Where were you!

30 years ago on the 11th November, hard to believe it was 30 years ago, makes me feel old. I can still remember vividly sitting in my Grade 2 classroom and a teacher ran in to tell my teacher that Whitlam had been sacked. As a child growing up in a household that was very politically aware this shocked me, but most of the other kids didn't know what it all meant.

So off I trotted home to a distraught mother who was watching every news report and listening to the radio at the same time, this was 1975, no color TV and very delayed TV coverage. Being a kid, I did what kids do and went out playing. What better way to pass the time but to climb fences, and fall off them. In I went with a very painful arm knowing that I had done something a bit serious, so off we trot to the local hospital.

Mum wasn't all that impressed with me, but at least they had a TV at the hospital and due to the big news of the day the hospital was very quiet. I was seen pretty quickly and a sprain rather than a break was diagnosed.

As well as 11/11 being Rememberence Day, and I acknowledge that the 11/11 should be firstly though of by remembering the fallen, I will always have quirky memories of the 11/11/75.

I regard Gough Whitlam as a great Australian who in his term brought about great social change, the National Health Care System (Medicare), free University courses (which has now gone), Land Rights amongst a few of the great things he did. I still remember being at Drumoyne Town Hall in 1972 when I was 7 in an "It Time" T Shirt, Margaret Whitlam was so nice to me.

So Lest we Forget, and lets hope what happened in 1975 is never allowed to happen again.