The man who uttered the words that launched Australia's greatest constitutional crisis has died.
Sir David Smith was the official secretary to then governor-general Sir John Kerr on November 11, 1975 — a day that is notorious in Australian political history.
No one had suspected that Sir John would sack then-prime minister Gough Whitlam before it happened.
It was an act that shocked the nation and a momentous occasion in the life of Sir David.
'God save the governor-general'
In his role as secretary, it was Sir David's task to state the proclamation, dissolving the Labor government under Mr Whitlam on the front steps of Parliament House.
Word had already spread of the dismissal, and an angry crowd was present.
In the end, much of his speech was drowned out, and only the ending could be heard.
"Now therefore I, Sir John Robert Kerr, the Governor-General of Australia, do by this, my proclamation, dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives."
The final words, "God Save The Queen" prompted the immortal response from the now-dismissed prime minister.
"Well may we say God Save the Queen because nothing will save the Governor-General," Whitlam famously said.
The dismissal put the role of the governor-general under great scrutiny, with the Labor party highly critical of the way Sir John had made a unilateral decision.
'Phew, what a day'
Sir John was governor-general for only two more years, and spent the rest of his life overseas.
But Sir David would go on to give addresses on constitutional matters and strongly defended Sir John for his actions.
His memories of November 11, 1975, were of a busy day right until the end.
"I think I recorded in my diary, 'phew, what a day'," he later said.
"And, of course, the day ended with a household dinner at Government House for three young army officers ... it was back to business as usual for the vice-regal household."
He also bore witness to some conversations and telephone calls made by Sir John with then opposition leader Malcolm Fraser and Mr Whitlam that morning, before the decision was made to dismiss.
Sir David stood by the governor-general's claims that no negotiation of terms was made with Mr Fraser before his party was made caretaker government — a point on which Mr Fraser disagreed.
"He'd received a phone call from Mr Whitlam to tell him that the government and opposition leaders had failed to reach agreement," Sir David said.
"And then the governor-general told me that he had immediately called Mr Fraser to confirm there was no change in the opposition's position on the blocking of supply, and Fraser confirmed it and that was the end of the conversation.
"It didn't last long enough for the matters that Fraser now alleges to have been canvassed."
Sir David would go on to publish his opinion that the dismissal had been the culmination of a political crisis, not a constitutional one.
Sir David dies, aged 89, a fierce monarchist
Sir David died aged 89, the father of three sons.
He lived out his years in Canberra and worked as a volunteer for different institutions, including giving guided tours of Old Parliament House.
Born in 1933, he began his career as a public servant in 1953 and became private secretary to the Minister for Interior and Works in 1958.
He was made official secretary to then-governor-general Sir Paul Hasluck in 1973.
He was a member of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and published his own account of the events of 1975, titled Head of State.
And, he was long critical of Gough Whitlam, referring to him as a "failure".
"It's time he said sorry to his party for being such a failure as leader," Sir David told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2004.
"It's time he said sorry to the Australian people for being such a failure as prime minister and for giving us the most incompetent government we have ever had, and it's time that he told the truth about the events of 1975."
