On Sunday 22 August, the Communist Party held a convention down at Hamilton Wharf. There were no fewer than 13 prominent Communist Party members taking part in the vigil. They included Charles Gifford, State Secretary of the Communist Party. Overall it was quite a turn-out of the old familiar faces-the professional demonstrators. Those persons on the other side who back them may find that it hurts them. – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Qld Hansard, Questions Without Notice [1 SEPTEMBER 1977].
Long before Joh’s actual trial for corruption, we put on a play called ‘The Public Trial of Bjelke-Petersen’. Beforehand, we put out a rumour on University campus that Bjelke-Petersen was to be there in person. A very large crowd gathered and witnessed the spectacle of the Premier of Queensland being put on trial for crimes against people, for mining and exporting uranium (1977), for banning sex education (1976), for sacking gay teachers (1976), for banning books like Portnoys Complaint (1975), for making political street marches illegal (1977) and taking away the right of workers to organise in unions – the case of union organiser, Ted Zaphir (1977), for banning abortion (1980), for locking up aboriginal people in missions and on penal islands like Palm.
Unfortunately Joh didn’t show up for the trial so we could not cross-examine him on his motives.
I recall the closing line of the play — “after the trial was over, everyone went to the coast (Surfers Paradise)”.
Queensland, democratic apartheid state
Apart from the Communists and the Opposition leader’s personal representative we had the Council for Civil Liberties, the usual radical Aborigines such as Sam Watson, Jnr., the Union of Australian Women (which is a straight-out Communist Party organisation), a representative of the Women’s Liberation Movement, and an Arab sympathiser. What wonderful representatives for a cause! What wonderful representation backed bv the A.L.P.! – Joh Bjeleke-Petersen, Qld Hansard, Questions Without Notice [1 SEPTEMBER 1977].
“Behind the ghost of Bjelke-Petersen lies a larger spectre, connecting tyrants across time, from Moreton Bay’s Captain Logan to the forces of repression today. In the days leading up to Joh’s burial, when Bernie Neville and other workers threatened to disrupt the State funeral authorised by Peter Beattie, the champions of conservative Queensland retaliated. “It’s all water under the bridge what happened 20 years ago,” a Kingaroy local said, “It’s just rehashing the past”.[42] In other words, the protestors were “grumpy, pathetic people who have been left behind by time”.[43] But if progress is an endless march that leaves some of us behind, perhaps what is at stake is not so distant and irrelevant, but something much closer to the present.” – Elina Abou Sleiman, 21 Feb 2023
Queensland, what a terrible racist apartheid state!
Ian Curr
16 June 2025
Yes, seen it [Joh: Last King of Queensland], and I think it’s quite good (for a mainstream-ish film). It was premiered at the Sydney Film Festival, and released on Stan yesterday. Not Bush Telegraph material😁, but pretty decent for a standard audience. Interviews-with or footage-of a few Zed Folk, plus many of the usual suspects. I think that Richard Roxburgh does a reasonable representation of Joh. It’s streaming on Stan, so you need to track down someone with a subscription. Worth noting that Stan does screen more Australian series/movies than most platforms (including, sadly, the ABC & SBS these days).[from fb]
They [WildBear] hardly acknowledged any Aboriginal thing. They had Lionel Fogarty and Valerie Coombs with short snippets of words that confirm the film’s narrative but didn’t mention the “Smash the Act” campaign, the Black Panthers or the building of the Medical, health, housing and childcare services – all of which Lionel and Valerie were involved in. They didn’t even mention “Free the Brisbane three” the Special Branch framing of Walker, Lacey and Garcia, of which Lionel was one (Lacey). Lindy Morrison was in it too, apart from what she is most famous for she was a key person in supporting and facilitating the Black Panthers to set up the Medical and legal services. They didn’t mention the missions and reserves, didn’t mention the takeover of Aurukun and Mornigton Island. They mentioned Cedar Bay but didn’t talk about the demolition and burning of Old Mapoon. Nothing about stolen children or stolen wages. It is a white-wash of the era.
Also not mentioned – Kowata, Mabo, state takeover of Aurukun and Mornington Island, King George Square tent embassy, ban on Aboriginal HIV/AIDS testing, the Commonwealth Games land rights protests (used footage but did not mention event). Also, also not mentioned – the whole HIV/AIDS story, Daintree Road, anti-deviant laws (liquor act), abortion laws and resistance, prison riots, the Expo88 real estate scam. The film is just a rehash of the Courier Mail narrative.
My mini movie review – “Joh: Last King of Queensland”
The film masquerades as a documentary but it is really dramatic theatre where historical talking heads and archival film footage provide minimal and stereotypical information as stage props for Richard Roxbugh’s decontextualized and unconvincing impersonations of Joh Bjelke-Petersen. The film fails as a history and as a biography. One star because I assume the people who appeared in it got paid.