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Story: Royal family

Leaving a sinking ship

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Leaving a sinking ship

In the mid-1990s the British monarchy was at a low point, and Prime Minister Jim Bolger’s support for a republic prompted comment but no great feeling. In this cartoon, published in 1994, he is portrayed as a rat swimming in an inflated ring marked ‘republic’, leaving the sinking ship British Systemsbehind him.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: H-114-008

by Laurence Clark ('Klarc')

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

Megan Cook, Royal family – Changing views of royalty, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/33170/leaving-a-sinking-ship (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 27 January 2012.