A lot of people ask me that,
What do you think happened to him?
His story has even been talked about for 50 years,
More bizarre than his death.
——Tom Frame，
HAROLD HOLT biographe
Sunday 1967.12.17
Cheviot Beach, Victoria
On the edge of Victoria Cheviot Mountain, Australia, there is a beach that people call it by mountain.
It`s called Cheviot Beach.
(Cheviot Beach)
Cheviot Beach is intermingled with the sandstone cliffs of the mountains and the open shade, and the whole beach is hidden under bushes.
The waters of the bay are full of strength even in calm.
The sky, which is connected with the sea, is also disconcerting in blue.
Locals rarely come to this beach, because there`s a rumor in the community,
This is a cursed beach.
The name Cheviot came from an 1887 military ship, the Cheviot.
As it passed through the bay, the propeller of the Cheviot was damaged, and although the captain at the time ordered the ship to anchor and secure the hull, it was unable to withstand the gale of the bay.
The ship sank into the sea at dawn with the lives of 35 crew members.
Together with the sinking deep sea, there was then the Cheviot, not yet detonated bomb.
As a result, this sea area is known as the Quarantine Back Beach: forbidden area by the local people.
And there is a group of people who do not seem to believe this evil,
On December 17, 1967, the group broke into this oversized painting of sea and sky.
Leading the way was an old man in his mid-2000s, with swimsuits and laundry in his hand, walking freely in front of the line.
He was followed by a few younger men, with cameras, as if they were ready to record what had happened today.
The old man quickly changed his swimsuit and, after greeting several of his entourage, dived into the water alone.
One of the followers picked up a camera and photographed the old man`s posture in the water. It seemed that the old man was swimming well. He was about to conquer the sea and become the Terminator of gossip and heresy.
However, the accident occurred a few minutes later.
The old man, who had just shown his swimming posture in the camera, disappeared in a flash!
The cameraman holds the camera, pulls the focal length to the nearest, swings left and right several times, still can not find the figure of the old man.
Several people on the shore are in a hurry, the old man should be in the water cramps, must hurriedly rescue in the water!
They quickly stepped into the water and came to the place where the old man had just disappeared, but it was strange that there was no figure here, so the old man disappeared out of thin air!
A long-lost pedestrian can only call the police, let the police help search, even if the old man`s life to return to the sky, should also find his body …
And the strange thing happened again, this is not deep sea, and only two days later, the body will not be washed away too far.
The police sent a large number of police forces, constantly expanding the scope of the search, trying to find more than two days, however, the Prime Minister is still alive and no body, not even found a figure!
There is no way but to designate the old man as "missing" for the time being.
The incident caused a stir across Australia, from officials down to the people, and everyone was talking about it.
Because the missing old man is nobody else, Australia`s 17th prime minister: Harold Holt!
His evaporation has become a major mystery in contemporary history.
No one can solve it so far.
（Harold Holt）
Prime Minister for Australia`s Development
Harold Edward Holt (1908.8.5-1967.12.17), 17th Australian Prime Minister, Australian Liberal Party statesman.
Holt spent 32 years in Australia`s parliament, but only 22 months as prime minister.
But in this short period of 22 months, his political efforts have promoted the development of Australia as the great prime minister in Australia`s history.
In 1933, 25-year-old Holt abandoned the law and joined the United Australia Party, formally giving his life to politics.
After joining the United Party for a year, he tried to obtain the federal seat of the Victorian Yala on behalf of the United Party, but for the first time, he was defeated...
The next year, he won a seat in the Victorian Parliament, but the second time, he failed again.
Instead of discouraging Holt, the data of repeated defeats made him braver and braver.
Again, in 1935, Holt passed a by-election on August 17 to become a member of the Australian House of Representatives!
At the age of 27, Holt was one of the youngest MPs in Australian history.
Soon after, as mentor Memphis took office, Holt`s political position was also significantly improved.
When he was Minister of Labour and National Services, he ordered the passage of the Child Allowance Act, one of the most important achievements of his tenure.
And during his tenure as Prime Minister of Australia, he promoted more than 1.2 points of social progress.
First, within three weeks of his 22-month term, Holt began dismantling the White O policy.
Holt began to look for a new way to address Australia`s immigration problems.
This means that immigrants no longer face blatant discrimination because of their different races.
The policy allows immigrants who have been separated from their families for 15 years to reunite with their families in Australia.
The Holt has also opened up its immigration policy further, strongly welcoming non-European residents to Australia, without which Australia`s humanities and culture would not have become so rich.
In addition, Holt launched a historic referendum in Australia to include indigenous peoples in the Australian census and empower Parliament to legislate on indigenous peoples.
More than 90% of Australians voted for the change, and Mr Holt later set up the Indigenous Affairs Commission.
His political career is booming, and the personality of Prime Minister Holt shows no doubt. Even former Labour Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, who was one of Holt`s main political opponents, said: "he is tolerant, humane, tolerant. His demeanor was not a gesture. This is an external reflection of a truly civilized human being. "
However, the good times are not long, all these great achievements, all ended in 1967 on that day.
Cheviot Beach, unexpected accident.
It was a sunny Sunday morning when Holt drove his chestnut Pontiac to Melbourne`s Cheviot Beach.
He was accompanied by Alec Rose, `s neighbor Marjorie Gillespie, a sailor sailing around the world in England, and, Martin Simpson., another friend of Holt`s.
As everyone was about to have lunch, Prime Minister Holt suddenly suggested a swim before lunch.
The 59-year-old Liberal leader enjoys diving and swimming and diving.
However, the weather on that day was very wild, the waves were very large, and the swimming conditions were extremely unstable.
But Holt, who loves the challenge, is indomitable, and a stubbornness makes him put on his swimsuit with no hesitation.
The undercurrent was so heavy that he had difficulty wading in the water and knee areas, but Holt chose to swim in the sea.
When the water first came in, Holt was like a fish, and from time to time raised his thumbs to the people on the shore, indicating that he was in good condition.
However, just when a friend on the shore took a picture of him, in a few seconds, he suddenly disappeared in the camera!
Marjorie Gillespie, who went to see everything, said, "he was taken away by the waves like a leaf and soon disappeared."
The accompanying several people immediately dropped the camera and ran forward to rescue, but the sea was not deep, but how can no one search for the Holt trace …
At this time, the entourage began to rush, you know, this is a country`s prime minister ah!
Now that they are suddenly gone, how do they account to the people? As a result, everyone hastened to call the police.
After that, the police began a large-scale rescue operation, scuba diving teams, rescuers using telescopes to search the shore.
By night, nearly 200 people were looking for the prime minister.
Five days later, the search operation tapered down, Harold Holt`s body and never found it.
Police have temporarily identified Holt`s whereabouts as "missing," and shortly after the police report found Holt`s death "accidental."
But the then prime minister`s accidental drowning and death were not satisfactory to many.
As he disappeared during the Cold War, the reasons for his disappearance were also confusing.
A series of speculation about political conspiracy theories surfaced, including personal scandals and international intervention, most of which have been going on for 50 years.
So what does this disappearance in 1967 mean, an accident recorded in history? Or the so-called conspiracy theory?
Or any other secret? Accident or plan?
There are many rumors about the disappearance of Prime Minister Holt. At that time, the weather on Cheviot Beach was not ideal and the waves were rough. Under such circumstances, why did Holt disregard the temptation to swim in the sea? was it really just for the sake of bravado?.
It is worth mentioning that Holt was a genius since he was a child, studying law at the Queen`s College at the University of Melbourne at the age of 19 and becoming a member of the Victorian Bar Association at the age of 24.
A politician who has worked in a position such as a lawyer is not so irrational that he cannot tell what is dangerous and what is safe.
In addition, in Australia`s published information, the authorities pointed out that the incident was not an assassination incident, it was an accident that should not have happened.
But Holt is the prime minister of Australia!
Its impact can be said to affect the entire territory of Australia.
Australia did not have laws and regulations at the time, but in the face of such important figures, the official handling was so calm that the search was relaxed in just two days.
These two suspicions kept the public talking, but did not have the power to come to a conclusion at the end of the day.
After the National Archives announced the disappearance of Holt, the goverment authorities received a number of letters about the case.
There was a letter from an American lawyer, apparently the day after his disappearance.
Lawyers in the letter speculated that there was more than half the possibility of his death, "due to professional kidnapping, possibly from a foreign country."
They may have used: "some kind of delayed drug, which might be placed in a snack he had before he went to the beach." This should be revealed by experts through an autopsy, unless the body is missing. "
Others think the prime minister is still alive. He faked his own death and disappearance and actually eloped with his lover.
In addition, some people think that Holt, is a foreign spy, after diving into the sea, was picked up by other submarines …
"I think Holt is a spy," wrote a letter. "he was taken away by other countries in submarines and then brainwashing for political information."
Even an Indian "god man", through the Australian embassy in India, offered to help Australia`s goverment, claim that he knew where to find Holt`s body.
Letter from Ambassador A. D Mani of India to goverment, Australia
The letter shows that the man was recommended by A.D. Mani, a member of the Indian Parliament at the time.
"Don`t laugh," he wrote in a letter of recommendation. "if there are no other forms of funding, God is going to travel to Australia at his own expense."
In the end, it didn`t come to an end.
Buried 50 years of the past, is still an unsolved mystery
Today, yesterday, December 17, 2017, the disappearance of Australian Prime Minister Holt is now the 50th anniversary.
Coincidentally, this day, 50 years later, is still Sunday.
For 50 years, Holt`s body hasn`t surfaced, and many of his secrets remain in the neighborhood.
It is undeniable that Prime Minister Holt`s contribution to the Australian people was enormous. He ended the White Australia policy, or at least started the process of lifting it, which was a very difficult political matter at the time. And he did it quietly.
His referendum on the rights of indigenous peoples, backed by 90% of the nation`s population, is also an incredible outcome in Australian history.
Frame Tom, the biographer of Harold Holt, commented on Holt: no one is remembered for what has been said or done. As a social reformer, keen legislator and advocate of democracy, he should have a more prominent place in the history of the country.
Finally, with regard to the disappearance of the Australian Prime Minister, the editor would like to say that not all events require a conspiracy, but this countless coincidences have led us to think toward the plot.
And back to reality, we only have a silent sentence: the dead are gone.
Source:
Frame, Tom. The Life and Death of Harold Holt. 2005. ISBN 1 74114 672 0.
Allen & Unwin / National Archives of Australia. ISBN 1741146720.
Hancock, Ian (2000), 'Harold Edward Holt,' in Michelle Grattan (ed.), Australian Prime Ministers, New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales, pages 270-285. ISBN 1-86436-756-3
Griffen-Foley, Bridget. Party Games: Australian Politician and the Media from War to Dismissal. Text Publishing, Melbourne. 2003. ISBN 1 8770 0864 8. ISBN 1877008648.
Other sources:
SBS News，SMH，ABC News
Part of the picture source:
National Archives of Australia
