Prime Minister Gorton visits Honeysuckle

8:45am Monday 21 July 1969

At around 8:45am, Australian Prime Minister John Gorton paid a hastily arranged visit to Honeysuckle Creek
to see the part his Australian station was playing in this most historic mission.

He was shown around by Station Director Tom Reid.

See the menu at left for film footage of the Prime Minister’s visit. (No menu?)

PM John Gorton at HSK

Australian Prime Minister John Gorton being shown the Operations console – Monday 21st July, 1969.

From left to right: Prime Minister John Gorton with Station Director Tom Reid, a media representative*, Allan Cooley (head of Department of Supply), and Tony Eggleton (the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary).

In the foreground: John Saxon and Ian Grant.

Photo by Hamish Lindsay, this copy supplied by Mike Dinn. Click on the image for a larger version.

* can anyone tell us who this is? Any help appreciated!

PM Gortin in Comms scetion

Prime Minister Gorton looking around the Comms area.

Two TTY operators are in the foreground. (On the left is Vic Burman and on the right young Fred Hill, son of Fred Hill at the rack in the left background.)

Photo: Hamish Lindsay. Click for a larger version.

Gorton at video console

Prime Minister Gorton speaks with Ed von Renouard at the Video Console on the morning of the Apollo 11 walk. This is probably the only picture of the video console as it was configured for Apollo 11.

The reversing switch is above Ed’s head, complete with the temporary Dymo labels.

Photo: Hamish Lindsay – click for a larger version.

Gorton in Telemetry

Prime Minister John Gorton in the Telemetry area. Station Director Tom Reid has his back to the camera.

Andrew Tupalski (wearing headet) and Bill Perrin are on the right.

Photo: Hamish Lindsay – click for a larger version.

PM Gorton

Prime Minister John Gorton (left) in the USB area at the antenna servo console with Station Director Tom Reid on the morning of Neil Armstrong’s step on the Moon.

Behind at left is Frank Campbell (APP), Tony Salvage (USB Supervisor) and Mike Evenett (USB Engineer) just visible over the PM’s shoulder.

On the right is Allan Cooley, head of the Department of Supply.

To the right of the PM’s head on top of the APP are the paper tape reels used to convey the instructions to point the antenna generated by the 1218 computer.

Photo: Hamish Lindsay – click for a larger version.

PM Gorton and Tom Reid

Another shot of Prime Minister Gorton with Tom Reid.

Photo supplied by Ed von Renouard.
Click for a larger version.




The Prime Minister signs the Station’s Visitors Book


Prime Minister Gorton sihns the visitors book

Prime Minister Gorton signs the Honeysuckle VIP Visitors Book.

Standing behind him is Lloyd Bott, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Supply.

Photo: National Archives of Australia, NAA A1200, L82029.

 

Prime Minister Gorton's entry

Prime Minister Gorton’s entry in the Honeysuckle VIP Visitors Book.

Photo: Colin Mackellar. Click for a larger version (460kb).



The Prime Minister wrote –

‘This day men were first sent through space and landed on a satellite. Mankind now can “gaze at each other with wild surmise” as to what future travel in space may bring.’

The reference is to John Keats’ (1795–1821) On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer. Keats compared his emotions on first reading George Chapman’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey (published 1614) to those of Cortez when he first saw the Pacific.

On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer

Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star’d at the Pacific — and all his men
Look’d at each other with a wild surmise —
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

– A fitting quotation reflecting on the wonder of what mankind would see later that day.



Click here for a report on the Prime Minister’s visit to Honeysuckle(40kb mp3 file) – part of the 7pm ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) News bulletin on 21 July 1969. (Supplied by Mike Dinn.)



Prime Minister Gorton returned for an unofficial visit a little later. Read the story by Hamish Lindsay and Danny Twomey.