Malcolm Farnsworth

Leader Snedden and Deputy Leader Lynch ponder remaking the party in the image of Menzies.

And not for the last time, there was talk about the future of the Liberal Party. There's nothing new.

There was a new broom.

And on election day, Petty helpfully provided a guide to possible outcomes.

The day before the election, Petty had a slightly different take on the usual talk of a cliffhanger election.

As the campaign wore on in November 1972, Petty noted McMahon's paranoia about his leadership, whilst his party scraped the bottom of the issues barrel.

After their election policy speeches in Nov 1972, Petty depicted Whitlam and McMahon bursting forth like Superman from their respective telephone boxes.

Reviving the communist bogey and the "threat from the north" seemed more like flogging a dead horse in November 1972. Petty's depictions ring true 50 years later and serve as a reminder that the names and faces may change but the campaign techniques rarely alter.

McMahon announced the election date on October 10, 1972, and Bruce Petty depicted him as a cuckoo bursting forth from a broken clock. The manic flapping seemed so appropriate at the time.

Just 10 weeks out from the 1972 election, and with the date yet to be announced, Petty saw the poll as a race to the peak.

A couple more of Bruce Petty's 1972 cartoons from the collection. The first (May 17) on McMahon's ramshackle preparation for the election. The second (May 24) on Country Party rural subsidies. Petty died yesterday, aged 93.

BRUCE PETTY: On February 20, 1976, three months after the Dismissal, Petty depicted Governor-General Sir John Kerr painting himself into the precedents' corner.

On October 17, 1975, two days after the Fraser-led coalition blocked Supply to the Whitlam government, Bruce Petty depicted burglars at The Lodge, foreshadowing Whitlam's quip after the dismissal that it was "the first time the burglar has been made the caretaker."

Published on December 4, 1972, the Monday after Gough Whitlam's election, Petty showed the scratching of the 23-year itch.

Bruce Petty died yesterday, aged 93. From my cartoon collection, this is a scan of the original classic cartoon published in The Australian on March 10, 1971. Fraser resigned as Gorton's Defence minister, Gorton was rolled as PM and McMahon had greatness thrust upon him.

HBO trailer for "White House Plumbers". Of course I'll watch but there's something disappointing about seeing significant events turned into entertainment. youtube.com/watch?v=QuKM2sTT…

I've lost count of the number of Liberal Party obituaries I've read today. Here's an earlier funeral service from forty years ago (13/3/1983) on Channel 9's Sunday program. A marvellous cavalcade of names and faces from the 1980s. youtube.com/watch?v=Kp2f9ZIk…

When Fiona Phillips won the final seat of Gilmore in last year's federal election, Albanese said she would thereafter be simply known as "77". Mary Doyle will be "78", as the government's majority increases to 5 and the coalition's numbers drop to 57.