This is a story of personal tragedy, political rivalries, corruption and trial by media that nearly tore apart Australia at the moment of its birth.

'He loved women', says Dame Zara Bates in this interview from the documentaryThe Harold Holt Mystery (Ten Network, 1985). 

The day before his disappearance Holt was playing tennis with friends in Portsea and a number of them later told police that he seemed to be in pain.

This clip from The Harold Holt Mystery (Ten Network, 1985) includes interviews with two eyewitnesses at Cheviot Beach on 17 December 1967, the day that Harold Holt disappeared.

Did Holt intend to withdraw troops from the war in Vietnam?

Dame Zara Bates was in Canberra when the tragedy happened. She was hastily flown to Melbourne and driven to the Cheviot Beach.

Andrew Helps was a police constable who risked his own safety by searching for Prime Minister Harold Holt in a small boat.

As each day passed hopes dimmed in finding any trace of the Prime Minister, let alone finding him alive. It was probably the most exhaustive search for an individual Australia had undertaken.

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

A group of celebrities, led by Alison McCallum, sing the ALP It’s Time song for the 1972 federal election campaign. Summary by Adrienne Parr.