Political Anecdotes

selected and introduced
by Mungo MacCallum

1 876631 74 0

C format $30.00

Publication date: October 2003

Eye-witness stories from Australian history

ROBERT MENZIES: Archie, I do not suffer fools gladly.
ARCHIE CAMERON: It might be news to you to know that fools have a lot of trouble putting up with you too

In this fascinating collection, Mungo MacCallum has assembled the best and the funniest stories in our history, drawing on writers and observers from Watkin Tench to Don Watson. Here is: Governor King breaking into tears at the rantings of his successor, William Bligh; the story of how Canberra escaped being called Shakespeare or Sydmeladlperbriho; Bill Hayden’s original comment about Bob Hawke and a drover’s dog; and many, many more.

FEMALE INTERJECTOR: If I were your wife I’d put poison in your coffee.
POLITICIAN: If I were your husband, I’d drink it.
-Prime Minister George Reid (often wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill)

‘Mungo has selected well. There is something for everybody, those addicted to politics, those seeking an insight into the Australian ethos and psyche, and those who just want a good laugh.’
Barry Cohen, The Australian

Duffy & Snellgrove have also published Mungo: The Man Who Laughs and How To Be A Megalomaniac, both by MacCallum.