18
BAMOS March 2023
Prime Minister lost — the Harold Holt tragedy
Dick Whitaker
Article
The Prime Minister is missing , believed drowned . He disappeared in heavy surf off Portsea ’ s ocean beach soon after noon yesterday and late last night had not been found .
— The Age , Monday 18 December 1967 Prelude to disaster
December 1967 had produced some wild weather across south-east Australia . On the 14th , the Sydney suburb of Mosman experienced a rare event — a tornado — that resulted in extensive local damage .
Further south , over Victoria and Tasmania , strong westerly winds and a series of passing cold fronts had produced rough seas through Bass Strait and along the south coast of Victoria from 14th to 17th of the month . And it was this weather feature , not the tornado , that was to have a profound effect on Australia ’ s political landscape .
Although Holt was 59 years of age , he was a fit and competent swimmer , handicapped only slightly by a shoulder injury he had suffered as a young man . To improve his snorkelling performance , he told friends that he sometimes held his breath for extended periods during parliamentary sessions , and could in fact do so for around two minutes – very good for a man of his age .
The Bureau of Meteorology synoptic chart , 3pm 15 December 1967 . Strong westerly winds embedded with fast moving cold fronts had produced rough seas through Bass Strait and along the central Victorian coastline . These conditions persisted for the following 48 hours . Source : Canberra Times , p 16 , 15 December 1967 .
Sunday 17 December 1967 was a hot , humid and blustery Melbourne day , and many people , including the 18th Prime Minister of Australia , the Honourable Harold Holt , headed off to the numerous bayside beaches to escape the early summer heat .
Holt had flown into Melbourne from Canberra on the previous Friday in his VIP aircraft . After spending Saturday with friends at Portsea , he had driven his Pontiac Parisienne down to nearby Cheviot Beach with the idea of indulging in a favourite pastime — snorkelling . Several friends , including Marjorie Gillespie , her daughter Vyner and a young businessman , Alan Stewart , accompanied him .
Harold Holt in 1966 , preparing to go spearfishing near Portsea , Victoria . Source : Wikipedia Commons .
Rough seas an issue
As soon as the party arrived at Cheviot Beach in the early afternoon , it was obvious that conditions were far from ideal . Westerly winds across Bass Strait during the previous 48 hours had resulted in rough seas at most Victorian surf beaches and that afternoon , under the influence of the continuing winds , the seas were still very rough and choppy . The local surflifesaving club had closed nearby Portsea Surf Beach to the public because of the adverse conditions , but Cheviot Beach was not patrolled — anyone who so desired could swim there .
The Mornington Peninsula , where Cheviot Beach is located , is an immensely picturesque area that has attracted tourists in numbers since the 1880s . The northern side fronts onto the sheltered waters of Port Phillip Bay and for the most part experiences only benign sea conditions . However , the southern side , where both Portsea Surf Beach and Cheviot Beach are located , is open to the notoriously turbulent waters of Bass Strait . It frequently experiences rough seas and heavy swells as