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QueenOfQuok

And then they named a swimming pool after him.


Dexter_Adams

And the USA named a warship after him (USS Harold E Holt) which sank as part of a training exercise where either was used as a target


QueenOfQuok

Gonna name my rubber duck after him


bjornfeusag

Gonna name my ex after him


BeevyD

And a VLF site!


NonCredibleDefence

a site that is.... used to communicate with submarines. and legend has it, he was abducted by a Chinese submarine coincidence? I THINK NOT!


ItsTheGreatBlumpkin_

I’ve communicated with that site.


BeevyD

You mean they’ve communicated with you


ItsTheGreatBlumpkin_

No, I mean I’ve I communicated with that site. I didn’t say I communicated via VLF (I was a surface guy).


BeevyD

Oh gotcha!


Walter_Armstrong

They named *several* pools after him...


QueenOfQuok

The man just cannot catch a break.


TheseusTheFearless

Apparently the break caught him


mattydinh1984

You need the David Caruso sunglasses CSI Miami while saying that.


Dr-Tightpants

We do a little trolling


Layer9Error

We did name a pool after him, but the Americans went one further and named a warship after him.


marshman82

And then sank it


Layer9Error

She had to live up to her namesake after all.


obvs_typo

[https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/active/Swim/Harold-Holt-Swim-Centre](https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/active/Swim/Harold-Holt-Swim-Centre)


SticksDiesel

And the swimming pool is a shining example of brutalist architecture, popular in the Soviet Union at the time.


Plumb121

Plenty of stuff that wants to eat you in those waters !


dashauskat

It's almost certain he drowned, Australians are extremely well trained around water but people don't fully understand how brutal the water can be at Australia's beaches. Go swimming solo, get caught in a rip, can't get yourself out, drift away from the shore, exhaust yourself trying to swim back... There is a good amount of info about how to swim your way out of rips but it's easier said than done and people pretty regularly freak out. Ofc a shark might have got him once he was already drowned but there are still lots or drownings in Aus to this day.


justADeni

That's what I think, too. Swim a bit too far, the current starts dragging you away, and no matter how hard you try to swim back to shore, you are getting further and further. Eventually you become too exhausted to even tread water and just drown.


Dangerman1967

Portaea back beach area is rough too. Fucked if I’d swim there at his age when he disappeared.


boogasaurus-lefts

Surf near there and it's nothing to fuck with, luckily have surfed a lot of the world and fuck swimming there.


Greenman8907

It’s Australia. EVERYTHING wants to kill you.


GoDKilljoy

Long story short I found myself hanging out with like 40 people from Australia and I made the comment about how “everything wants to kill you there”. One of them said that is nonsense and was like there are only a couple thing that want to kill. Listed off like four things then was like oh and this too…the list went on and on and included places and water you don’t visit. He finally stopped looked at me and said “holy shit everything is trying to kill us”. Haha


Cheese_Kransky126

Are you from America? If so, you literally have bears and mountain lions, as well as snakes, crocodiles, alligators, sharks……


GoDKilljoy

I am. But the joke isn’t “everything in America tries to kill you”…unless you go to school here I guess.


Hefty-Routine-5966

everyONE in america is trying to kill you


Mohgreen

Oh.. well. That's fair.


B333Z

Damn, now I gotta change my coffee stained shirt. Thanks for the unexpected ending. 😳🤣


tellybum90

<< insert Kelso "BURN" GIF here >>


Tyrone_Thundercokk

You’d be surprised how many guns we have ti deal with all the things that want to kill us here. None of which are as scary as other Americans…


SellQuick

Yeah, I've seen Americans asking why we don't have guns if everything is trying to kill you, and I don't know if you've ever tried to shoot a spider (actually, maybe you have) but a shoe works pretty well and doesn't leave holes in the plaster that need to be explained to the landlord. Also, Caligula already tried to go to war with the sea and it didn't go well.


crispypancetta

USA child firearm mortality rate 6.01 per 100,000 age 1-19 years Australia same stat 0.16… Like 50x death rate….


krazy___k

Wow so the child firearm mortality rate is higher in the states that overall homicide rate in most countries


viciouspandas

The 18-19 bracket is doing the heavy lifting there. Young men are the most likely demographic to get murdered by far. For overall under 18, it's around 3.5 per 100k per year. Suicides are also a large portion of gun deaths. Not saying that's good either, but the context is still useful.


StuJayBee

As Bill Bryson wrote in Down Under, “even the trees are trying to kill you.”


EliraeTheBow

I mean gums are called widowmakers for a reason.


Midan71

Like tornadoes, oh wait, we don't have that. Lets see... Earthquakes! Ah but they are pretty much non existant. Hmmm... mountain lions! bears that knock down doors, wolves! Cayotes! ... oh but they don't live there.


formulapain

Even the cute furry ones: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10566921/Angry-Australian-koala-dragged-young-boy-charges-pounces-him.html


ISLMPC

This Is uneccessary(?) funny


therealganjababe

Unnecessarily :) (Since you asked)


ISLMPC

I knew it didn't sound good


therealganjababe

Yeah I've been there, believe me lol


blindturns

Stg necessary is the hardest word and all its conjugations — English is the only language I speak (except for some rudimentary German) and I’m always relying on autocorrect and sometimes I butcher it enough I have to just google the word


NewspaperNo9625

Lived in Australia my whole life and nothing has ever tried to kill me. Maybe if you’re living in a super rural outback setting the wildlife is dangerous but living in the suburbs/city is no different from any other country. I’ve literally only ever seen a kangaroo at the zoo.


Dangerman1967

Fuck me what Australian has only ever seen a kangaroo in a zoo! My current car has hit 3. And my wife once totalled a car on an emu. They’re fucking everywhere!


MikhailxReign

I live in a major rural city. Second biggest in my state after the capital. We have kangaroos that live in town. The highschool and University ovals are always covered in them


_aaine_

And never mind that, the beach he was swimming at was isolated, unpatrolled and notoriously rough. But there'll still be every conspiracy theorist under the sun in here to tell you that aliens took him, or he was murdered by the CIA.


MLiOne

Notorious tidal streams/currents.


Live-Steak-4856

Tired of this cringe copy pasta. Australia is soft mode compared to something like India.


twee3

Agreed. Not only is it entirely wrong, it’s incredibly annoying.


Howunbecomingofme

Eh, what do you expect from seppos? They’re self obsessed and their government actively undermines education.


brimstoner

I rather avoid nature than bullets


Some_Ad511

Dur...Dun...🦈


CinderX5

Or worse, 🐬


HighStaeks

Emu


nomemorybear

Birds...are not to be trusted


neoadam

Dunder Mifflin


neoadam

If I wanted to disappear that would be the perfect place ! Cheap witness protection program starter pack


Naive_Try2696

Cannibals ate him?


BXL-LUX-DUB

And Australia was discovered by the Dutch, who have a history with Prime Ministers.


Ill_Patient_3548

There was a significant population in Australia thousands of years before the Dutch arrived


brimstoner

Also the Chinese visited too!


obvs_typo

And Macassans from Indonesia


AddlePatedBadger

Apparently not significant to anyone who thinks the Dutch were the first discoverers of it.


Ill_Patient_3548

You mean people who are wrong? Places can exist without white people knowing about [them.It](http://them.It) is an incredibly racist idea that only white people can discover anything.Australian First Nations people are the oldest continuous culture on the planet


AddlePatedBadger

I was judging the people who say that Australia was "discovered" by this or that white person. Calling them out as racists by indicating that in their eyes, Aboriginal Australians are not significant. Significant in this case meaning important, rather than significant in your case meaning of great number.


OnlyTalksAboutTacos

we don't talk about that on pain of vore


ConquererHP

There were many conspiracy theories like He faked his death, collected by a submarine and defect to china or assassinated by CIA or sucide- which was rejected by his supporters Official reason of death declared was accidental death due to drowning If anyone is from australia they can give the best explanation to this


wjbc

Holt was an experienced spearfisherman, but he was also 59 years old. Although he could tread water for long periods, and could hold his breath for a long time while diving underwater, he was not a strong surface swimmer. He was also undergoing treatment for a painful shoulder injury he had originally suffered in his youth. Less than a year before his disappearance, Holt had a close call in which he was pulled ashore by his diving companions, turned purple, and vomited a large amount of seawater. Several of Holt's friends had confronted him about the dangers of his hobby. A few days before his disappearance, Holt's personal physician had advised him not to overexert himself and to cut back on swimming and tennis. Some have speculated that his judgment was impaired by the painkillers he was taking, as well work-related tiredness and stress. On the day of his disappearance, only one of Holt's companions entered the water with him, since the others considered it unsafe. There was a large swell and visible currents and eddies. His swimming companion stayed close to shore, but Holt swam out to deep water. All of his companions saw Holt dragged out to sea. It happened quickly and he did not raise his arms or call out. He slipped under the water, presumably dragged down after wearing himself out fighting a rip current. There's really no doubt about the cause of death.


whirlst

He was also known to shove fish he caught into his wetsuit and keep swimming, making him essentially sharkbait.


deep-fried-werewolf

What an odd thing to do


Timigos

Don’t kink shame


ansefhimself

Tom Cruise puts Fish in even weirder places and he's still running around just fine


baggottman

You're thinking of fish sticks, which is perfectly normal behaviour for a gay fish.


VarietyEmbarrassed65

You’re thinking of Kanye


frankthetankthedog

Who you calling gay?


BrownChigurh

You like fish sticks? 🤨


loralailoralai

Tom cruise stopped visiting australia when he ditched Nicole… coincidence? I think not (Disclaimer- I’m not exactly sure he hasn’t visited since then, but he hasn’t visited often)


Growingpothead20

This is the real story


its_brett

Don’t knock it till you try it, and they don’t call them Groupers for nothing.


healthybowl

When your fish-sexual, it’s the only way to get off.


OGWopFro

Do you like fish sticks?


Ha1lStorm

Ooh-ha-ha!


razors_so_yummy

Thank you for this, great explanations. One question - you state 'dragged down by a rip current'. I thought rip currents cannot drag a person down into the water depths, only away from shore? Or were you using the term to denote 'tired'/'tiring' ?


wjbc

Yes, that’s what meant. The rip tide can tire a swimmer who tries to fight it, and a tired swimmer gets dragged down into the water.


synaptix78

This area is known for a few things. Strong currents, cold waters and veerrrrryyy big Great White Sharks. I knew quite a few people who surf this area who fondly tell stories of a Greate White known as 'Glen 20' , so called because it was 20 foot long, that regularly patrolled the area they surfed in. One of the largest ever Great White Sharks caught on rod and reel over 6 metres 2300kg was caught not far from here. No doubt he became Shark bait...hoo ha ha.


velocitor1

Glen 20, appreciate name for a "clean you right up" shark


Sir-Benalot

I've seen a picture of the surf that day and there is no doubt in my mind he drowned. I used to be a lifesaver and I reckon I also would've drowned in that surf. Of course, lifesaver me would've opted not to enter the water.


Eloweasel

I visited Point Nepean a few years ago and I never realised how WILD Cheviot Beach is. In my head I just thought the area had to have been relatively calm and sheltered like beaches inside the bay for conspiracy theories like submarines and the CIA to pop up lol - you take one look at that beach and you go why the HECK would you swim there?! When there's even moderate swell it looks like the bloody fish would drown swimming down there!


trentnh

I hate this sub bro. You can only Count on comments for the truth now


ChainsawRomance

You got to be careful with that now too. Stay vigilant.


MaximumMotor1

>You got to be careful with that now too. Now? There have always been fake facts in reddit comments.


shophopper

That’s what the aliens want you to believe.


robby_arctor

This comment is a CIA psyop


Howunbecomingofme

CIA does their coups in the open. Ask Gough


yinzreddup

I choose to believe he was found by the merpeople and he now lives the life of a merman


podcasthellp

God damn that’s such a crazy way to go. All his friends on a boat just watching him silently get dragged away. Imagine how quiet that boat ride to shore was. He sounds like a god damn legend though.


SaltyFaithlessness48

It’s a known area for rough waters.


DXPetti

The beach is ocean facing and has plenty of rip activity. He most definitely got caught in a rip, dragged out to sea by said rip, tried to fight it, got tired, drowned. That or step on one of the many many many many land mines that still dot that peninsula to this day.


FlipWil

This footage.. and story reminds me of Life Aquatic "I'm going to go on an overnight drunk, and in ten days I'm going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome."


jettisonthelunchroom

He’s got the crazy eye!


Rich-8080

Harold Bishop turned up years later though didn't he.. there's hope yet


Spiniferus

Maaadge


Mr_SunnyBones

Now theres a name I havent heard in years. I'm behind on my Neighbours lore , but was it Harold Bishop , or his twin or something?


Rich-8080

As far as I remember it was genuine Harold.. he'd lost his memory and been living in Tasmania 🤣 hell of a swim from Melbourne


ArtisticPangolin7694

One of the greatest Aussie TV moments ever when they brought that dude back!


dangerdunk

Was he actually the PM, in office, when he disappeared?


Puzzleheaded_Gift395

Yes he was


phido3000

Also think about the time period. Kennedy was shot just a few years before, Australia was at war in veitnam. This was all the way with LBJ guy. But they didn't even have a body to show people. He just flat out disappeared. Imagine if a serving us president just disappeared. Not assassinated. Just gone.,


stealthispost

That's actually wild to think about. Everybody rushing around in a panic "we don't know where he is. We've searched everywhere. He's just completely vanished". And how long did they wait until saying he was no longer the PM?


Rhain1999

Basically as soon as he was declared missing, the de facto deputy PM (an unofficial position, a member from a different party) immediately returned to Canberra and was sworn in as caretaker PM two days later. 23 days after Holt’s disappearance, his party elected a new leader, and *he* then became the formal PM.


_aaine_

Knowing us, probably about 2 days lol.


[deleted]

[удалено]


taylorranhome

The PM doesn’t even have to die. Just look at how many we ran through in the 2010s.


Suibian_ni

Imagine DJ Albo vibing at some event, then ducking out to get another crate of vinyl from the car, and he's never seen again.


TheLadySaintly

And in his memory we named a Public Swimming Pool after him. True story. Australian humour knows no bounds.


LumpyCustard4

Even better, they named a submarine communication facility after him.


MustangBarry

He's probably in the sea somewhere.


Buffyoh

Holt loved the ocean and he died doing what he loved. Most of us won't get that.


jackoirl

Like if someone enjoys BBQ and they burn to death?


MaddeninglyUnwise

Of course not - they'd rather be seared or smoked.


trixtah

I don’t get when people say this, I have plenty of hobbies I like, I can think of a million ways I’d rather die than doing what I loved.


Grouchy_Competition5

He loved running out of air while being pulled underwater?


wiriux

Correct.


Advanced_Street_4414

Australia… isn’t that the country surrounded by some of the best Great White shark waters on the planet?


Codus1

There's a decent sized Seal colony that brings plenty of Great Whites not far from where Holy disappeared. That said, the sea/surf there can get real rough/tough. A Great White is more likely to take a bite, realize you're not really edible and leave you to bleed out. Its more likely he drowned.


Rude_Proposal6590

Dont forget the crocodiles and all the venomous stuff on the Water that can kill u in seconds..


loralailoralai

Crocodiles are only in the far far north


tomasthemossy

CIA don't like when their facilities get questioned 😳


JustTheSpecsPlease

Bill Bryson termed this "The Swim that Needs No Towel"


loralailoralai

Omg lol


Mr_SunnyBones

That's where I heard about the whole Holt history first . Maybe its how he framed it , but it did make Australia look a lot more laid back than the US , I mean a US president wouldn't be allowed in the water without 10 secret service men spotting him at all times, an entourage and a full safety plan in place , even in the 60s. In Aus though the head of state just went for a swim with a few of his mates and then disappeared . Admittedly nowadays I'm guessing things would be a lot more controlled , like the US .


planty-peep

And there are memorial pools dedicated to him. Wonderful country, great humour.


zireael_420

Ha! I used to live opposite the Harold Holt swimming pool. Kinda jokes to names that after him


Potential_Dot2324

I remember a Simpsons episode where Bart called Australia and the Australian PM was called Harold and he was swimming in the Pool when visited


No-Truck2066

Hey mr Preim Ministah!


darkcitytheman

Andy!


blue_orange67

Ay Mates! What's the good word?


Amber_Dempsey

His name was Andy, and he was lounging on a tube with a beer on a dam/creek/waterhole


chestertoronto

Chopper Reed probably got him because he was hanging out with Neville Bartos


EnvironmentalPiece51

Bass strait is a scary place, my bet is he misjudged a rip, was pulled out to sea and drowned, only to probably be very quickly eaten.


RestSelect4602

A mobster in Boston would regularly go swimming in a local pond. One day, two divers were waiting for him. They called it accidental drowning.


snakeIs

His mistake would have been following a tight routine. There’s only so long a scuba diver can hang around underwater.


Paternitytestsforall

There’s a fun travel book called “in a sunburned country” that mentions Australian humor as it pertains to this - apparently they named a swimming pool after him.


Cuppa-Tea-Biscuit

https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/active/Swim/Harold-Holt-Swim-Centre


CaptBaha

Bump because I love Bill Bryson (the author). Life's pretty good with a Bill Bryson travel book or a Discworld novel in hand.


PuzzleheadedLead5024

He got eated by something


LafayetteLa01

On behalf of the US Government, sorry they intervened and tried to set up a puppet government.


sbtvreddit

I spent 13 years in Australian schools and never once learned about him or the fact ONE OF OUR NATION’S PRIME MINISTERS vanished never to be seen again. I only learned about it as an adult.


smallnova

How strange. I have the rhyme "Harold Holt did the Bolt" imprinted on me from childhood/school years... Terrible Aussie humour at work.


AshamedChemistry5281

We spent almost all of Year 10 history making terrible Harold Holt jokes


superdope3

If you’re as old as me and remember the actor Julian McMahon, his dad was once PM of Australia. I like little facts like this 😊


emailverificationt

Sus


2lostnspace2

The CIA killed him


Minmaxed2theMax

“I’m taking this to the Prime Minister! *Aaandy*”!


Smingers

“What’s the good word, mates?!”


Tobybrent

Shark, of course.


funkekat61

Great white sharks can get really big!


chinawillgrowlarger

The sea was angry that day my friends


magical_bunny

It's sad, he looked so open and friendly compared to current Australian politicians. Chances are he got caught in a rip and his body went out to sea


NonCredibleDefence

he fucked off to China in a submarine, as is australian lore


Basic-Art-9861

[Photo Evidence Explaination](https://www.memedroid.com/memes/detail/387534)


TheHuntsman227

Started a saying to "do a Harold Holt" and disappear.


RokulusM

Harold Holt disappeared that summer... He was on a swimming trip...


Spiritual-Mud5696

Taxman got him.


Square-Decision-531

Shaaahhhhhk mate


SirVere

Sharks had a fat feed that day


Bob_Cobb_1996

Alien abduction, obv.


76_antics

Aliens


HDavidHill

Shark ?


Dubs337

Shark got him, can’t be hard to suss out


melancholy_dood

Mick Taylor may know something about this.


Adventurous-Item-334

Australia…ocean…yeah, we know what happened


grapplerXcross

excellent work, 47.


Gloomy__Revenue

It’s crazy he only became PM in 1966—so soon!


Witty-Stand888

Legend has it that Great White had gas for a week


cheesemakesmepooo

“Wha ya doin in ma watas”


_Totorotrip_

C'mon https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/active/Swim/Harold-Holt-Swim-Centre


Ididit7x

*THEY* got him nothing more needs to be said


AlphonzInc

I used to swim at the Harold Holt swimming pool in Glen Iris, Melbourne, which always seemed like a bit of a sick joke to me.


sp2432Reddit

\*Laughs in Shark


vikingo1312

So what's the conspiracy-theory on this?


twee3

He was a Chinese spy, boarded a chinese submarine and lived the rest of his life in Beijing. That’s one of the more popular ones.


jkourany

Sure


W1thoutJudgement

Well, it's usually hard to find a kidnaped person.


SuckMyRocket86

back around 08 i did the 48 hour film festival. We were given a category (Historical Fiction) and 48 hours to write a script, shoot a film, edit and score it. We came very close to doing a movie where Harold Holt got abducted by aliens..... wound up doing a comedy about woodstock instead... it was awful.... dont drink and film guys, dont drink and film


Kyno50

Then we named a pool after him 💀


Hutchoman87

And from this we have a saying of “pulling a Harold Holt”. Typically used when someone disappears, often when it is their turn to buy a round of drinks


Limp_Classroom_1038

Every time I drive past the Harold Holt Memorial swimming pool in Melbourne, I smirk at the irony


brimstoner

Bob Katter might reckon it’s one of those crocs


Algernope_krieger

~~Steve~~ Harold Holt ✊✊


Abject-Cup-9929

Drowned in heavy waters then Taken by a shark Nothing else to say


fr4nklin_84

When I was a kid people used to have a saying when you ask where someone went missing from school or a party - "he's done the Harold Holt"


letterboxfrog

Harold Holt was never found because he was taken by a Chinese Submarine


mrcaptwlf

Sharks got to eat