Vincent Lingiari and Gough Whitlam
Story by Emmjay
Words fail me in expressing my deep sadness at the passing of Gough Whitlam.
He was literally a giant among men and he created a vision for the greatness that Australia can be.
Some of Gough’s legacy:
- Ended Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War
- Ended Conscription
- Created Medicare – the best universal health care system in the western world.
- Recognised China – first western diplomacy initiative – copied by the remainder of the west including the USA.
- Created the Family Court and ended the lawyers picnic with no-fault divorce
- Provided income support for single mothers and homeless people
- Championed land rights for indigenous Australians
- Made University Education free
- Abolished the death penalty
- Created the Australia Council and the Australian Film Commission.
- Strongly supported the Arts
In short his reforms marked the beginning of Australia’s emergence on the world stage and the beginning of a modern, vibrant, cultured, fairer nation.
When Gough came on the TV, my Dad, a staunch Metal Trades Union man, used to stand up. Our working class family loved Gough. Making university free was, for me and for so many of my generation the way out of genteel working class poverty.
Gough, we will NEVER forget you and your magnificent work.
—ooo—
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
Yes, he was the greatest.
Vale Gough Whitlam – a legend who shaped modern Australia.
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So many wonderful comments on various websites, from so many like, GO and Helvi, Viv and Algy.
I was just exhorting the Youngest M to look at some of the tributes, for his own education. His reply was that he knew full well who Gough Whitlam was, he was the forward thinking bloke who bought Blue Poles. So much that Gough achieved. There was even a bloke at the Drum who remembered Gough as the politician who got reticulated sewerage for Western Sydney and Melbourne!
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I meant to say…’many like, GO and Helvi, Viv and Algy.’ who had met him.
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Blue poles was seen as an extravagant waste of money. Over a million or so. Today it is valued at over 100 million. A better investment than a house in Balmain. We bought a house in Balmain for $76.000.- in 1976. It came up for sale a couple of weeks ago for over $3 million. Roughly 45 times its original price. The owners spent lots to improve the house. Blue poles just hangs there and it increased a hundred fold.
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Re; Blue Poles. I just got this from internet. It seems Whitlam knew how to invest as well as Governing and making for changes.
“Blue Poles (or any other painting of merit) to define value, but it would be easy to make the assumption that the work we all own as Australians is worth circa $300 million. This means. a) The National Gallery better make sure that their insurance policy is up to date b) We as Australian’s own a work that would undoubtedly set the world’s highest price if we sold it at auction c) Australian Governments once made good investment decisions!”
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Not bad for an economic train wreck of a government, as some commentators said today.
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A lot of people slag off the Whitlam government’s economic credentials. Truth is the cost of oil quadrupled at the time. Imagine the Abbott government’s handling of the economy if the same thing happened to energy prices today. Train wreck ! I’ll give you a train wreck !
And the Khemlani affair has a certain resonance with the mining tax that was a knife in today’s Labor. The logic looks sound – tax those making a killing – or borrow from the mega rich – sadly, the megarich couldn’t give a stuff then and they seem to be holding that line nicely today.
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Yes, Emmjay, I remember fuel rationing. Voters would be outraged if they didn’t have fuel to take Sebastian and Imogen to school every day!
The problem with the Khemlani affair wasn’t so much that he was a fraudster, but that that the government had no back up plan to ‘buy back the farm’.
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I remember the fuel shortage. We were living on a farm in Holland. The Dutch Government rationed it by cars ending with even numbers allowed driving on one day and uneven numbers the next day. No driving on Sundays. It halved the traffic and worked so well there was a move to do this permanently. It did not happen and the shortage of petrol did not last long.
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I finally went to the National Gallery about 13 years ago and saw Blue Poles (in the flesh if you know what I mean). I thought it was absolutely fabulous. Seeing pics of it in a paper or magazine tells you nothing of its impact.
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Ah the $1.3m drop sheet. It’s worth a motza today. Culture and the coalition well they aren’t good bedfellows. Just look at the $1b repair needed to the Opera House after they put a boy in charge
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Youngest son tells me he had a good look at it, only a couple of months back. Had a good chat to the aging, decrepit security guard. Glad our investment is in safe hands.
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Without Gough I would not have had the education necessary needed to be who I am today. Vale Gough Whitlam.
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The great man is dead, a sad day. So much to remember him for.
Margaret opened an exhibition of Mrs A’s and others when she was a student. There might have been 20 or 30 there but the measure of the Whitlam’s and their patronage of the arts is something that won’t be forgotten.
Even today we look at his achievement that still endure today. Which PM’s since can you point to with the list that affects us all
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We were living in Holland at the time he was dismissed but were back for the election afterwards. I think I joined the Balmain Labor party at that time as well. Was Cold Duck the favourite drink then?
I know that after the local ALP branch meetings we used to go to the William Wallace in Balmain, got pissed and smoked our heads off. It is all getting a bit staid now though. No more punch ups or ‘maintain the rage’ parties.
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Easily the best by far, Hawke second
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The best PM ever. Medicare his greatest achievement.
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Closest thing to a royal family this country will ever have. The unionists in the family revered him like a god, the liberal voters hated him, calling him, shitlam, why? ‘Giving away’ land rights to blacks, wasting money on the arts, ‘free’ uni for long haired ne’er do wells, trade with the yeller peril, ‘no fault’ divorce, etc. He was a polarising man, who could quite easily take the piss out of himself (remember he made Edna Everage a Dame).
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He was one in a million, for sure. Thanks to him, our sons received University education we could never have afforded.
(We were also proud to live in South Australia during Don Dunstan’s era.)
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Yes – Don was fabulous. South Australia was so sensible in electing him and having him.
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Never forget.
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I met Gough and Margaret when they were in Albury-Wodonga back in 75. Served them a sausage at the BBQ. I worked my arse off during Oct/Nov 72 campaigning in North Sydney – letter boxing, street walks, making T shirts and also thoroughly enjoying it all as I was certain we would win. North Sydney just missed out.
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Just remembered that it would have been 1977, not 75 when they came to this area.
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