Disappearance of Harold Holt
A search party combing Cheviot Beach after Holt's disappearance | |
| Date | 17 December 1967 |
|---|---|
| Time | approx. 12:20 p.m. |
| Location | Cheviot Beach, Point Nepean, Victoria, Australia |
| Coordinates | 38°18′42″S 144°39′50″E / 38.3117°S 144.6640°E |
| Participants | Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia |
| Deaths | 1 (presumed) |
On 17 December 1967, Harold Holt, the 17th prime minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming in the sea near Portsea, Victoria. An enormous search operation was mounted in and around Cheviot Beach, but his body was never recovered. Holt was presumed to have drowned, and his memorial service five days later was attended by many world leaders.
It is generally agreed that Holt's disappearance was a simple case of an accidental drowning, the only other plausible explanation being that he could have been attacked by a shark. However, a number of conspiracy theories surfaced. The most famous suggestion was that he was a spy for China and had been collected by a Chinese submarine. However, this theory was quickly proven false. Holt was the third Australian prime minister to die in office, after Joseph Lyons in 1939 and John Curtin in 1945.
Holt was initially replaced in a caretaker capacity by John McEwen, and then by John Gorton following the 1968 Liberal Party leadership election. Holt's death has entered Australian folklore, and was commemorated by, among other things, the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre.