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Richard Carleton, A Face From The Dismissal, Dies, 62

Last updated on June 3, 2024

Richard Carleton, one of Australia’s best known journalists, and one of the faces in the famous picture of Whitlam on the steps of Old Parliament House following the Dismissal on November 11, 1975, has died, aged 62.

Richard CarletonCarleton was attending a media conference at the Beaconsfield mine in Tasmania where two miners have been trapped underground for 12 days.

Following a question to mine manager Matthew Gill, Carleton walked away and collapsed. He died shortly afterwards.

Channel 9 tonight broadcast Carleton’s last report on the man-made causes of the mining disaster.

Carleton was a reporter on This Day Tonight during the Whitlam government. Film of the scene on the Parliament House steps following Whitlam’s dismissal show Carleton rolling his eyes as Whitlam describes Fraser as “Kerr’s cur”.

Carleton’s most famous encounter on television was with Bob Hawke on February 3, 1983. Earlier in the day, the ALP replaced Bill Hayden as leader with Hawke. Simultaneuously, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was about to call a snap double dissolution election. The “blood on your hands” interview with Hawke took place on the ABC’s Nationwide that night.

  • Feb 03, 1983 – The Blood On Your Hands Interview. This is the famous interview involving the ABC’s Richard Carleton and Bob Hawke, just hours after Hawke ascended to the leadership following Bill Hayden’s resignation.
Richard Carleton with Whitlam
Richard Carleton with Gough Whitlam, circa 1972-75

 

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