Former Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch talks journalists through his favourite depictions in the Politically Spruiking exhibition, which will showcase 26 years of Far North Queensland representation through the eyes of political cartoonists at the Cairns Museum for the next four months. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
After putting his predecessor’s politics to paper for the past 26 years, cartoonist Harry Bruce has a simple request for new Leichhardt MP Matt Smith: please don’t be boring.
The veteran cartoonist’s work features prominently in Politically Spruiking, an exhibition of more than 70 political cartoons spanning the 26-year reign of Warren Entsch, which was unveiled to media on 4 July ahead of its official opening at the Cairns Museum at the weekend.
“The three politicians that I’ve had most to do with are George Christensen, Bob Katter and Warren Entsch, and each and every one of them is just like a walking caricature,” Mr Bruce told the Cape York Weekly.
“Just the things they get up to and, you know, there’s even the way they look – they just suit themselves to cartoons really; Warren, in particular, he’s not boring.
“A lot of politicians are pretty boring and they toe the line, and they don’t really stick their heads up, but the ones we have up north, they just have no fear, basically.”
Depictions of Cape York and the Torres Strait issues are hard to miss in the exhibition, and Mr Entsch said his affinity for the cartoons, which until recently had adorned the walls of his Parliament House office, had ruffled some feathers.
“There’s a rule in Canberra in Parliament House that nothing goes on the walls without [permission]; they’ve got a department that comes up [to do it],” he said.
“A couple of years in, the guy that’s responsible for this in Parliament comes around with a ladder and a box with a small hammer and hooks and everything else; he parked it in the foyer of my office and said ‘you’re on your own’.”
Cairns Historical Society executive officer Dr Sandi Robb said it had been a coup to secure the cartoons to ensure they could be enjoyed locally by Leichhardt constituents.
“I was really excited to be able to secure this fantastic exhibition and this donation from former member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch,” she said.
“Because, in the north, we do things very differently, and that is reflected in these beautiful cartoons.
It would appear as though some political fights continue, even after almost three decades. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
“But, also, this collection as an entirety, is something that normally would be in the Parliamentary collection, and local people wouldn’t have access to it.”
Curator Sarah Morgan praised the team behind the visually striking exhibition and said an oral history on the story behind each cartoon had been captured as part of the process.
“Warren was kind enough to give us an oral history and account of each of the pictures there, which we’ve transcribed, and used a lot of that as the background,” she explained.
Reflecting on his depictions of Mr Entsch over the years, Mr Bruce said he dreamed of a world where it was mandatory for politicians to have colourful backstories, adding he held high hopes – literally – for the seven-foot former Taipan who has taken on the fight for Leichhardt.
“Another thing with Warren, he’s got a good backstory as well,” Mr Bruce reflected.
“A lot of the politicians were accountants or lawyers, or all this other sort of stuff, whereas Warren, he was a crocodile hunter – that gives you stuff to play around with; you can use that sort of stuff to colour the cartoons you come up with.
“I think it’d be great if it was like that; I mean, Bob Katter threw eggs at the Beatles, so all that sort of stuff plays into it.
“The more interesting the character is, the easier it is to draw a cartoon on.”
Mr Entsch gifted a copy of the final drawing in the exhibition, which depicts the Liberal National Party losing its long-held grasp on Leichhardt at the May election, to his successor, and said he believed the future of colourful far northern political cartoons was safe.
“Surely to goodness inspiration can be found from Harry by having somebody like Matt, a seven-foot tall bloody ex-basketballer,” he said.
“Surely, they can get something out of that.”
Warren Entsch says the exhibition is a unique way to reflect on his 26 years as an often larger-than-life representative of one of the remotest federal electorates in Australia. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
