The immortal words of Gough Whitlam

Gough Whitlam was Prime Minister for less than three years.

A giant in stature, intellect and presence, he reformed the Labor Party, led it out of the wilderness and irrevocably changed the Australian political agenda.

He will also be widely and warmly remembered for his quick turn of phrase.

Here are some of most famous lines.

"Well may we say: 'God save the Queen', because nothing will save the Governor General."

- Whitlam on the steps of parliament, November 11, 1975, the day of his dismissal.

"The proclamation you have just heard was countersigned Malcolm Fraser, who will go down in history as Kerr's cur."

- Whitlam on Malcolm Fraser, who brought about the downfall of the Whitlam government aided by then Governor General, Sir John Robert Kerr.

"Punters know the horse named Morality rarely gets past the post, whereas the nag Self-Interest always runs a good race."

- 1989, in London’s Daily Telegraph.

"You can be sure of one thing, I shall treat Him as an equal."

- Whitlam on his 80th birthday, on a possible future meeting with God.

"Very satisfactory"

- Whitlam’s description of his marriage to wife Margaret, on their 60th anniversary.

"When Sir Winton Turnbull [representative of a large rural seat] was raving and ranting on the adjournment and shouted: "I am a Country member". I interjected 'I remember'. He could not understand why, for the first time in all the years he had been speaking in the House, there was instant and loud applause from both sides."

- Debating the question ‘That Politicians Have Lost Their Sense Of Humour’, Sydney Town Hall, 24 May 2000.

"Blimps like Bruce Ruxton bring the RSL into ridicule by claiming that all Australians have fought under the present flag."

- November 1994, at the ALP national dinner in Melbourne

"The tango might have suited me but that’s gone already to Paul Keating in the first CD of this series. He is more the rose between the teeth type, anyway. He used to manage a rock band but the greatest rock band is named after me."

- 2003 speech to the Australian Institute of Music in an organised celebration of his life.

"We are all diminished when any of us are denied proper education. The nation is the poorer – a poorer economy, a poorer civilisation, because of this human and national waste."

- From Whitlam’s 1969 election policy speech.

"I do not for a moment believe that we should set limits on what we can achieve together for our country, for our people, for our future."

- From his 1972 ‘It’s Time’ election speech.

"The man is a paranoiac, he's a fanatic, and he's a bigot. What makes it all the more nauseating is, of course, that Bjelke-Peterson is such a Bible-bashing bastard."

- Speaking in 1974

"Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands this piece of the earth itself as a sign that we restore them to you and your children forever".

- August 16, 1975, as he handed the Gurindji people at Wattie Creek in the Northern Territory title deeds to traditional lands.