1984 ALP election memorabilia
The public tributes and personal recollections have been flowing on news of the death of former Prime Minister of Australia, and general larrikin, Bob Hawke, and his memorial service has been held today. Now, that takes me back, so I thought that I should record a few personal recollections of the "Hawke era".
My parents were heavily involved in both the union movement and Australian Labor Party in those days, and I followed suit, joining the ALP at age 16.
My first recollection of actually meeting Bob Hawke was in the lift at the Victorian Trades Hall in Carlton, somewhere in the late 1960s. I was a fairly young teenager, and was accompanying my dad, who was a union organiser with the Building Workers' Industrial Union, and who had known Bob for quite a while. Bob had been Industrial Advocate for the Australian Council of Trade Unions for quite some time by then, but was fast becoming a leading light in the labour movement, and I only remember thinking "gee, he's not very tall!"
Dad seemed to be a bit chuffed that he had attended (much earlier) the same secondary school as Bob, the academically selective Perth Modern School. He admired Bob's intelligence and abilities, but also liked to say that he felt that the secret of Bob's success in resolving industrial disputes lay in his timing - Bob knew exactly how long to hold back until the parties to a dispute were desperate for a resolution, then he would step in to propose something, usually with success!
In mid 1976, a family friend was the Industrial Advocate for the ACTU, when Bob, who was ACTU President by then, decided that he had something urgent to discuss, so phoned my parents' house smack bang in the middle of Ian's and my engagement party - naturally that evening Bob was not the most popular person with our family.
Our involvement in Labor politics continued, and in about 1977 we were collecting entry fees for an ALP fundraiser, when who should appear but Bob Hawke, who was attending as an invited high profile Labor and union personality. He seemed a little nonplussed when we told him that we expected him to pay to enter, as after all, it was a fundraiser and the ALP was a socialist party (we were probably still holding a grudge over the "Engagement Party Incident"), however, he actually paid up!
Over the years, we saw Bob at many ALP functions, and he clearly enjoyed the adulation of those around him, including the attention of many women, who literally couldn't seem to keep their hands off him! Mum related a story, with great amusement, of bumping into Hazel and Bob, returning from a trip, at Melbourne Airport. Bob was "chucking a wobbly" because the airline had misplaced their luggage. Finally Hazel had had enough, and walked off, saying something like "for God's sake, Bob, put a sock in it!". According to Mum, Bob visibly pulled himself together, and scuttled off after Hazel.
Both Ian and I happened to be members of the Administrative and Clerical Officers' Association (now the Community and Public Sector Union), and again in about 1977, during a major public sector union dispute, attended a large union rally at Melbourne's Festival Hall. Bob Hawke had been invited to address the very large crowd of union members, but it became clear during his overly long and rambling speech that he had probably arrived after a "liquid lunch". Despite his enormous popularity in the union movement, the crowd was not pleased and made its feelings known, resulting in his departure from the stage.
In 1979 Ian happened to be a member of the Victorian ALP Central Preselection Panel for the House of Representatives electorate of Wills, which of course was the seat that Bob was elected to in 1980. We still have the letter written by Bob to Ian asking for his vote. There would originally have been a total of 70 of those letters, so I guess this one is now a family heirloom.
We had moved from Melbourne to Canberra in 1980, and as it happened, moved house on the day of the March 1983 Federal election, as well as working for the ALP on the 4-6pm shift at a polling place, closing up and then scrutineering for the ALP in the polling place count after. By then we were pretty exhausted but had been given access passes to the National Tally Room at EPIC (aka the Canberra Showgrounds). We knew that this was a momentous occasion in Australian politics, so we drove across town, using our pass to enter the invited guest car park, and parking our tiny Suzuki Hatch next to the Thai Ambassador's Mercedes.
Honestly, I was so tired that I don't clearly remember Bob's victory speech as the next Prime Minister of Australia, although for some reason I do recall Malcolm Fraser becoming a bit teary during his speech conceding defeat!
Almost anyone who was around during the "Hawke era" seems to have quite clear memories, large and small, of that time, and so many people felt, and still feel, a personal connection to a character who was both flawed and brilliant. Love him or hate him, Bob Hawke left an indelible mark on Australian history, and changed the face of the Australia we live in today.
As it was said at his memorial service, it was a life triumphantly well-lived. Rest in peace, Hawkie.
 | |||
| Bob Hawke and Gough Whitlam |
 |
| Hazel and Bob, election night 1983 |
