N.Z. cartoons exhibition in Sydney

Press, 5 February 1987, Page 25

N.Z. cartoons exhibition in Sydney

NZPA Sydney Hundreds of Sydney office workers are taking the opportunity for some lunchtime titillation with a dose of Kiwi humour. An exhibition of 83 original cartoons by 15 of New Zealand’s top cartoonists is showing in the courtyard of Sydney’s bustling MLC centre. The information officer for the New Zealand Con-sulate-General, Mr Grant Hewison, said between 300 and 400 people a day had been visiting the exhibition a week and the reaction had been. “just great.” i The cartoons are returning from a tour of Europe, where they featured as the guest exhibition at the Belgium Knokke-Heist world cartoon festival. For the Sydney exhibition eight original film cells have been included from the cartoon movie, “Footrot Flats: A Dog’s Tail Tale,” which has proved a box-office hit in New Zealand.

The appearance of the film stills has prompted many queries asking when Dog, Wai and friends will come to Australian cinemas (it is not due to premiere in Australia until April). “Footrot Flats” seems just as popular this side of the Tasman as in New Zealand. In fact some visitors to the Sydney exhibition expressed surprise to see “Footrot” included as they thought it -was an Australian product. .“Footrot” has been voted the most popular comic strip in a Queensland newspaper poll and more than six million copies of the 15 "Footrot” books have been sold in Australia and New Zealand. . , Another New Zealand cartoonists’ character Australians readily identify with is the farmer’s wife, Edna, who appears in a mass circulation Sunday newspaper. She is the creation of a former “New Zealand Herald” cartoonist, Malcolm Evans.