Remembering the sacking of the Whitlam Government, 50 years on
The Labour History Society SA invites you to a discussion of the historic dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by Governor-General Sir John Kerr on 11 November 1975. Hear first-hand recollections from:
- Dr Richie Gun AO, who as the Labor Member for Kingston was in Canberra that day
- Former Senator Chris Schacht who was a Labor Party official working in Adelaide on the day, and
- Bill Denny AM BM who as Aide de Camp to Sir John Kerr was witness to the ‘comings and goings’ at Government House on 11 November 1975.
This is an in-person free event. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A.
Sunday 16 November 2025, 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Box Factory Community Centre, 59 Regent St South, Adelaide.
Richie Gun was elected to the House of Representatives in 1969 as the Labor member for Kingston. He held the seat until 1975. In 2015 he was appointed an AO for distinguished service to medicine particularly in the field of occupational health and safety and to socially disadvantaged communities in regional Australia and Timor-Leste.
Chris Schacht’s political career began as a Labor Party official in 1969. He was ALP State Secretary when he entered Federal Parliament as a Senator for SA in 1987. He was Minister for Science and Small Business in the first Keating Government (1993-94) and Minister for Small Business, Customs and Construction from 1994 to 1996.
Bill Denny joined the Australian Regular Army upon leaving school. In more than 21 years in the military he served in South Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, as Aide de Camp to the Governor General and later on exchange duty with the British Army in Germany. He left the Army in 1990 and has had a diverse career in management and public service roles, as well as graduating with LLB in 2007.
Whitlam:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam remains the only Australian Prime Minister to have been removed from office by a governor-general.
Kerr:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kerr_(governor-general) On Tuesday 11 November 1975, Kerr served Whitlam with a letter of dismissal, then summoned the Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Fraser (who was hiding in an adjacent room) and commissioned him as Prime Minister.
A recent documentary I Was Actually There: The Dismissal featuring Bill Denny is available on ABC iView.
