Leaders | National Museum of Australia

Skip to content

Our ticketing platform will be unavailable from 4.30pm to 11.30pm on Monday 1 July. More information

9am–5pm
Free general admission
Shop

Shop now

Our political leaders provide the raw material for cartoonists to work with. Each caricature represents an attempt to depict the personality and politics of the figure concerned. Sometimes frivolous and fun, and at other times penetrating in their analysis, these cartoons provide a record of some of the key figures in Australia's political landscape.

A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan as Batman and Robin-style characters. Kevin Rudd stands in front of Wayne Swan, opening his shirt to reveal a blue super hero uniform with a red capital 'R' on the front. Wayne Swan stands behind him in a black and red uniform. He wears a black mask around his eyes. Behind them is a crumbling cityscape. A sign on a cracked wall behind Wayne Swan says 'Australian Market'. In the background a falling sign with 'Wall Street' on it can be seen. Large bear footprints can be seen in the ground underneath Mr Rudd. - click to view larger image — 'Super Rudd' by Matthew Davidson

A colour caricature of Lindsay Tanner. He is depicted facing to the left of the image. He wears a suit, light coloured shirt and gold striped tie. His head is very large in relation to his body. He has a clown's mouth painted over his own and a clown's red nose stuck on the end of his nose. His expression is one of weariness; his head is tilted down toward the left of the image to reinforce his expression. A white card with the word 'Tanner' on it can be seen on the left lapel of his jacket. The background of the image is blue. - click to view larger image — 'Sad clown' by Sturt Krygsman

A 'paint by numbers' colour image of Kevin Rudd. There are large areas of red on his face and hair. Some small areas of green, purple and yellow are visible. His jacket and glasses are black. To the right of his head are 10 colour squares arranged in a column. Each square is numbered. To the right of the squares are written colour descriptions. These are, from top to bottom: G.F.C. Red, Green Wash, Sorry Highlight, Clean Green, Royal Blue, Liberal Black, Air Rage Maroon, Centre Red, Purple Patch and Grey Area. - click to view larger image — 'Rudd by numbers' by Simon Letch

A colour illustration depicting Malcolm Turnbull sitting on a chair in a shoe shop. On the floor around him is an assortment of shoes including an ugg boot, a sandal, a stilleto and a boot. He wears a thong on his right foot and a knee-high boot on his left foot. He holds a shoe in each hand. The ugg boot has a label attached to it that says 'left'. A shoe on his lap has a label attached that says 'right'. In the background is a set of shelves that have more shoes on them. To the right of the shelves are three signs on the wall, that say (from top to bottom) 'left', 'right' and 'centre'. - click to view larger image — 'Turnbull tries to find a right fit' by Rocco Fazzari

A colour illustration depicting Glenn Stevens in a blue suit amongst a series of clockwork-style wheels, as though he is moving through them. He holds an oil can in his left hand. Seven severed hands are shown caught in amongst the wheels. Mr Steven's expression is one of uncertainty. - click to view larger image — 'Glenn Stevens' by Ward O'Neill

A colour cartoon showing two posters on a brick wall. The poster at the left shows a head and shoulders view of Barack Obama, looking resolute and composed. A small group of people are gathered in front of the poster, expressing their admiration for President Obama. Some of them smile, while one raises a fist in the air. The poster at the right shows a head and shoulders view of Kevin Rudd. He smiles at the viewer and has his right hand raised with his palm facing away from him. The word 'hope' is at the bottom of the poster. There are torn edges on the poster; the top right-hand corner is peeling away from the wall. A woman walks past the poster, ignoring it. - click to view larger image — 'Hope' by Fiona Katauskas

Colour caricatures of Barack Obama and Kevin Rudd. They stand back to back, with President Obama at the right of the image. Both wear suits, have their arms folded and smile broadly. Mr Rudd's right hand is visible over his left arm. He has the first two fingers of this hand crossed. - click to view larger image — 'Rudd/Obama' by Matthew Davidson

A black and white cartoon depicting Julia Gillard wearing an Elizabethan style dress. The dress has a large bustle under which can be seen two sets of workman's boots. Speech is depicted coming from under the bustle; it says 'Left, left, left, right, left, left, left ...'. Ms Gillard looks back at the viewer over her left shoulder. She holds her hands behind her back. In her left hand she holds a document that has 'Fair Work Australia' written on it. - click to view larger image — 'Queen Julia' by David Rowe

A colour cartoon depicting John Faulkner as part 'Terminator'. He faces the viewer; the right side of his face is human looking, while the left side of his face is a menacing robot with a glowing red eye. He extends his right arm toward the viewer. It is a lethal looking combination of a machine gun with a laser sight. In the background is an office interior. Two figures can be seen in the right background, cowering from the 'Terminator'. In front of the 'Terminator' is what appears to be the remains of a wall. It appears that the 'Terminator' has blown away part of the wall. - click to view larger image — 'The Faulkinator' by Pat Campbell

A colour cartoon depicting Mick Dodson wearing an Australian flag as a cape. He faces to the left of the image and wears a black hat. His face is turned toward the viewer. His expression is one of tenacity, determination and good humour. He wears a grey jacket and blue shirt under the flag cape. He has large bushy eyebrows and his face is heavy-set and fleshy. - click to view larger image — 'Mick Dodson' by John Shakespeare

A colour cartoon depicting Nicola Roxon sitting at a table with a set of Babushka nesting dolls. Three of the dolls are to the left of the cartoon. They represent, from left to right, a surgeon, a doctor and a nurse. Ms Roxon holds another doll in front of her; she is opening it to reveal another doll inside. - click to view larger image — 'Roxon's Russian dolls' by Eric Löbbecke

Life in opposition

Fighting recession

News of the day

Defining Moments

Prime Ministers of Australia

Top