Not even three years after 'It's time' for Labor to lead, Gough was gone.
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On November 12, 1975 a timeline of historic events surrounding the sacking of our Prime Minister was laid out in The Canberra Times.
Politicking and partisan meetings started early in the day, by mid morning a joint parties meeting was held.
Around lunchtime Mr Whitlam received a letter of termination at Government House, this was quickly followed by the swearing in of Mr Fraser as the new Prime Minister. At the steps of parliament, just before the close of business, the proclamation of the double dissolution was read.
At 6pm Mr Fraser held a press conference, 15 minutes later Mr Whitlam responded with his own. Politicians, crowds and parliamentary staff called it a day around 10pm.
The Canberra Times also reported on the public's response to the decision by Governor General Sir John Kerr. Demonstrations around the country continued well into the night, the majority of Canberra's protestors gathered at Parliament house or the Governor General's residence
Unions around the country stopped work in protest, the public servants fund held a rally and Canberra's bus services were disrupted.
President of the ACTU and ALP and future Prime Minister Bob Hawke called for calm in the chaos.
But not everyone was unhappy, brokers and traders on the Australian stock exchange cheered loudly when the dismissal was announced.
