50 years since the dismissal

Prime minister's desk 
This commanding desk was used by three prime ministers – Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke. In use between 1972 and 1988, this desk replaced one designed in 1926 by architect John Smith Murdoch. Learn more 

Badge from the 1975 election campaign 
This 'Turn on the lights' badge from the 1975 federal election campaign was used by supporters of the Liberal Party. The election was called after the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the appointment of Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. Learn more  

Badge from the 1975 election campaign 
This 'Kerr must go' badge from the 1975 federal election campaign was used by supporters of the Australian Labor Party. The election was called after the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the appointment of Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. Learn more  

1975 Labor campaign record in Greek 
This plastic phonograph record contains a campaign song in Greek, recorded for the 1975 federal election. Authorised by the Australian Labor Party, it was an attempt to target the growing number of Greek Australian voters at a time when Australia's demographics were changing. Learn more 

Proclamation dissolving parliament, 1975 
This copy of Governor-General Sir John Kerr's proclamation was put on the doors of the House of Representatives and the Senate on 11 November 1975, after the dismissal of the Whitlam government and dissolution of parliament. It's not known who put it there, but we do know who took it off. Learn more  

Liberal Party how to vote card, 1975  
The Liberal card is for the Division of Fraser in the Australian Capital Territory. The 1975 election was the first at which the ACT and Northern Territory elected senators. Former prime minister John Gorton, who had lived in Canberra for many years, ran as an independent candidate. Gorton, who had recently resigned from the Liberal Party, won a respectable 11% of the vote but failed to be elected.  

Australian Labor Party how to vote card, 1975 
Following the dismissal, Gough Whitlam urged his supporters to 'maintain the rage'. The slogan 'Return Democracy' features on this Labor how to vote card from 1975. Two of the four incumbent women senators going into the 1975 election, Jean Melzer and Margaret Guilfoyle, are on this card. There were no women in the House of Representatives between 1975 and 1980. The only woman in the House, Labor's Joan Child, was defeated at the 1975 election.  

Time magazine featuring Malcolm Fraser, 1975 
Malcolm Fraser's critics, and even some of his friends, liked to describe him as a dour, stony-faced figure. However, Fraser was an excellent communicator – on the campaign trail he had a clear and effective message for voters. This copy of Time from November 1975 shows the victorious Fraser with a jubilant smile. His taciturn nature may have been a trademark, but this photo shows a different side of his personality.