Gough Whitlam's 92nd Birthday
Gough Whitlam’s 92nd Birthday
On 11 July 2008 former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, celebrated his 92nd birthday at a lunch held in his honour at the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney. The fully booked lunch, hosted by the Whitlam family and the Board of the Whitlam Institute, attracted 300 guests from across Australia.
Early birds at the lunch were able to deliver their personal birthday greetings to Gough and be photographed with him - you can see some of them on our website in the next few days.
Guests were welcomed to the lunch by John Phillips, Chancellor, University of Western Sydney. Key speaker and eminent Labor historian, Senator the Hon. John Faulkner, captured the essence of the Whitlam legacy, along with some more personal insights into Gough Whitlam, in his compelling and powerful address.
Guests then eagerly awaited to hear from their former Prime Minister and were not disappointed. With a familiar resonance, Gough Whitlam enthralled us all with his wit, candour and a call for reform of the election process.
Labor's longest serving Prime Minister Bob Hawke then led guests in the singing of "Happy Birthday" as the birthday cake was presented to Gough.
The lunch was a fundraising event to support the work of the Whitlam Institute and we are grateful to our many supporters who attended this special celebration.
A silent auction was conducted for the signed number 92 book and framed scroll of Mr Whitlam's famous 1972 Blacktown election speech. The successful bidder was a key support of UWS. The Whitlam Institute has available for sale a number of other signed books and scrolls in this limited edition series.
We would like to acknowledge our corporate sponsors for the lunch: Bell Potter Securities; Bradcorp Holdings Pty Ltd; EnergyAustralia; FOXTEL Pty Ltd; Linfox; Mitchell Communication Group; News Ltd; NRMA Motoring & Services; Westfield Group; Robert Whyte; Visy Industries.
