It's 50 years since Gough Whitlam was sacked, and Malcolm Frasre appointed caretaker prime minister. Photo: HANDOUT/Museum of Australian Democracy

The 1975 dismissal of then-prime minister Gough Whitlam by the governor-general has sparked decades of controversy and spurred a conversation about having an Australian head of state.

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TIMELINE

* December 2, 1972 - The Whitlam Labor government sweeps to power, ending more than two decades of coalition rule.

* July 11, 1974 - Sir John Kerr becomes the 18th governor-general and served until December 1977.

* July 3, 1975 - A letter sent to

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