Coroner rules Holt conspiracy theories 'fanciful'
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Conspiracy theories surrounding the disappearance of former prime minister Harold Holt in 1967 have finally been laid to rest.
The Victorian coroner has found Mr Holt drowned and his disappearance was accidental.
Mr Holt vanished on December 17, 1967, while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea south of Melbourne.
His disappearance has prompted conspiracy theories ranging from suicide to abduction by a Chinese submarine.
But an inquest into his death has found that such theories are fanciful.
The coroner says Mr Holt took an unnecessary risk and drowned in rough water.
Mr Holt's son, Sam, says today's finding comes as no surprise.
"Myself and the other family members have always thought that it was simply a matter of him going for a swim when he shouldn't," he said.
"It was accidental drowning and we knew that but for those few who might still have believed in the fanciful theories of the CIA or Chinese submarines, perhaps this will put their minds at rest too."
Bill Allen, who served as a private secretary to Mr Holt, says he is relieved at the finding and he hopes it will end speculation about how his former boss died.
"It's always worried me a little bit that all the nonsense that went round about this good man, a dedicated Australian," Mr Allen said.
"It made a bit of fun and mystery for some people, with Japanese submarines and other things but I knew him as a fellow who loved this Sorrento-Portsea area."
Holt biographer Tom Frame says the alternative explanations never held much weight.
"I've looked at all of these things and I have to say, both when the police first noticed them and now, there isn't the hard evidence that I would've thought was always needed before you'd gone public - by saying the Prime Minister didn't die as a result of his foolishness of going into the water, but he actually suffered some foul play," Dr Frame said.
The Holt case is one of more than 80 suspected drowning deaths dating back to 1957 examined by the coroner.
The investigations have been held now because of a change to the Coroners Act, which means an inquest can be conducted even if a body has not been found.
