In this fascinating series, John Winston Howard, the second-longest serving Prime Minister, goes in search of the true Robert Gordon Menzies. By interviewing Menzies’ political allies and enemies, Howard brings to life a man he has always admired, the founder of the party he also championed, the Liberal Party.
Howardon Menzies
The Interviews
Howardon Menzies
The Interviews
It was the perfect assignment for John Howard. A project to study the longest-serving Prime Minister, and his political hero. This is Howard on Menzies.
-
EPISODE 1: BOB HAWKE
For the sheer theatre of watching John Howard interview Bob Hawke, this is compelling. You see a strange respect and even affection between the two men, once bitter adversaries. Hawke is also a refreshing antidote to Howard's obvious admiration of Menzies. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 2: CLIVE JAMES
A powerful interview in terms of its emotional impact. James ends the interview, with Howard's permission, by reading a poem he wrote about an ANZAC Day march. Howard allows James to open up about his own life and growing up in the suburbs of Menzies' Australia. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 3: RUPERT MURDOCH
The media baron and the former PM reminisce 1950s Australia. There are some fascinating anecdotes, including Rupert Murdoch telling John Howard how, as a teenager, he went with his father to a press conference at the White House when Harry Truman announced that the US was entering the Korean War. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 4: MALCOLM TURNBULL
Turnbull is one of the most articulate of Howard's interviewees – he’s very strong on the history of the Menzies years. This already-strong interview takes on a new life when Turnbull turns the questioning back onto Howard about how much Howard as PM "channelled" Menzies. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 5: BARRY HUMPHRIES
John Howard in conversation with Barry Humphries: In Menzies' Australia, says Humphries, the status symbol was to have a two-storey house "and always an English garden, never an Australian tree or shrub to be seen'. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 6: THOMAS KENEALLY
John Howard in conversation with Thomas Keneally: What the Labor party thought of their political enemy Robert Menzies. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 7: GEOFFREY BLAINEY
John Howard in conversation with Geoffrey Blainey: Menzies presided over a country in a period of widely-shared prosperity at a time of great international dangers. Watch now>
-
EPISODE 8: HARRY TRIGUBOFF
John Howard in conversation with Harry Triguboff: In the Australia of the 1950's, 60's, 70's, there were no investors in the housing market because "the banks wouldn't give them money", says property developer Harry Triguboff whose family migrated from China. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 9: HENRY REYNOLDS
John Howard in conversation with Henry Reynolds: What I remember most about Menzies, says Reynolds, was his "Britishness, those highly eloquent things about the Monarch and about the Britishness". Watch now >
-
EPISODE 10: MICHAEL KIRBY
John Howard in conversation with Michael Kirby: In the days of Menzies, "virtually everybody" was a strong supporter of Australia being a constitutional monarchy says Kirby. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 11: ALEXANDER DOWNER
John Howard in conversation with Alexander Downer: My earliest recollection of Menzies, says Downer was when he used to come to the family home in the Adelaide Hills because Downer's father was a member of the Menzies government. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 12: BARRY JONES
John Howard in conversation with Barry Jones: The split in the Labor Party over Communism was "absolutely central" to the success of Menzies, says Barry Jones. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 13: BOB GREGORY
John Howard in conversation with Bob Gregory: The economic environment in Australia in the 1950's was "incredibly optimistic", says Gregory and "people would say we're going to be like America, we're going to be big". Watch now >
-
EPISODE 14: DOUG ANTHONY
John Howard in conversation with Doug Anthony: Menzies was clearly in charge of cabinet, "and he could be very cruel to cabinet ministers, particularly the ones who were second grade" says Anthony, who was a minister under Menzies. Watch now >
-
EPISODE 15: JUDITH BRETT
John Howard in conversation with Judith Brett: Robert Menzies would be "pretty appalled" by today's Australia because of the difficulty of affording a home, says Judith Brett. Watch now >