'I’m not sure that he was even there'

Lieutenant-colonel John Bennett was in charge of the army's search for Harold Holt.

Bennett was having a day off at his Melbourne home when he heard a radio report that a prominent person had gone missing off Portsea. Bennett suspected it was Holt because he knew the Prime Minister often stayed at a holiday home close by. He rushed to the scene and saw that two army divers and some local surf-lifesavers were already searching for Holt. Bennett organised for more soldiers to take part and arranged radio communication between the different search groups, taking over the coordination of the search.

Years later Bennett expressed doubts that Holt was even there at the beach on that day.

This clip is from the documentary, The Harold Holt Mystery (1985).