Dame Edna dabbles in numerology

Dame Edna Everage uses hilariously bad numerology to compare then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and the man who would become his successor - Malcolm Fraser.

In this interview with Mike Willesee on his current affairs programme Willesee at Seven, Everage delights in using the 'proven psychic science' of numerology to predict the future.

She would surely call it 'spooky', but she actually gets it right! She says at the end of the clip 'Is it a coincidence, or is it not? That Gough Whitlam is prime minister and Malcolm Fraser isn't ... Yet!'

Willesee obviously has no idea where Barry Humphries is taking this sketch as she launches off with a hilarious series of disparate and ridiculous calculations. The evolution of Willesee's reaction from bemusement to total amusement is priceless.

Humphries loves live performance and interacting with an audience through Everage. This is a great example of Everage's searing social commentary about Australia and Australians.

A lot was happening in 1975: colour television arrived in Australia and on 11 November 1975 Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Gough Whitlam as prime minister, forcing a general election which brought Malcolm Fraser into power. You can read more about The Dismissal on our blog.

This clip comes from a compilation of Willesee At Seven interviews from 1975.

Notes by Beth Taylor