British High Commission, Canberra, 11 December 1972
1723. Confidential
1. The Prime Minister1 asked me this evening, 8 December, to inform you that he intends appointing the Honourable John Ignatius Armstrong to be Australian High Commissioner in London in succession to Sir A. Downer.
[…]
3. Mr Whitlam asked me to tell you that Mr Armstrong is a man of wide political and business experience, who commands wide trust and liking in the Australian Labor Party, and is well qualified to be Mr Whitlam’s personal representative in London: his appointment there is intended to show that the new Labor Government regard the post as an important one, and that they have no (rpt no) intention of ‘cutting the painter’ with Britain.
4. Mr Whitlam proposes to announce Mr Armstrong’s appointment at his next weekly press conference on Tuesday 12 December.2
1 Edward Gough Whittam, who defeated William McMahon in the federal election of 2 December 1972.
2 For Whitlam’s detailed instructions to Armstrong outlining his new vision for Australia House, see Document 444.
[UKNA: FCO 24/1369]