A history of prime ministerial kerfuffles

The Australia Day security scare that embroiled the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader shocked the country and created headlines about the entire world. The unpredicted physicality of the protest itself - and the rushed evacuation of Australia's political leaders - captured the attention of a nation accustomed to more boston-bruins Jerseys predictable perform.
But a appear again in historical past exhibits Australia's political leaders have not usually been so ably eliminated from rowdy, confrontational scenes.
In reality, a few appeared to prosper on them.
A look for of the archives at the National Library of Australia reveals a nicely-proven historical precedent for prime ministerial scuffles.
Probably one of the far more active rumblers was Planet War I leader Billy Hughes.
In an incident reported by the Brisbane press in 1917, the prime minister was addressing a crowd in the Queensland town of Warwick when a heckler threw an egg at him.
The egg exploded, and so did Mr Hughes.
In his official report, the Queensland police commissioner identified that　 the prime minister was in a condition of excellent enjoyment　 when he launched himself from the soapbox and into the crowd, calling for the heckler's arrest.
Brisbane's Worker newspaper reported that the best cop believed the ensuing scuffle,　 which was only momentary　, may not have occurred had the prime minister not　 rushed excitedly　 into the crowd.
For the record, the offender was cuffed and the prime minister resumed his speech.

'Wild scenes'

Prime minister Joseph Lyons was pilloried with this kind of vigour when he travelled to Edinburgh to acquire the keys to the town that an organ had to be performed to drown out the kerfuffle.
Mr Lyons was a Catholic prime minister heading a conservative govt and his spiritual persuasion apparently peeved members of the Scottish Protestant Motion Culture.
The Courier-Mail described　 wild scenes　 and a　 storm of shouting　 at the ceremony.
The organ was performed to cover the sound although frock-coated ushers seized the initial interrupter, who was nevertheless yelling following the scuffle,　 the paper reported.

'My dear 50 %-wit...'

Police had been referred to as to an physical appearance by prime minister Robert Menzies in Perth in 1939 when it became　 clear that an organised endeavor was becoming made to avoid Mr Menzies from expressing his government's policy　, the Sydney Early morning Herald documented.
There was a melee in the crowd and men and women had been ejected.
When Mr Menzies praised Hitler's economic insurance policies,　 a smartly dressed female　 attacked the prime minister for his　 un-Australian attitude in admiring the perform of the man whom any wise particular person regarded as a maniac　, the paper noted.

My dear 50 percent-wit boston-bruins Jerseys - if you could only see oneself laughing at your possess interjections.

Prime minister Robert Menzies

Regrettably the write-up ends there, with out revealing the prime minister's response.
In other reported situations he was inclined to return hearth.
When he was greeted with jeers of　 Heil Hitler　 and　 Here will come the warmonger　 at a gathering in Newcastle for the duration of his second stint in strength in 1951, he gave as very good as he received.
My expensive fifty percent-wit - if you could only see your self laughing at your possess interjections,　 the West Australian newspaper reported him as declaring.
The report carries on:　 Mr Menzies then imitated the 'half-wit', threw his head back again in laughing derision, and additional, 'I thought we had a home of accommodation for such people'.　
The audience laughed with delight, but the hostility broke out once again a handful of minutes afterwards,　 the paper narrated.

Having to pay the price tag

The prize for the finest prime ministerial kerfuffle in the heritage of Australian political scuffles might go, once once more, to Billy Hughes.
He was acting prime minister in 1911 when he finished up in courtroom defending himself above an accessoire referred to by the judge as an　 inglorious scuffle　.
It is unclear from the Western Mail's relatively droll reportage as to what in fact occurred, but it seems Mr Hughes assaulted an additional guy more than a agreement.
The Sydney Morning Herald noted the male New York Islanders Jerseys had been employed by Mr Hughes, who was then also serving as attorney-standard, to handle his dairy farm.
What ever the detail, the jury found in opposition to Mr Hughes, awarding the plaintiff 250 lbs,　 which integrated a hundred kilos for breach of agreement and 150 pounds for assault　.
Inglorious in fact.report=2012-02-03data


Related article:
under
essentially