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August 24, 2025
Fred Daly was someone I ashamedly had never heard of. That only speaks ill of me. This leading historical figure and Australian politician had a career of 32 years in Parliament and served under every PM from Curtin to Fraser (just.. a span of minutes). He is more recently known as “the Father of the House” due to his longevity but I think his great contribution is his resilience, stamina and savvy in navigating the many long years in opposition.
This book provides his insight and commentary of the post World War Two era of the Australian Parliament - the highs and the lows - and a real insider’s account of the personalities and deficiencies of lauded Australian figures like Menzies, Whitlam and Evatt. I found this incredibly revealing but perhaps lost some of the author in it. This is an account of Daly’s perspective of others. But I missed the context and nuance of why he personally stood on principle on some policy issues and matters like immigration. I feel like this was a missed opportunity for us to understand his motivations. There were also lots of “told you so” stories where the author assured the reader that he forewarned of bad outcomes that flowed on from “captain’s calls”. The sceptic in me wondered why his wise advice was so often, not followed.
Daly is a hilarious anecdote-teller and there is a lot in this book for anyone who likes Australian politics.
This book is hard to find and loaned to me by a colleague. The version I read had to be carefully page-turned as it was falling a part. It needs a reprint or e-publishing.
This book provides his insight and commentary of the post World War Two era of the Australian Parliament - the highs and the lows - and a real insider’s account of the personalities and deficiencies of lauded Australian figures like Menzies, Whitlam and Evatt. I found this incredibly revealing but perhaps lost some of the author in it. This is an account of Daly’s perspective of others. But I missed the context and nuance of why he personally stood on principle on some policy issues and matters like immigration. I feel like this was a missed opportunity for us to understand his motivations. There were also lots of “told you so” stories where the author assured the reader that he forewarned of bad outcomes that flowed on from “captain’s calls”. The sceptic in me wondered why his wise advice was so often, not followed.
Daly is a hilarious anecdote-teller and there is a lot in this book for anyone who likes Australian politics.
This book is hard to find and loaned to me by a colleague. The version I read had to be carefully page-turned as it was falling a part. It needs a reprint or e-publishing.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review