Paul Williams, ‘Australian to the Bootheels’ Unpacking the John Gorton Experiment

John Gorton attained the Prime Ministership in the unlikeliest of ways. Propelled into the media spotlight for lancing the boil of the VIP Aircraft Affair, he was able to use television and personal popularity to leap-frog many senior colleagues into the leadership after Harold Holt’s disappearance. Once he had attained the reins of office, Gorton was determined to do things ‘his way’, centralising power in the hands of the Commonwealth and riding roughshod over a string of conservative orthodoxies. That he ultimately came unstuck as his leadership skills could not match his grand ambition only serves to add interest to the story of one of Australia’s most unique politicians.