Holt Government in Crisis

Holt Government in Crisis is an excerpt from the documentary The Prime Minister is Missing produced in 2008.

The Prime Minister is Missing
With Australia at war in Vietnam in 1967, suddenly Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared without a trace—an event unparalleled in the history of western democracy. Four decades after Harold Holt’s bizarre disappearance at Cheviot Beach, a coronial inquiry confirmed that he had accidentally drowned.

A Screen Australia Making History Production in association with Blackwattle Films. Developed and produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

By the time Harold Holt became Prime Minister in 1966 the Liberal-Country Party coalition had been in government federally since 1949, the longest unbroken length of time in Australian history any government had held power. Politically, things should have been going well for the Holt Government: living standards continued to rise in the midst of the post-war economic prosperity and a long commodities boom, close to full employment giving workers a great deal of job security, widespread available and affordable housing and low interest rates.

Harold Holt brought a new style of leadership to the Prime Ministership, by (in the words of historian Ian Hancock) acting “more as chairman of a committee, by including the press in his overseas tours… and by presenting himself in an open and informal manner”. Whereas Menzies was known for his old allegiances to the British Empire and the British Monarchy, Holt showed gusto in embracing the United States and its President Lyndon Johnston, declaring himself to be “all the way with LBJ”.

Yet cracks began to appear in the Holt government. Holt wasn’t able or willing to discipline his own party. Petty feuds, personal vendettas, ministerial deceit and betrayal along with genuine policy divisions threatened to bring the ruling Coalition apart from within. By late 1967 these pressures and uncertainties threatened to undermine Holt’s position, physical health and peace of mind.

With Australia at war in Vietnam in 1967, suddenly Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared without a trace—an event unparalleled in the history of western democracy. The nation was in shock and disbelief at the shattering news, hoping for a miracle for the man who famously declared Australia was “all the way with LBJ”.

Police led a ‘softly softly’ investigation and concluded accidental drowning. But at the height of Cold War paranoia, persistent doubts about his disappearance fuelled rumour and wild speculation.

Why did Holt go into such violent surf that day? Had he chosen a bizarre way out of a difficult situation? Why were police withholding crucial facts? What had they overlooked?

The disappearance of our seventeenth Prime Minister, Harold Holt, at Cheviot Beach in 1966 during a beach holiday sparked countless conspiracy theories and ultimately overshadowed his political accomplishments.

Work with a group of two or three students to investigate, respond to and discuss the questions and points that follow.

1. Despite a landslide victory the previous year after an election campaign focussed on Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War with United States forces, it seems Harold Holt’s popularity as a leader and as Prime Minister, was waning in the months leading up to his disappearance. Does the clip present evidence or does it present opinion to support this view? Identify and examine relevant scenes. Evaluate sources of information, images presented and use of factual and emotive language.
   1. Investigate changing levels of acceptance of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Explain whether you believe this relates to a decline in Holt’s popularity. Write a short account that explores:
      – early involvement in 1962
      – introduction of national service in 1964
      – Morgan Gallup Polls in 1965 and 1966
      – anti-war demonstrations
      – moratorium marches.
2. Find out and list social and political events during 1967 that might have impacted on Prime Minister Holt’s popularity amongst colleagues and the general public. Research might include information related to:
   – changes in public opinion related to involvement in the Vietnam War
   – Gough Whitlam becoming leader of the federal Australian Labor Party replacing Arthur Calwell
   – misuse of VIP aircraft
   – unrest from within Holt’s Coalition government, for example, a rift between two powerful government members Country Party leader, John McEwan and Treasurer Billy McMahon, who disagreed vehemently over trade policy, with McEwen apparently making accusations to Governor-General Richard Casey, that McMahon was leaking cabinet secrets
   – defeat at a government half-Senate election
   – media speculation about Holt’s poor leadership qualities and personality weaknesses.
3. What evidence is provided in the clip about the personality of Prime Minister Holt? Comment on the reliability of the sources.
4. Explain how the media may have played a role in changing public perceptions about Harold Holt and his leadership.

Books

Tom Frame, The Life and Death of Harold Holt, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, 2005

Websites

Screen Australia Digital Learning – Harold Holt’s Briefcase

Australian Dictionary of Biography – Holt, Harold Edward

Australia’s Prime Ministers – A National Archives of Australia Project (use the site search tools and the research map to find information on prime ministers)

Australian War Memorial – Australia’s Prime Ministers

Museum of Australian Currency Notes

Museum of Australian Currency Notes – Virtual Tour

Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia

The University of Melbourne, History of the Melbourne Law School