The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis culminated on 11 November when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Gough Whitlam (pictured, left) of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) as prime minister and appointed Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser (pictured, right) as caretaker. The Whitlam Government had been rocked by scandals and political miscalculations. In October the Opposition blocked bills in the Senate financing the government, and urged Kerr to dismiss Whitlam unless he agreed to call an election for the House of Representatives. On 11 November, Whitlam intended to call a half-Senate election instead, but when he met with Kerr to seek his approval, Kerr dismissed him as prime minister. Before the ALP parliamentarians knew what had happened, Fraser and his allies secured passage of the appropriation bills and Kerr dissolved Parliament. Fraser and his government were returned with a large majority in elections the following month. Widely vilified by ALP supporters for his actions, Kerr resigned early as governor-general and lived much of his remaining life abroad. (Full article...)The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis culminated on 11 November when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Gough Whitlam (pictured, left) of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) as prime minister and appointed Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser (pictured, right) as caretaker. The Whitlam Government had been rocked by scandals and political miscalculations. In October the Opposition blocked bills in the Senate financing the government, and urged Kerr to dismiss Whitlam unless he agreed to call an election for the House of Representatives. On 11 November, Whitlam intended to call a half-Senate election instead, but when he met with Kerr to seek his approval, Kerr dismissed him as prime minister. Before the ALP parliamentarians knew what had happened, Fraser and his allies secured passage of the appropriation bills and Kerr dissolved Parliament. Fraser and his government were...