Conversation:

You have to realise some things about the beach he was simming on. It's right next to the Port Phillip Heads, very turbulent waters. Also the beach is next to the old Point Nepean fort, which is covered with unexploded land mines.

Having your Prime Minister blow up might almost be more exciting than him getting rubbed out by the CIA or defecting to communism! I wonder what made the best story at the time

You both make very good points

Gawd it's cool to have people reading your stuff

Don't Australian Prime Ministers have bodyguards? If a shcool kid needs a hall pass to visit the lavatory, doesn't the PM need to mention to somebody, "By the way, if [war breaks out|the stock market crashes|my wife calls], I'll be down at the beach"?

Lil

Yes, in America even the President's daughter gets a Secret Service bodygaurd. A friend of mine is attending Stanford and says that he has, in fact, seen young Ms. Clinton, and that one of HIS friends had a nasty run in with a Secret Service officer because she'd accidentally gotten between him and Chealse (Clinton, that is). So why no bodygaurd for the Austrailian head of state?

Maybe because we're not as psycho as the sepos.

Okay, firstly, the Australian Head Of State is the Queen of England (and will remain so until several middle aged ppl die).

As for the Prime Minister... well he probably would have body gaurds. But as far as I know, Aussies have only ever tried to assasinate visiting Roaylty (during the 1800's).

Also, either this year or the year before, a guy managed to drive his 4WD through the front doors of Parliament House (as we don't have any fences around it).

I think it'd be just the same as bodygaurds for a celebrity.

Hi Ishtar! Going to give this article a link at the h2g2 Historical Society.

If you want to drop by and have a chat, or read some other historical Entries, here's the address:

http://www.h2g2.com/A240058

And thus the fatal flaw of the Holt Administration is revealed. He often told people he was down at the beach - but this was usually a ruse to protect the reputation of some young chicky-babe. How ironic, the one time he actually was at the beach, no one believed him.

How does one honour the memory of such a leader? A man who drowned while in office. In Australian style - you name a swimming pool after him! The Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Pool in Northcote, Melbourne. And so it goes.