Story: Premiers and prime ministers

Prime Minister's Department

Prime Minister's Department

Cartoonists such as Sid Scales – who produced this 1953 cartoon – often treated spending in the prime minister’s office as fair game. While staffing did soar under Peter Fraser and Sid Holland (pictured below), most of the growth came from administering the Prime Minister’s Department and the Department of External Affairs together, after the latter had been separated out from the former in 1943.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: H-723-006
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:

Gavin McLean, 'Premiers and prime ministers - Support services and statues', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/33205/prime-ministers-department (accessed 18 April 2024)

Story by Gavin McLean, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Dec 2016