Not for home use

Depicts a can be levered open with an Australian map on it. The can is labelled 'Aust' Scrap Iron' and on the sleeve of the arm holding the can opener is the word Japan.

Mahony's cartoon comments on the fear of Japanese invasion during the Second World War. Most likely published in a local Australian publication, it illustrates the threat being felt on the home front. The hovering arm of the Japanese is representative of the looming aggression of the neighboring country, and the reference to 'Aust' Scrap Iron' is used to fuel concerns about the country's limited defence resources. Japan attempted to invade Australia on two occasions in 1942 in Darwin and Sydney. Both attempts failed.

Will Mahony was a leading Australian cartoonist whose work exhibits a more graphically considered approach to cartooning. Beginning a career as a cadet at Smiths Weekly, the war saw to one of his most productive periods and his work was published in major Sydney publications including Sydney Evening News, Sydney Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Possessing a strong character, in 1945 he was fired from the Daily Telegraph for refusing to draw a political cartoon for the editor.