In 1968, at the age of 22, Ainsley Gotto was appointed to run then Prime Minister John Gorton's office. Her appointment as private secretary attracted heavy media attention, amid rumours that she and Mr Gorton were romantically involved.
Fifty years on, private documents donated by Ms Gotto to the National Archives of Australia prior to her death on Sunday, may shed some light on the historic rumours. She donated the documents in 2015 but asked that they not be made public until after her death.
Doctor Jenny Tilby Stock, a visiting research fellow in the politics department at the University of Adelaide, told SBS News the rumours have never been proven and were a distraction from Ms Gotto's many achievements.
"The press which was almost entirely male in those days was transfixed because she was very good-looking, very young but also very competent and they tend to forget that. They were very happy to follow them around and take lots of pictures and make all sorts of suggestion about Gorton's private life," Dr Tilby Stock said.
Political author Ian Hancock investigated the rumours, and in his 2002 biography titled 'He Did It His Way,' he downplayed any relationship between Gotto and Gorton but said, "The tabloid press was always happy to provide a lot of fodder."
Before taking the role with Prime Minister Gorton, Ms Gotto worked for Dudley Erwin, then Minister for Air. But in a cabinet reshuffle Mr Erwin was left out of Mr Gorton's ministry. When asked by media at the time why he was left out, Mr Erwin stated: "It wiggles, it's shapely and its name is Ainsley Gotto."
Dating the opposition
While working for Mr Gorton, Ainsley Gotto was in a romantic relationship with Race Mathews, who back then was Gough Whitlam's Chief of Staff.
Dr Tilby Stock said that with today's media scrutiny and workplace regulations, it is unlikely that Ms Gotto would have maintained her position while dating a staffer from the opposition: "Well they would have to declare it now. I know we now have the no bonking ban and there's far more industrial relation legislation and regulation of the workplace. There was very little regulation of the workplace in those days. They made their own rules basically."
"These days we are more cautious about it and because of social media there is nothing very secret any more. I can see why people are put off going into politics. You have no private life at all," said Dr Tilby Stock.
Female trailblazer
Since Ainsley Grotto's passing on Sunday tributes have poured in on social media, including from former Prime Minister Tony Abbott who described her as a "proud Liberal," while political journalist Samantha Maiden described her as "legendary" and a "dame."
Ms Gotto worked for several other senior ministers before leaving to run her own business interests and embark on a career as a television presenter in Britain. She also headed the Australian chapter of Women Chiefs of Enterprises International, a not-for-profit organisation for women entrepreneurs.
While the situation has changed since Ms Gotto's time as a female employee in the Australian workforce, Dr Tilby Stock noted that it has been a slow process: "It's taken a long time. We still in some areas don't have enough women to make that much difference in the many professions including the top end of politics. Look at the Cabinet."
"She was darn good at her job. Apparently she ruled the office very well, and people did not mess around with her and it was very much the men were in charge and the women were their aides and supporters and secretaries and that sort of thing," said Dr Tilby Stock.
Ainsley Gotto was later married to lawyer Nick Carson and is survived by friends and extended family members.
