Garry McDonald: Little bleeder Norman Gunston on the dismal day he made us laugh

Garry McDonald reflects on how Norman Gunston etched himself into the memory of the Dismissal 45 years ago this week.

Actor Garry McDonald at his home on the NSW south coast. Picture: Nikki Short

Garry McDonald was in a Sydney Chinese restaurant when his producer phoned with the news that Gough Whitlam had been dismissed and to head immediately to the airport. On the plane to Canberra, McDonald changed into his iconic character, Norman Gunston, and went straight to Parliament House when it landed.

On a day of high drama and emotion, amid the roaring crowds and unforgettable speeches, Gunston, the subversive satirical television interviewer — the “little Aussie bleeder” from Wollongong — addressed the people, interviewed politicians and etched himself into the memory of that day 45 years ago this week.

McDonald as Norman Gunston with Gough Whitlam on the day of the Dismissal in 1975.

“Like a lot of Australians, I had lost faith in where the Whitlam government was going and so when this happened I thought, well, it was kind of inevitable it had to come to a head — but, my gosh, I don’t think I ever assumed it would come to a head in that way,” McDonald, 72, says. Gunston stood next to Whitlam as he spoke on the steps of Parliament House and flashed a “V for victory” sign. He interviewed a jovial Bill Hayden, the former treasurer, who responded: “I think you are sending me up.”

Bob Hawke, then ACTU president, said: “Oh look, it’s a bit too serious for that.” Gunston replied: “Oh, I quite agree. It’s extremely serious.”

McDonald says it speaks to Australia’s character and comedic tradition that after such a ­tumultuous event, we made fun of it.

“That’s part of the Australian tradition; to take the piss,” McDonald says. “The reaction from the crowd was excellent. Norman was pretty popular then. There was virtually no security. You couldn’t do anything like that nowadays. I must say the ­Dismissal keeps Norman alive.”

Following governor-general Sir John Kerr’s termination of the Labor government, which resolved the crisis over supply, Gunston made an impromptu speech. “What I want to know is — is this an affront to the constitution of this country? Or was it just a stroke of good luck for Mr ­Fraser?” The crowd responded: “No.” “Thanks very much, I just wanted to know,” Gunston said.

McDonald as Norman Gunston with Bob Hawke on the day of the Dismissal in 1975.

McDonald questions whether in an age of cancel culture and outrage, Australians today have the same willingness to make light of situations and if politicians are just as willing to be made fun of.

“I think we are getting more and more like the rest of the world unfortunately,” he says. “I think we are getting really divisive. We are sometimes too serious. I don’t think Mr Morrison has much of a sense of humour about himself.”

On The Norman Gunston Show, which originally screened on the ABC in the 1970s, politicians were frequently parodied. John Gorton was asked if his colleagues thought he was “a dill”. Malcolm Fraser was asked at a press conference if his father of the year award was based on “quantity or quality of children”.

Troy Bramston is co-author with Paul Kelly of The Truth of the Palace Letters: Deceit, Ambush and Dismissal in 1975 (MUP)