Australian
Screen

From Wednesday 18 January to Thursday 26 January 1967, Air Vice-Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky and his wife visited Australia and New Zealand. Both countries were providing significant military assistance to South Vietnam at the time, and the purpose of the Prime Minister’s visit was primarily to buttress local support for involvement. The 36 year old Ky had been a career soldier in South Vietnam. He was appointed Prime Minister by the military in 1965 in one of a number of coups following the assassination of Diem in 1963. At the time of this ABC news programme, he was still professing an intention of not continuing with a political career, but of returning to the military.

Ky and his wife arrived in Australia on Wednesday 18 January. They spent Wednesday and Thursday in Canberra. Ky attended a wreath laying ceremony at the Australian War Memorial and a lengthy meeting with Federal cabinet, before delivering a speech to the National Press Club which was covered live by radio and television. The couple spent Friday in Brisbane, Saturday in Sydney and Sunday in Melbourne. In each city they were met on arrival by groups showing support for the South Vietnamese cause. Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations were also held to coincide with the visit to the three cities. Although the narration alludes to these demonstrations, we never see them.

Prime Minister Ky covered a lot of ground on the trip, meeting state and federal leaders and ministers in each of the east coast cities. Madame Ky was towed around by the wives of the same leaders and ministers, attending gardens, child care centres and other places deemed interesting, at the time, for the wife of a visiting statesman. Narration over the Madame Ky sections switches briskly from its serious political tone to softer commentary, full of admiration for the glamorous 25 year old’s beauty and choice of outfit. In a moment of candour at the Melbourne press conference held at the end of the fifth day, no doubt fuelled by fatigue and the calm sympathetic questioning of the ABC journalist, Madame Ky confesses that all she’d really wanted to do was go shopping to buy cowboy hats and superhero costumes for her young sons. On the following day (Monday) the touring party travelled to New Zealand where they spent three days, returning to Vietnam via Australia on Thursday 26 January.