Queen Elizabeth was told of Sir John Kerr’s consideration of the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam months before the historic decision of November 1975, the palace letters reveal.
But in another letter, Sir John claims that his final decision to dismiss Mr Whitlam was made without the Queen’s knowledge.
The so-called ‘palace letters,’ between then-Governor General Kerr and the Queen in the period covering the Whitlam dismissal, were finally revealed on Tuesday by the National Archives of Australia.
Archives Director-General David Fricker revealed to reporters at a briefing in Canberra fascinating details contained in the 212 letters, totalling more than 1000 pages.
National Archives Director-General David Fricker and his team read all the letters prior to them being released. Photo: ABC News / Ian Cutmore.
“They really do provide a great insight as to how the Governor-General saw his role, how he dealt, from his office, with this crisis, this constitutional crisis,” Mr Fricker said.
“I hope that it will illuminate us all in Australia about what is a constitutional monarchy, how does the Constitution of Australia work, how does our democracy work, how does the parliament work.”
In a letter to the Queen on November 11, Sir John gave notification that he had dismissed Mr Whitlam as PM, saying he took the action without telling Buckingham Palace ahead of time.
“I should say I decided to take the step I took without informing the Palace in advance because, under the Constitution, the responsibility is mine, and I was of the opinion it was better for Her Majesty not to know in advance, though it is of course my duty to tell her immediately,” the letter reads.
The same letter says that Sir John had spoken with the then-Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Garfield Barwick, before dismissing Mr Whitlam.
“Before taking the final step, although I had already made up my mind, I consulted Sir Garfield Barwick as to my authority and duties in the present situation,” Sir John wrote.
A reply several days later, from the Queen’s private secretary Sir Martin Charteris, thanked Sir John for his course of action.
“I believe that in NOT informing the Queen what you intended to do before doing it, you acted not only with perfect constitutional propriery but also with admirable consideration for Her Majesty’s position,” Sir Martin told the Govenor-General.
Gough Whitlam was dismissed as Prime Minister by then Governor General Sir John Kerr in 1975.
Other letters, however, show that Sir John had discussed the possibility of dismissing the Prime Minister with the palace, including the extent of his powers to do so, and how such a situation would be handled.
Another letter from Sir Martin, on October 8, 1975 – just a month before the dismissal – thanks Sir John for keeping the Queen informed of the brewing constitutional issues around Mr Whitlam’s government, including the blocking of supply bills in the Senate.
Sir Martin uses a cricketing metaphor to describe the situation, saying Sir John would potentially face a scenario that would be “a real bouncer and not at all easy to play.”
Access to the letters on the website was delayed, with the National Archives website running slow or being inaccessible to many people. The National Archives blamed “higher than usual traffic” for making its website difficult to access.
The Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement last night confirming the sudden passing of former High Commissioner in Australia, Ambassador Philippos Kritiotis, on Sunday morning.
According to the statement, Ambassador Kritiotis was a member of the diplomatic service for 27 years and served “consistently and zealously” as High Commissioner of Cyprus in Australia and Ambassador of Cyprus to Finland and Romania.
“He was distinguished for his kindness, hard work and ethos. He was beloved among his colleagues and his work was commendable and multifaceted,” the Ministry’s statement reads.
As a sign of honor to Ambassador Kritiotis, the flags at both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Bucharest, where he was last posted, will be flying for three days.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director General and all the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs express their sincere and deep condolences to the wife, daughter and the entire family of the deceased,” the statement concludes.
Dean Pay has quit as Bulldogs coach with immediate effect after a tumultuous two-year tenure at Canterbury.
Current Bulldogs assistant coach Steve Georgallis will be the club’s interim coach for the rest of this season after Pay decided to walk mid-season, having been told he would not be offered a new deal for 2021.
Pay addressed his players on Tuesday morning and then drove out of the club.
The development comes as Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill formally told Panthers group CEO Brian Fletcher that the Bulldogs would open negotiations with Penrith assistant coach Trent Barrett.
Current Bulldogs assistant coach Steve Georgallis will be the club’s interim coach.
Hill and Pay met over the weekend with both parties aware it was time for the club to shift in another direction.
While Barrett remains the hot favourite to be appointed head coach, it is unlikely he would take charge at Belmore immediately.
Those close to Barrett claim he wants to remain at Penrith this year in the hope of securing a premiership.
The Bulldogs confirmed Pay‘s exit via statement, saying both parties agreed that it was in the best interests of the individual and the club to part ways.
“These decisions are always tough, particularly when they involve someone who has been part of the Bulldogs family for a long time,” Bulldogs CEO Hill said in the statement.
“The fact is though that the club and Pay have decided that we needed to move in a different direction to take the team forward, and Pay was in agreement that now was the right time for both parties to part ways.
“I‘d like to thank Pay for his contribution over the past three years and all the hard work and passion he has given to the club.”
Greek American businessman, Tom Carvel (born Athanasios Karvelas), created America’s first ice cream franchise and is well-known as the inventor of soft serve ice cream.
We take a look back at how a flat tire on his truck led to his successful career.
Early Life:
Tom Carvel was born on July 14, 1906 in Athens, Greece. In 1910, when Tom was only four years old, his parents decided to leave what was then impoverished Greece for Connecticut in America.
Carvel created America’s first ice cream franchise, Carvel Ice Cream.
At the age of 26, after a variety of careers that ranged from a drummer in a Dixieland band to an auto test driver for Studebakers, Carvel was incorrectly diagnosed with fatal tuberculosis and fled to the country air of Westchester, New York.
Carvel Ice Cream:
After borrowing $15 from his then girlfriend and future wife Agnes Stewart, Carvel began selling ice cream from the back of his battered truck.
Some bad luck on Memorial Day weekend in 1934 turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Carvel. When his truck suffered a flat tire, he pulled his trailer into a parking lot next to a pottery store and began selling his melting ice cream to vacationers driving by.
Carvel sold his entire supply of ice cream in just two days. This is when he realised he could make a lot more money working from a fixed location.
The potter allowed Carvel to hook into his store’s electricity. Two years later, in 1936, Carvel bought the pottery store, converted it into a roadside stand, and permanently established himself as the nation’s first retailer of soft serve ice cream.
That same year, he patented a “no air pump” super-low temperature ice cream machine, developed a secret soft serve ice cream formula and introduced the marketing concept “Buy one get one free.”
In 1939, Carvel built the first soft serve ice cream machine.
As Carvel began selling his patented machinery to other stores, he quickly realised that he could sell not only his machinery, but also his expertise.
Carvel always featured in his own commercials for Carvel Ice Cream.
For a flat fee and a percentage of the profits, Carvel began teaching independent storeowners the ropes and allowed them to market ice cream under the Carvel name. Carvel cultivated this relatively unknown idea called “franchising,” and opened 25 stores by the early 1950’s.
Death:
On October 21, 1990, Carvel passed away at age 84. Although he was married, he had no children and his death led to litigation between his relatives and his lawyers.
He left behind him a big fortune, a huge brand with 400 stores around the world, and a myth of entrepreneurship and business strategy taught to this day in business seminars in America. It all started with an accident, a flat tire, which Tom managed to reverse, turning the “American Dream” into reality.
Mosaics in Hagia Sophia will be covered by curtains or lasers during times of Muslim prayer, the spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Monday, after President Tayyip Erdogan converted the museum into a mosque.
The Christian icons would be uncovered and open to all visitors at other times, and admission would be free of charge, the AKP’s Omer Celik said.
It was not immediately clear how the lasers would work.
On Friday, a Turkish court ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum in 1934 was unlawful and Erdogan, declaring it a mosque, said the first prayers would be held there within two weeks.
The move drew international criticism and concern, including from Greece, the United States and Russia, as well as UNESCO and Pope Francis, who said he was hurt by the decision.
Celik told a news conference in Ankara that the biggest disrespect to Hagia Sophia in history was done by the papacy.
He said Orthodox Christians and Hagia Sophia had suffered for years during a “Latin invasion” led by the papacy in the 13th century, when Crusaders pillaged the cathedral.
Greece condemned the decision on Friday, saying it would have repercussions on relations between the two countries and on Turkey’s ties with the European Union. The US State Department said it was “disappointed” by the move.
UNESCO said on Friday it would review the status of the monument as a World Heritage Site following Erdogan’s announcement.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was surprised by UNESCO’s reaction and would let it know of further steps that will be taken regarding Hagia Sophia, which was a Byzantine church for nine centuries before the Ottomans converted it to a mosque.
Turkey is sensitive about protecting its historical character, he said. “We have to protect our ancestors’ heritage. The function can be this way or that way – it does not matter,” Cavusoglu told state broadcaster TRT Haber.
Former Greek international and marquee A-League signing Panagiotis Kone has departed Western United FC, effective immediately.
The midfielder signed a two-year contract with the newly-formed Melbourne club, yet made only 15 appearances in his first season before departing.
“The club thanks Panagiotis for his contributions on and off the pitch in our inaugural season,” Western United CEO Chris Pehlivanis said.
“We wish him all the best in his future, whether that be in football or other endeavours.
“He will forever be part of the club’s history as the first-ever signing.”
The former AEK Athens player made 15 appearances for the Green and Black in the 2019/20 A-League season, scoring two goals, including the club’s first-ever home goal against Perth Glory in round 2.
Kone took the chance to thank the club before he flew home to Greece, leaving a sizeable whole in Western United’s midfield.
“I want to thank Western United for giving me the opportunity to be part of this club,” Kone said.
“I wish the best of luck to all the players, staff and members. Stay Safe!”
The A-League season resumes this Friday but United will not feature in the opening weekend as the three Melbourne clubs are working through their 14-day quarantine.
It was on the 21st of May, 1957 – The old Spanish ship “Begona” was about to embark on another voyage from the port of Peiraeus, in Athens to Australia. This trip, however, was not like the rest. It was unique and this is how history would record it.
On board the ‘Begoña’were 900 young Greek brides, immigrating to Australia to marry prospective grooms who they only knew from photographs, a few men and some Greek families, who were travelling in order to reunite with their loved ones, who have already left Greece in search of a better life. All of them with a one way ticket.
Among the passengers, were eight-year-old Panagiotis Photakis and 22-year-old Maria Katsou.
Little Panagiotis, along with his mother and two brothers, left Sianna, a village on the island of Rhodes and went to Piraeus, in Athens, to start the journey that almost a month later would reunite them with the father of the family, who had immigrated to Adelaide, two years earlier.
Maria was travelling alone. She said bye to her parents and siblings and left Dyrrachio, a mountain village of less than a few hundred residents in Southwestern Arcadia, to take care of her older brother who had already emigrated to Australia and was working in Melbourne.
Sixty-three years later, Mr. Photakis – now a retired educator – and Mrs. Katsou, mother and grandmother, call each other “brother and sister” even though they were not in contact for six decades but reunited three years ago.
Friends and family farewelled Panagiotis Photaki, his mother and brothers. Sianna, Rhodes, May 1957
‘I’ll go now; but come and find me when you are older’
“It was the feast day of Saints Constantine and Helen. At the port of Piraeus, my mother and her brothers came to farewell me. The crew had already taken luggage aboard; I was about to get on to the ship too. Next to the stairs, was a little boy looking at me with his eyes full of tears. He didn’t want to get on board. I asked him what his name is and he didn’t answer. His mother told me his name is Panagiotis,” recalls Mrs. Katsou, 85.
Maria got aboard and from the top deck she could still see the little boy who reminded her of her little brother, whom she left behind.
“Before I left my home in the village, I kissed my little brother who was asleep on his bed next to the fireplace. This is who I saw in Panagioti and I promised to give him all the love I was not able to give my brother,” Mrs. Katsou tells The Greek Herald.
But little Panagiotis was still refusing to get aboard the ‘Begona’ although his mother and his two brothers were walking up the stairs
Maria, felt the need to help.
Maria Katsos, with her friends on Begona. May 1957
“I grabbed my backpack, threw it over my shoulder and ran down to the dock. Some crew members saw me and thought I was trying to run away. I could hear them calling my name from the loudspeakers. But I had to pick up the boy. I promised to buy him ice cream, took his hand in mine and got on board again,” says Mrs Katsou.
From then on, young ‘Mia’ as Panagiotis used to call Maria, became the sister he never had. She kept him entertained throughout the month-long journey and never left her side.
“He would eat with his mum and return to the cabin I was sharing with another girl. He was well behaved and only once I had to tell him off but I didn’t tell his mother. We were crossing the Suez Canal and we had been instructed not to extend our hands out of the portholes. Of course, he did the opposite,” Mrs Katsou says.
On June 16 1956, less than a month later, Begona reached Port Melbourne Pier.
“I have to go now but when you grow up come and find me,” Maria told her little friend.
Maria Katsos with her brother in Melbourne, June 1957
‘Maria was my guardian angel’
Panagiotis Photakis, 71, recently retired after a 50 year long career as an educator. He taught the Greek language to hundreds of Greeks in South Australia and never forgot Maria and his journey with Begona’s Greek brides.
“My family and I travelled together with 900 young girls. One could separate them into three categories. Those who were coming to be wed to grooms who they knew only from photos, the ones who were already engaged and the ones who were immigrating with their families or to visit family in Australia.”
“I remember I didn’t want to leave my village. Although the journey turned out to be enjoyable for me, it was exactly the opposite for some of the brides,” Mr Photakis says, explaining how important Maria’s friendly presence was, during a journey that would have otherwise been difficult.
“Maria was my guardian angel. She looked after me. She became my sister. Together we would go to English lessons on the ship – she never left my side. I lost her when the ship got to Melbourne,” he says.
On that day, at the Port Melbourne Pier, were more than 4.000 young, single men, waiting to meet their prospective wives. Some of them were even climbing on to the balustrades to find the best partners first!
“My father and family were there to pick us up. I remember hundreds of flowers and photos littering the dock. This meant that the photos of the grooms many brides were given in Greece, did not match the men they met upon arrival. At this point, I lost Maria.”
Panagiotis Photakis with family and friends in Melbourne. Port Melbourne, June 1957
Four decades after he arrived in Australia, Photakis took the initiative to source an original passenger list of the ship and started looking for the brides and record their stories, to shed light on this important part of modern immigration history.
In 2017, he advertised in a Greek newspaper, the invitation for the celebration he organised in South Australia, for the 60 Years from the arrival of the Greek Brides of Begoña.
Maria’s late husband happened to see the advertisement and told her that someone called ‘Panagiotis Photakis’ was the organiser.
“I asked around for his phone number. I found it, called him and I ended up going to Adelaide to see him,” Mrs Katsou said.
Panagiotis (second from right) and Maria Katsos with other
Today, Panagioti’s family has one more member. Maria. He calls her “big sister”.
Six decades were not enough to get in the way of their strong friendship, which began on the old Begona.
“Every time I ring her, she lights-up,” says Photakis. Like time has stopped.
Multiple Greek organisations across Australia have made public statements strongly condemning Turkey’s recent decision to reinstate World Heritage listed cultural icon, Hagia Sophia, back into a mosque.
Below is a list of associations that have released statements on the matter:
The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne & Victoria:
President of the Community, Bill Papastergiadis, has also recently sent a letter to the respective Prime Ministers of Greece and Australia outlining their position on Turkey’s decision.
The Federation of Greek Elderly Citizen Clubs of Melbourne and Victoria has sent a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison asking to include “extremely expensive dental treatments” under the Medicare scheme.
“It is very difficult for an Australian pensioner to pay for dental care. Extremely expensive dental treatments are a luxury for many pensioners,” Chairman of the Federation, Giannis Kostoulias, wrote in the letter.
“This results in the creation of more health problems and the burden of public hospitals. Shouldn’t it be included in Medicare?”
Mr Kostoulias goes on to congratulate Mr Morrison for his assistance to pensioners during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We would like to thank you for the recent $1,500 allowance given to pensioners in two installments on March-April 2020 and July 2020,” Mr Kostoulias added.
The Federation offers its support to 111 Greek senior clubs with 22,000 members and is the largest in the Victoria area.
“Thank you for all that you do for pensioners and thank you for what you do for Australia,” the letter concludes.
NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay is calling for the NSW Government to urgently establish additional pop-up testing clinics in south west Sydney, as the Crossroads Hotel cluster grows and long queues wait to get tested in Casula this morning.
“We need an all-out assault on what is a deadly enemy in Sydney’s south west. That means a major expansion of testing. The queues around the Crossroads Hotel today have been enormous. A single overwhelmed pop up clinic in the carpark at the site of the outbreak isn’t enough,” Ms McKay said.
“We know one of the biggest obstacles to increasing tests is convenience. That’s why the NSW Government must expand the hours of this pop-up clinic, and open more pop-ups in the area.”
A pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic has been set up at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula. Photo: ABC News / Jesse Dorsett.
Testing in parts of south west Sydney is well behind the eastern suburbs and inner city, with only 25 people per 1,000 tested in Fairfield and 39 people per 1,000 tested in Liverpool. While in Woollahra 63 people per 1,000 are tested and 66 people per 1,000 are tested in the Inner West.
“The number of people connected to the Crossroads that need to be tested is not in hundreds but the thousands,” Ms McKay said.
“One pop-up clinic and testing at far away hospitals isn’t enough. The Government needs to urgently scale up testing in South West Sydney and open more local testing facilities.”
Ms McKay also noted that south west Sydney is one of Sydney’s most multicultural areas, with around 70 percent of residents in Liverpool born overseas, and with large communities of people from places such as Iraq, India, Vietnam, Lebanon and Fiji.
“Outreach and multilingual health advice is vital, particularly to older members of our multicultural communities. The NSW Government must make sure that health advice is accessible to people from non-English speaking families,” Ms McKay concluded.
Labor Shadow Minister for Better Public Services, Sophie Cotsis, called on the NSW Government to step up and support and ensure enforcement of venues’ COVID-safe plans. This follows recent reports of crowded venues and non-socially distanced queues.
“The government has a responsibility to ensure the entire hospitality sector has a COVID-safe plan. That means staff distributing sanitiser, minding queues and ensure strict practice of people filling out forms,” Ms Cotsis said.
“The Berejiklian Government needs to provide better support to venues, and step up enforcement and compliance – if not, a second wave is the risk we face.”
