Ask the Memphian: How did an Australian prime minister lose his pants in Memphis?
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser on Jan. 31, 1980, when he met President Jimmy Carter at the White House in Washington. Fraser was Australia’s prime minister from 1975 to 1983. (AP file)
David Wayne Brown was attending what was supposed to be a breakfast speech by a former Australian prime minister when he got the tip that led to a scandal Down Under and a laugh in Memphis.
On the morning of Oct. 14, 1986, Malcolm Fraser — who had been Australia’s prime minister from 1975 to 1983 — was supposed to follow his talk from the night before with a breakfast speech to the Economic Club of Memphis over eggs and bacon.
Except Fraser didn’t show. Club officials checked his room. They checked the golf course. The eggs and bacon grew cold, and no one could find Fraser.
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Jody Callahan
Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.
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