashion designer and wife of the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt....
was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, becoming Dame Zara Holt DBE. She later married for a third time, to a Liberal party colleague of Holt's, Jeff Bate, and was then known as Dame Zara Bate.
Memorials
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Knox class destroyer escort
Knox class frigate
Knox class frigates were United States Navy warships, originally laid down as ocean escorts , but were all redesignated as frigates on 30 June 1975 in the USN 1975 ship reclassification and their hull designation changed from DE to FF.A sub-class of the Knox class was built, commonly referred to as...
USS Harold E. Holt (FF-1074)
USS Harold E. Holt (FF-1074)
USS Harold E. Holt was a Knox class frigate of the US Navy named after the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt.Harold E. Holt was built by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division in San Pedro, California, laid down May 11, 1968, launched May 3, 1969 and delivered March 19, 1971. Harold E...
was named in his honour. She was launched by Holt's widow Dame Zara at the Todd Shipyards
Todd Shipyards
Todd Shipyards was an American soccer club based in Brooklyn, New York that was an inaugural member of the American Soccer League. The team was formed when the Todd Shipyard company decided to merge the Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock with Tebo Yacht Basin F.C....
in Los Angeles on 3 May 1969, and was the first American warship to bear the name of a foreign leader.
In 1969 a plaque commemorating Holt was bolted to the seafloor off Cheviot Beach after a memorial ceremony. It bears the inscription:
Other memorials include:
- the suburb of Holt, Australian Capital TerritoryHolt, Australian Capital TerritoryHolt is a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen. It was gazetted on 2 July 1970 and was named after Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia 1966-67. Streets are named after sportsmen and sportswomen....
- the Naval Communication Station Harold E. HoltNaval Communication Station Harold E. HoltNaval Communication Station Harold E. Holt is located on the northwest coast of Australia, north of the town of Exmouth, Western Australia. The town of Exmouth was built at the same time as the communications station to provide support to the base and to house dependent families of U.S...
- the Division of HoltDivision of HoltThe Division of Holt is anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Harold Holt, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1966-67. It is located in...
, an electoral district in the Australian House of RepresentativesAustralian House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
in Victoria - a sundial and garden in the Fitzroy Gardens, MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
- a wing for boarders at Wesley College, MelbourneWesley College, MelbourneWesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
- the Harold Holt Fisheries Reserves – five protected areas in southern Port Phillip, located at Swan Bay, Point Lonsdale, Mud Islands, Point Nepean and Pope’s Eye (The Annulus).
Holt is most famously commemorated by the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre, a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
complex in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris
Glen Iris, Victoria
Glen Iris is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Boroondara and Stonnington...
. The complex was already under construction at the time of Holt's disappearance, and since he was Malvern's local member it was named in his memory. The irony of commemorating him with a swimming pool has been the source of wry amusement to some Australians.
By way of a folk memorial, he is recalled in the Australian vernacular
Australian English vocabulary
Many works giving an overview of Australian English have been published; many of these are humour books designed for tourists or as novelties.One of the first was Karl Lentzner's Dictionary of the Slang-English of Australia and of Some Mixed Languages in 1892. The first dictionary based on...
expression "do a Harold Holt" (or "do the Harry"), rhyming slang for "do a bolt" meaning "to disappear suddenly and without explanation", although this is usually employed in the context of disappearance from a social gathering rather than a case of presumed death.
Popular culture
Bill Bryson dedicates a chapter of his book Down UnderDown Under (book)
Down Under is a 2000 travelogue book about Australia written by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. In the United States and Canada it was published entitled In a Sunburned Country, a title taken from the famous Australian poem, "My Country"...
(published in the US as In a Sunburned Country) to Holt's disappearance.
See also
- First Holt MinistryFirst Holt MinistryThe First Holt Ministry was the forty-second Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 26 January 1966 to 14 December 1966.Liberal Party of Australia–Australian Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon Harold Holt, CH MP: Prime Minister...
- Second Holt MinistrySecond Holt MinistryThe Second Holt Ministry was the forty-third Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 14 December 1966 to 19 December 1967.Liberal Party of Australia–Australian Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon Harold Holt, CH MP: Prime Minister...
- Death in absentiaDeath in absentiaDeath in absentia is a legal declaration that a person is deceased in the absence of remains attributable to that person...
- List of people who disappeared mysteriously
External links
- Harold Holt Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archives of Australia
- Harold Holt and LBJ -You Tube Video Documentary