Australia and the Dardanelles Commission, 1916-1917: A re-assessment

Rupert and James Murdoch, who made appearances before the Leveson inquiry into press corruption on 19 July 2011, were not the first in their family to appear before a commission of the British Parliament. That ambiguous honour goes to Rupert's father - another journalist and later newspaper proprietor and knight - Keith, who appeared before the Dardanelles Commission on 5 February 1917. From an Australian point of view, there were two key players in the Dardanelles Commission story: Andrew Fisher1 and Keith Murdoch; two Scottish Australians 'on the make' (while a third Australian, the military doctor Sir Neville Howse VC, played a significant supporting role). Fisher was the Australian Prime Minister who had committed Australian troops to the Dardanelles (or Gallipoli) campaign and Murdoch the journalist who was Fisher's unofficial 'eyes and ears' at Gallipoli, reporting back from that front confidentially at a crucial stage of the fighting.