Captain James Cook Rediscovers New Zealand 1769 - Charles Mckenzie

 
Another selection from Charles Mckenzie's Early New Zealand History In Pictures.

Read more selections from Early New Zealand History in Pictures here and here.
 

  

 

 

Early New Zealand History In Pictures courtesy Geoff Harrison.

Faction Comics TV Spot

A brief feature from TV 3 news on the recent New Zealand comics anthology Faction Comics featuring Faction people Amie Maxwell, Damon Keen and Artists Ralphi and Ant Sang.

Order print copies and free digital version of the first Faction Comics anthology here.

Cappicade 1948 - Snooper Girl

I previously wrote in a post here about 'the baby face artist' from the golden age of New Zealand comics and my suspicion that he was the artist Ross Gore more commonly known for his newspaper strip It Happened in New Zealand.

Recently further examples of work by the 'baby face artist' turned up which I would again attribute to Gore. The following comics and illustrations are from the 1948 Victoria University capping magazine, Cappicade. Two pages are signed 'D' which I theorise was Gore signing the initial of his middle name, Digby.

Snooper girl is particularly interesting as one of the earliest examples of a super-heroics in a New Zealand comic.

Selection of It Happened in New Zealand strips here.

Former Christchurch comics retailer Allan Kemp sent me the image below, a back up feature from Victory Comic. This strip resembles the style used in Ross Gore's It Happened in New Zealand and perhaps offers more evidence of Gore's evolution from the clean style exhibited in comics like Patsy Kane and Meteor Comics towards his more rendered work in newspapers.

Acknowledgements:  Allan Kemp, Tim Bollinger, and Geoff Harrison

Ephemera Diversion: 1944 Swimming Certificates

Part of a never-ending series of diversions, here is the first installment of Ephemera Diversion, an opportunity for me to share Australasian illustration work from yesteryear used in ephemeral products that will otherwise be consigned to landfills.

These certificates show the ornately designed records of achievement awarded to schoolchildren in New Zealand during 1940's. I like that each certificate has it's own design rather than utilising a singular design and different wording. When I was earning swimming certificates in the eighties we had tacky airbrushed laser printed jobs.

Michael Wise if you're still out there, I'd be happy to return these to you.

Harry Dansey

Harry Dansey (1 November 1920 – 6 November 1979) was a born in Auckland and moved as a young boy with his family to Rotorua where he lived until the outbreak of World War Two. Dansey's mother who had received schooling in England and France gave him a love of poetry and reading while Dansey's father instilled in him an interest in Māori culture and lore through tales of Taniwha and Tohunga. During the war Dansey was a member of the 28th (Māori) Battalion stationed in Eygpt, North Africa, and Italy. While in the latter two countries Dansey was employed as an advance scout, sketching buildings and landscape, to provide intelligence information. Dansey, holding the rank of Sergeant, was discharged from the Army in 1946.

 Harry Delamere Barter Dansey at Tahara, Kawhia, 2 March 1960

After the War Dansey settled with his family in Hawera where he completed a journalism apprenticeship with the Hawera Star. During the fifties Dansey worked as an editor, journalist and cartoonist for the Rangitikei News in Marton and subsequently the Taranaki Daily News in New Plymouth. Sixty of Dansey's cartoons featured in the Taranaki Daily News between 1956 - 1958 were collected in a book, Cartoons on international Affairs, published in 1958. Dansey's first book, How the Maoris came to Aotearoa, was published in 1947 although he had illustrated books prior to this such as Enid Tapsell's Historic Maketu : Hui Hui Mai! published by the Rotorua Morning Post in 1940.

In the sixties Dansey moved his family to Auckland where he worked as a journalist on the Auckland Star. During this time Dansey also spent time abroad lecturing and studying indigenous peoples. In the seventies Dansey left the Star to work as a freelance journalist. Dansey also entered local politics serving the Auckland City Council from 1971-1977.

  

In 1974 Dansey was appointed as New Zealand’s second race relations conciliator. Dansey was tasked with investigating complaints, his goal to affirm and promote racial harmony and equality in New Zealand. Dansey held the belief that New Zealand society would develop its own culture, drawing from the strengths of both Māori and Europeans. He wrote 'Of Two Races' for Te Ao Hou (a bilingual quarterly published by the Māori Affairs Department) on the developing population of mixed race New Zealander's drawing upon his own background,

"I am proud of the blood of both races which has been handed down to me from European and Maori ancestors"

Read Dansey's full article 'Of Two Races' here.

Dansey Illustrations accompanying this post are from the book How the Maoris Came, written by A.W. Reed, published in 1956.

 

Examples of Dansey's cartoons for the Taranaki Daily News.

Sources: H. R. Dansey and Te Rina Dawn Dansey. 'Dansey, Harry Delamere Barter', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10 http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/5d3/1/2.

Dansey, Harry Delamere Barter, 1920-1979. Dansey, Harry Delamere Barter, 1920-1979 :[John Marshall becoming Prime Minister] 7 September 1957, "You must realise, son, that there's no sentiment in business - except when it suits us." Taranaki Daily News, 25 March, 1958, New Zealand could well consider arming its police, the Minister of Labour, Mr J.K. McAlpine, said in the House of Representatives - News item'. "When the law says 6 o'clock, the law means 6 o'clock!" "Let's go! It's two-gun Bloggs himself!" "The sheriff!" The Taranaki News, 6 September, 1957. [Various cartoonists including Sir Gordon Minhinnick 1902-1992] :[Newspaper clippings of cartoons from New Zealand newspapers. 15 December 1948 to 5 September 1972.]. Ref: E-549-q-09-049. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22349604, http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22906920

Dansey, Harry Delamere Barter, 1920-1979. Dansey, Harry Delamere Baxter, 1920-1979 :I think I'll take my name off the Maori roll! Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 1956.. Ref: J-065-068. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23170659

All images 2013 © Estate of Harry D. B. Dansey

Noel Cook Pulp Illustrations

 
After immigrating to Australia from New Zealand in the 1920's, Noel Cook was a prolific contributor to magazines, newspapers, and comics. Cook worked in a variety of styles, gag cartooning, adventure/humour comics, commercial artwork and painted illustration. The following illustrations accompanied short stories and serials in the  Australian Woman's Weekly during the 1930's.

Read Noel Cook's Adrift in Space here.
Read Noel Cook's Deeds That Thrilled Australia! here.

Source: trove.nla.gov.au,
© 2013 Estate of Noel Cook