Former prime minister Gough Whitlam has died.
His children Antony, Nicholas and Stephen Whitlam and Catherine Dovey issued a statement on Tuesday morning.
"Our father, Gough Whitlam, has died this morning at the age of 98," the statement said. "A loving and generous father, he was a source of inspiration to us and our families and for millions of Australians."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott led the tributes on Tuesday.
"Gough Whitlam was a giant of his time," Mr Abbott said in a statement.
"He united the Australian Labor Party, won two elections and seemed, in so many ways, larger than life.
"In his own party, he inspired a legion of young people to get involved in public life.
Mr Abbott also paid tribute to the late Margaret Whitlam and her contribution and leadership alongside Gough.
"Gough Whitlam's life was inseparable from that of Margaret Whitlam. Margaret Whitlam was a leading light for women of her generation. Together they made a difference to our country.
"On this day we honour a life of service to our country."
Former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard honoured Mr Whitlam "as a man of the highest political courage" and "a giant of his era".
"Gough will live always in our nation, which he transformed throughout his long public life," she wrote in a blog post for the Guardian Australia.
"He is alive in our universities and the many lives he changed by giving free access to university education, my life included in that count."
"Alive in Medicare and the uniquely Australian health system we now take for granted," he said.
Mr Abbott said he had instructed all flags be flown at half mast on Tuesday and on the day of Mr Whitlam's state memorial service.
A meeting of Labor's federal caucus is scheduled for Tuesday morning and it is understood Labor leader Bill Shorten will make his first statement about Mr Whitlam's death then.
A report from National Archives of Australia said by 1947 the Whitlams had two small sons and, with the help of a war service housing loan, built a house in Wangi Street, Cronulla – a beachside suburb in Sydney’s south. Whitlam stood for the local government election for the Sutherland Shire Council in 1948, and for the Sutherland seat in the New South Wales parliament in 1950. The family did not own a car, and most of Whitlam’s campaigning was door-to-door along unfinished streets in the rapidly growing southern suburbs. He was not elected to either seat, but the campaigns made him a well-known local figure.
Whitlam was energetically involved in everything – the suburban progress association, his children’s school parents and friends association, and the Returned Servicemen’s League. He also became a radio celebrity, winning successive rounds of the Australian National Quiz Championship in 1948 and 1949, and was runner-up in 1950. The quiz was arranged to promote popular interest in the Chifley government’s security loans for post-war reconstruction. Broadcast live by the ABC, the quiz was avidly followed by many, including Prime Minister Ben Chifley. The prizes for championship winners were security bonds. Whitlam’s winnings totalled £1000, and the family used the money to buy the block of land next to their house.
Leave a tribute for Gough Whitlam or a message to his family via the comment link below.
