A famously theatrical monologue, given by a man as police arrested him at a Chinese restaurant in Australia, has officially been preserved by the country's national archive.
The 1991 clip of Jack Karlson's arrest in Brisbane became an internet sensation when it was rediscovered in 2009.
What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal Karlson – born Cecil George Edwards – dramatically shouted, while resisting the officers.
Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest and get your hand off my penis were among his other, now immortalised, phrases that have been officially recognised by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) for their cultural significance.
The moment, now known as Democracy Manifest, became one of the most viral videos in Australia's history, inspiring thousands of memes, musical remixes, merchandise, and even an orchestral piece.
Describing his protest as dramatic, indignant and unexpectedly articulate, NFSA stated that Karlson's words became shorthand for irreverent Australian humour.
The recording demonstrates how voice and performance can transform an everyday news event into a lasting piece of cultural folklore, it wrote.
Jack Karlson died from prostate cancer in 2024, aged 82. Months earlier, he had reunited with one of the policemen in the video, Stoll Watt, to announce an upcoming documentary into his obscure and eccentric life.
Although he was a convicted criminal and had reportedly broken out of jail three times, Karlson maintained that the 1991 incident was a case of mistaken identity.
There are two main schools of thought on this, the NFSA reports - one that he had been confused for a Hungarian chess player known for dine-and-dash attempts in Australia at the time.
They thought I was some international gangster, he said during one interview.
The other theory is that credit card company American Express had reported him to the police for using stolen credit cards.
NFSA releases its Sounds of Australia capsule every year, to recognise recordings that have had lasting impacts and shaped cultural moments. Its 2026 capsule also includes Missy Higgins' 2004 hit 'Scar', celebrated for a chorus that defined a generation of Australian pop; and the beeping of the country's pedestrian crossings, which had reshaped how Australians move through cities and suburbs.
