Gough Whitlam's three years as prime minister would be some of the most transformative and energised in Australian history. This was no more obvious than in the media coverage of Australia's 21st prime minister and his government.
The long-term effect of his time in government is beyond doubt – evident in the almost universal expressions of respect, awe and admiration following his death on Tuesday morning. But it cannot be forgotten that the revolutionary and short three years were also divisive and tumultuous. Fairfax's newspapers reflected this.
The Election - 1972
"MASSIVE SWING PUTS LABOR IN," boomed the The Sun-Herald on December 3, 1972, a picture of Whitlam with his formidable partner Margaret accompanying the article.
A special edition of The Age on Sunday (The Sunday Age was established in 1989) declared "It's Labor, Easily".
Days later, the December 6 front page of The Age was a perfect illustration of the zeal with which Whitlam approached reform. Headlines pointed to Whitlam's rapid action on ending the draft and a dramatically different approach to foreign policy, including Australia's approach to China and various other controversial issues.
The page also recalls the extraordinary "two-man ministry" that consisted of Whitlam and the deputy prime minister Lance Barnard. The two of them would enact many significant reforms before the full cabinet was formed in late December.
The Dismissal - 1975
The dismissal would divide not only the nation but also its newspapers.
In Melbourne, The Age would unequivocally condemn the move. In Sydney, the Herald would entirely support it.
"The propriety and wisdom of his action should not be in question," lectured the Herald's front-page editorial. "They should not be in question because, as he makes clear, the course he has taken was the only course open to him."
"Let this be said. This crisis from the beginning has derived from the deep division of opinion among Australians about the larger crisis – our deteriorating economy, declining confidence in the government's managerial competence and its integrity, growing disillusion with its extravagant socialist aims and its honesty in promoting them."
The Age would also run an extract from its editorial on the front page: "The decision of the Governor-General was, we believe, a triumph of narrow legalism over common sense and popular feeling. We believe he was wrong."
The Canberra Times would lead with "FRASER IS PRIME MINISTER" across the top of the page, and then detail the "Protests, strikes backlash" that followed the shocking and unprecedented events.
