Word: australian
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Whitlam's mistake was to wage his campaign chiefly on the issue of his ouster. He claimed that the future of Australian democracy required that he be returned to office to void the Governor General's "legal coup d'état." In a brief paroxysm of rage over Kerr's action, strikers shut down slaughterhouses, construction sites and steelworks all over Australia. But before long, Australian voters decided that Whitlam's firing was not the main issue after all. Opinion polls showed that voters were more concerned about bread-and-butter issues-inflation, industrial unrest...
...because it is such a baffling creature. It lays eggs, has a toothless bill and its feet are webbed. But it also has fur and a diaphragm, the females suckle their young, and the males have foreskins--all of which are characteristic of mammals. The platypus was discovered in Australian backwaters by westerners in 1797, long after aborigines had cultivated a spiritual respect for the creature. When the first specimens were shipped to England, scientists tried to pry off the bill, because they were convinced it was a graft...
...toppling of New Zealand's Laborites was a matter of lively interest in Australia. Three years ago, Labor governments were elected in both countries within a week of each other. This week Australian voters go to the polls to resolve the constitutional crisis created when Malcolm Fraser, head of the Liberal-National Country Party coalition, was named by Governor General Sir John Kerr to form a caretaker government, replacing Labor Party Leader Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister (TIME, Nov. 24). Australia's Labor Party, like New Zealand's, was accused of economic mismanagement in office. Though voting...
...there to take bronc-riding lessons. Riggs, meanwhile, had put on some cowboy gear, then tried (unsuccessfully) to wrestle a recalcitrant steer to the ground. Undaunted, Riggs promised a better showing in his next venture - a foot race across California's Death Valley against Australian Distance Runner Bill Emmerton...
...British Crown and the symbol of executive authority in Australia-with power to "summon, prorogue and dissolve" Parliament-the Governor General has always acted only on the advice of the leaders of the party commanding a majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Australian Parliament. Since his Labor Party holds 65 of the 127 seats in the House, Whitlam certainly could expect that the Governor General would take orders from him. Nonetheless, Sir John, who was an active member of the Labor Party until 1956, decided to move against the Prime Minister. The reason: Whitlam appeared...