Indigenous lawyer, academic and land rights activist Noel Pearson’s rousing tribute to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam is destined to be the internet sensation of the week, if not the year.

Pearson delivered the speech during the memorial service for Whitlam in Sydney on Tuesday. The ABC was quick to upload the clip to YouTube.

If you haven’t seen it, clear your schedule for the next 20 minutes. You’ll thank us, we promise.

At the time of writing, YouTube has the video at 301+ views which is the number the platform stops counting at when an upload is clocking up a high volume of clicks. Once YouTube is confident the views are legit, the clock will catch up and show the clip the respect it deserves.

While the ratings are not yet known for the ABC News 24 broadcast of the event, YouTube could well knock the number out of the park.

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