Margaret Whitlam died on March 17 at the age of 92. She was the powerful, outspoken, and well loved wife of Gough Whitlam the first Labour Party Prime Minister of Australia after the Liberal/Country Party coalition ruled there for more than 20 straight years.
I was fortunate enough to work on the campaign that reversed Labour's fortunes in 1969 and led to his election in 1972. I also knew his son Tony as a friend and business associate later in my career.
The poem below is dedicated to that wonderful election year when we were all young and starry eyed and the world was laid at our feet.
Gough is still with us (he's 96), I hope he is well and he gets through this time with much love from all of us Ockers around the world.
Condolences to the family,
Peace
CJ
A Wiser Man
Life was never difficult for a white male born after
The second conflict to end all great international arguments
And while we never had much money in our pockets
We never wanted for material possessions
Nor did we lack for love from family and friends
Father had a steady job, protected by the union
Mother owned a coffee house, espresso in the 60's
Cheese and pineapple toast, berets, turtle necks.
Ferlinghetti read aloud to bongo drums
Me and Gordon and Rhonda played PPM tunes
My young brother Pete did Mick to a tee
Joined a group of radical left wing uni grads
In a market research group who worked for
The loyal opposition to the then government
In Oz. In the next twelve months we design,
Then run a successful campaign to try to elect
First Labour Party government in almost 20 years
On the simple premise that “It's Time”
That's correct, it was simply, time for a change.
Some would ask, “Time for what?”
Peter the Writer would always answer “It's just time”
The question would hang forever in the air...
A wise man was old Peter
Who understood that voters
Would finish the sentence
With their own ending
He was right
Three years later
Time was up
It was, indeed
Time
© CJ Campbell March 2012