The little-known political confidant who ‘helped steer’ Australia’s leaders is finally remembered | Paul Daley

Submitted by Paul Daley on Tue, 29/08/2023 - 1:00am

Driver to 11 PMs, including Sir Robert Menzies, Alf Stafford was a one-off. But history has overlooked him when gazing at the office of power – until now

During the decades I lived in and wrote about Canberra, perhaps the most intriguing person I came across was Gamilaroi and Darug man Alfred – “Alf” – Stafford.

When I say I “came across” Alf, I mean that I encountered him archivally, thanks to his granddaughter, Michelle Flynn, and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, which gave me access in 2015 to his extensive collection of correspondence, photographs, voice recordings and ephemera.