Gough Touched By Tragedy
The Age
Friday November 7, 2008
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd seized an opportunity to tease Gough Whitlam, recounting how the tragedies of Greek mythology were enough to reduce the Labor elder statesman to tears as a toddler.
"In a normal Australian household toddlers become saddened by the loss of a ball, or someone stealing their blocks," Mr Rudd said. "Only a toddler like Gough could be saddened by the unfortunate twists of Greek mythology. But therein lies the man."Mr Rudd was speaking at the launch of Jenny Hocking's new book, Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History.In it the author tells how Mr Whitlam's mother found him sobbing in her room one day after he learned that Persephone, daughter of Zeus and queen of the underworld, had been taken away from her parents."That made him very sad," Mr Rudd said.Mr Whitlam, 92, famed as both a Latin scholar and former prime minister, laughed along with a crowd of Labor luminaries including Neville Wran, Barry Jones, John Faulkner and Tom Uren, High Court judge Michael Kirby, and his wife, Margaret.Mr Rudd drew further mirth from Mr Whitlam when he remarked how Gough, as a toddler, quickly learned to speak in full sentences with a "subject, object, verb and, where appropriate, Latin declension, and remarkably all of this occurred before (his former speechwriter) Graham Freudenberg was even born".Mr Whitlam showed he had lost none of his appetite for politics. He said the global financial crisis meant no prime minister since World War II leader John Curtin had borne a heavier burden than Mr Rudd, and the mantle of leadership had fallen on "worthy shoulders".Mr Rudd, describing Mr Whitlam as the "great helmsman of us all", said his "It's Time" campaign speech in 1972 continued to "stir the Australian soul, lift our spirits and spur us into action".
© 2008 The Age
