Summary

During the visit of United States of America President Lyndon B. Johnson, this tickertape was collected by the vendor after it was dropped as part of a tickertape parade through the streets of Sydney on October 19th, 1966. It was during this parade that the Premier of NSW Sir Robert Askin, in response to Anti Vietnam protestors lying down on the road, told his driver to `run the bastards over'.

Physical Description

One of 15 pieces of tickertape coloured orange - each consisting of an elongated rectangular piece of thin paper, which has `HIP HIP HOORAY FOR LBJ' printed in large black type on the front side.

Significance

This highly ephemera tickertape is a significant addition to the collection, augmenting as it does the other items in the collection relating to this Presidential visit. Tickertape parades were held in both Sydney and Melbourne, imitating the style of parade commonly given to notable or victorious figures in the United States. Although this tickertape was collected in Sydney, similar material was dropped in Melbourne - the Age Newspaper (22/10/66) reported `A ticket-tape welcome greeted the President and Mrs. Johnson outside Melbourne Town Hall - scene of the wildest and most dangerous crush as crowds stormed through the barricades and overwhelmed security men and police guarding the car.'

This event was an important milestone, as it was the first visit to Australia by a serving US President. It was also significant as it occurred during the height of public debates into Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. At Holt's invitation, President Johnson and his wife arrived in Australia on the 20th October 1966 for a three-day state visit (after Holt had visited the United States in mid 1966) to promote relations between the two countries. The tour marked the first major anti-war demonstrations staged in Australia. In Sydney, protestors lay down in front of the car carrying Johnson and NSW Premier Robert Askin (prompting Askin's notoroius order to "Run over the bastards"). In Melbourne, a crowd estimated at 750,000 turned out in Melbourne to welcome Johnson, although a vocal anti-war contingent demonstrated against the visit by throwing paint bombs at Johnson's car and chanting "LBJ, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today".

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