Michael Atchison

cartoonist and children's book illustrator, was born in Sandringham, Victoria, on 8 April 1933. He was educated in Adelaide, at King's College then at Teachers' College, university and art school. He became an art teacher with the Education Department, mainly teaching in Adelaide high schools, until he went to London in 1960 where he worked as a freelance cartoonist and art director in an advertising agency (1960‑67). He regularly contributed to Punch, including a weekly caricature of political and social interest, plus spot cartoons and several covers. His comments on his English career are quoted in Jensen (p.10).

Atchison returned to Sydney in 1967 to work as political cartoonist on the Daily Mirror but took up the position of daily political cartoonist on the Adelaide Advertiser in 1968. He remained there for over 20 years full-time until semi-retiring (apparently not long before 1995) but still doing regular political cartoons, e.g. The Cave Ins - Maralinga published Advertiser July 1997 and exhibited in Bringing the House Down: 12 Months of Australian Political Humour (Canberra: NMA/ OPH exhibition, 1997), cat.28. His comic strip Word for Word created in 1989 was syndicated in America.

In 1985, with cartoonist Wayne Baldwin, Atchison organised a convention in Adelaide of 40 Oz cartoonists. Sponsored by the Advertiser; it was accompanied by an exhibition of contemporary cartoons in Old Parliament House, Adelaide. A longstanding member of the Australian Black and White Artists' Club, in the 1990s he was living at Stirling, SA.

Joan Kerr.