Formación ciudadana.

mALCOLm fRASeR COLLeCTION f1

The Malcolm Fraser Collection at the University of Melbourne comprises documents, photographs, books and other material relating to the life, family and career of Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. The collection complements the official records held at the National Archives, as well as several other personal and political collections at the University of Melbourne.

Articles, reports and press clippings relating to the ALP, senior ALP figures

and South east Asia (including Vietnam), 1955–67 105/99

The Liberal Party kept detailed notes on the ALP and senior ALP figures. This item consists of loose papers, publications, articles, reports and newspaper clippings relating to the ALP. A Liberal Party ‘research note’ dated 12 August 1965 gives a detailed overview of the differences in the ALP at that time, in particular between Arthur Calwell and Gough Whitlam. It includes Barry Jones’ 1964 article, ‘The two ALPs’.

Prime Minister, 1972–75 67

7

Prime Minister, 1972–75

The most important official holdings on the Whitlam government are the Cabinet, Executive

Council, and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet records, and those compiled by senior ministers and secretaries of agencies such as Treasury and the Attorney-General’s Department. The papers of Sir Paul Hasluck, Governor-General from 1969 to 1974, are particularly important due to his involvement in the formation of the Whitlam–Barnard Duumvirate and his interactions with and advice to Gough Whitlam in the lead-up to the 1974 double dissolution election.

The papers of Graham Freudenberg, Gough Whitlam’s press secretary, political adviser and principal speech writer from 1961 to 1973, illustrate much about Whitlam’s period as Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), opposition leader and Prime Minister. Freudenberg’s papers include letters of congratulations for which he drafted Whitlam’s replies. Some of Freudenberg’s papers are held at the National Archives, and several key items are held by the Whitlam Institute.

The Whitlam Institute also holds the most substantial collection of press releases, statements and speeches given by Whitlam, all of which are fully digitised. The Whitlam Government, Gough Whitlam’s own detailed exegesis (1985), is a key reference.

Specific parts of some of the series listed in this chapter are also referred to in Chapter 8: The Dismissal.

1972 election

In 1972, the ALP campaigned under the simple and highly effective slogan, ‘It’s time’. At the launch of the election campaign in Blacktown, Sydney, Whitlam reached back to the words of war-time Prime Minister, Labor’s John Curtin, whom Whitlam considered to be Australia’s greatest Prime Minister:

Men and women of Australia! The decision we will make for our country on the second of December is a choice between the past and the future, between the habits of the past and the demands and opportunities of the future.

The 1972 policy speech, written by Whitlam’s long-standing speech writer Graham Freudenberg, was the culmination of a decade of policy development and party reform. At the election on 2 December 1972, the ALP secured a nine-seat majority in the House of Representatives with a swing of 2.5 per cent and a net gain of eight seats. Gough Whitlam formed the first Labor government in 23 years, and became Australia’s 21st Prime Minister on 5 December 1972.

National Archives of Australia

PeRSONAL PAPeRS Of PRIme mINISTeR eg WHITLAm, 1972–74 m535

Recorded by: 1972–74 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Prime Minister’s Office (CA 1410)

Department of the House of Representatives – Member for Werriwa (CA 692)

The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC (CP 99) Sydney 0.2 metres

The series consists of three folders containing congratulatory letters and telegrams received by Whitlam after the ALP victories in the elections in December 1972 and May 1974. Copies of replies are also included.

election 1972 congratulations, 1972–73 m535, 1

This item comprises letters from friends, acquaintances, members of the public, Australians living overseas, various branches of the ALP, and those writing on behalf of various associations, including the Victorian Fabian Society. It also includes letters from the Opposition leader in Queensland and the Lord Mayor of Port Moresby City Council, Papua New Guinea.

eg WHITLAm – fOLDeRS Of PeRSONAL AND geNeRAL CORReSPONDeNCe, 1973 m503

Recorded by: 1972–73 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Prime Minister’s Office (CA 1410)

Department of the House of Representatives – Member for Werriwa (CA 692)

The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC (CP 99) Sydney 2.5 metres

The series contains folders of ‘personal and general’ correspondence. Letters of support and advice, requests for information and assistance, and requests for photographs and autographs are most common. Correspondence with distinguished citizens, members of parliament and the Governor-General may also be found. Each matter is accorded a number in a single number sequence (beginning at 20,000). Each folder contains about 30 matters.

galbraith to Whitlam, Coles to Whitlam, gorton to Whitlam,

1972–73 m503, 20880, 20445, 20084

Whitlam received many letters of congratulations on the ALP election victory in 1972 and encouragement for his policies, including from renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith (4 April 1973); former Independent member for Henty, Sir Arthur Coles, whose vote in 1941 had made John Curtin Prime Minister (4 December 1972); and former Prime Minister John Gorton (5 December 1972).

Correspondence between gough Whitlam and Tom Uren,

9 December 1972 m503, 20165

The government was not a week old when Whitlam received a letter from a sleepless Tom Uren, written at 4am on a Saturday, setting out his views on the needs of

Department of Urban and Regional Development. It was a sign of both the enthusiasm and the difficulty that a demanding Cabinet might bring.

Correspondence between gough Whitlam and xavier Herbert,

27 January 1973 m503, 20598

A letter from reclusive author Xavier Herbert conveyed the sense of elation the Whitlam government’s election had engendered among artists. Yet it was interspersed with pessimism: ‘I only hope to God you’re there to receive Australia Day greetings next year…’

Prime Minister, 1972–75 69

gRAHAm fReUDeNbeRg’S fILeS – fILeS Of THe PRINCIPAL SPeeCH WRITeR

TO WHITLAm, 1967

–

Recorded by: 1967–73 Department of the House of Representatives –

Member for Werriwa (Leader of the Opposition) (CA 692) The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC (CP 99)

Sydney 1.8 metres

The series includes telegrams and messages of congratulations following the 1972 general election.

Jones to Whitlam, Nott to Whitlam, Preston to Whitlam, maclaine to

Whitlam, 1972 m156, box 6

Letters of congratulations to Whitlam from a wide range of people, including friends, colleagues, acquaintances and members of the public, illustrating the range of hopes they held for his prime ministership.

mATeRIAL ReLATINg TO CAUCUS, THe LAbOR PARTy AND eLeCTIONS, 1972–77 m540

Recorded by: 1972–77 The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC (CP 99) Sydney 2.9 metres

All the papers in this series relate to the organisation of the parliamentary Labor Party (Caucus), the federal Labor Party (including conferences) and election campaigns. Correspondence with state Labor parties is included, as is background material for policy speeches and copies of opinion polls. Some documents appear to be the remnants of earlier series that have been dispersed.

Personal papers of Prime minister Whitlam – Caucus – general, to July 1974 m540, 1

This item includes Whitlam’s handwritten records of votes in the Caucus elections of 10 June 1974 at which Jim Cairns successfully challenged Lance Barnard for the position of Deputy Leader.

PeRSONAL PAPeRS Of PRIme mINISTeR WHITLAm – PAPeRS Of

CAROL SUmmeRHAyeS (WHITLAm’S PeRSONAL SeCReTARy), 1963–72 m176

Recorded by: 1963–72 The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC (CP 99) Sydney 0.9 metres

The series consists of miscellaneous correspondence, notes, reports and press material collected by Carol Summerhayes in her capacity as Whitlam’s personal secretary.

Office of the Leader of the Opposition – House of Representatives election