Story: Cold War

ANZUS pact

ANZUS pact

Australia and New Zealand, fearing Japanese military resurgence and recognising that Britain could not defend them, forged a new military alliance with the United States. The ANZUS pact was signed in 1951 and was welcomed by the US as a bulwark against communism. This cartoon satirises the refusal to allow Britain to be an observer at a 1952 ANZUS council meeting, highlighting the weakening of defence ties between Britain and its two Pacific dominions.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-311-4-001
Cartoon by Sid Scales

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Gerald Hensley, 'Cold War - Beyond Europe, 1949 to 1955', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/32696/anzus-pact (accessed 24 April 2024)

Story by Gerald Hensley, published 20 Jun 2012