In 1909 Prime Minister Joseph Ward proclaimed New Zealand would fund the construction of a new warship for the British navy, to be called HMS New Zealand. Opponents rallied to stop the measure, organising meetings and sending protest postcards such as this one. The postcard suggests the warship was unaffordable and the burden of its cost would fall on working men for years to come. It proved a prescient prediction. The ship was built and saw battle during the First World War. However, not only was it sold for scrap in 1923, but New Zealand did not finish paying it off until 1944.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PAM-190-POS-3178
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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