Bruce Petty took a running jump into the newly established national masthead, The Australian. No doubt publisher Rupert Murdoch and first editor Maxwell Newton appreciated the journalistic opportunities emerging from the tumultuous 1960s. It was a good time for cartoonists too. Petty had already been published in the New Yorker, Esquire and Punch. He fitted right in to the rebellious mood of an independent, optimistic post-World War II political vision. On his return to Australia he settled in with stints at The Bulletin and The Daily Mirror in Sydney. But his appearance in the broadsheet national daily changed the face of Australian cartooning. He had a whimsical meandering line, inspired, he said, by artist Feliks Topolski. He loved to invent mechanical simulations of unjust economic systems that emphasised his left-wing views. Petty thrived in the social and political upheaval of the 1960s.
Like Petty, Aubrey Collette arrived at The Australian as an extremely accomplished and published cartoonist. Driven from his beloved Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, by hostile responses to his work, Collette was welcomed by The Australian. He had been a daily cartoonist at The Times of Ceylon and his classic draughtsmanship was an attractive complement to the wild Petty line. One can easily understand his determined thirst for political and social justice. He reminded the reader of the unintended perils of utopian ambition. Having to leave his homeland left him “heartbroken”. Yet his witty invention would soon lead to professional acclaim.
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Sorry, Lord, there’s no way I’m loving my old neighbours
Right now, we live in a strata of six. It is a world of sympathy, co-operation and bonhomie. But you can move from having good neighbours to the entire cast of homicidal maniacs inhabiting Shakespeare’s plays.
The Australian is turning 60 and we invite you to celebrate with us. Our first special series to mark the event is: Six Decades in Six Weeks, counting down to the 60th birthday of the masthead on July 15. Every day for the coming weeks we will bring you a selection of The Australian’s journalism of the past 60 years, from news stories to features, pictures, commentary and cartoons. Today we cover cartoons. See the full series here.