Prime Minister Tony Abbott was met with a volley of boos outside the Gough Whitlam Memorial at Sydney's Town Hall on Wednesday. Hundreds of people also gave it to the former Prime Minister John Howard.
The crowd was mostly made up of baby-boomers and staunch Labor supporters.
Thousands in town hall square watching @bkjabour
But the gracelessness was roundly criticised.
how utterly graceless of those clowns who booed John Howard outside Gough funeral.
By all means boo John Howard at the cricket if you feel the need, but at a funeral? Really? #GoughWhitlam
Boos from Labor crowd for Howard - at least the equal best to any PM they've seen - no wonder ALP is in strife....
Coming up next at #goughmemorial - a Mexican wave
But there were some Australian progressives defending the move.
I personally would not boo Abbott, but come on: he's a terrible PM whose budget is to destroy the Whitlam legacy. What do you expect? Candy?
Unsurprisingly, Julia Gillard, Paul Keating and Bob Hawke received huge ovations. Kevin Rudd? Not so much.
Later on, all the seven living prime ministers gathered for an adorable/awkward family photo.
