Larrikin Cartoonist Dies
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday May 19, 1994
Bill Mitchell, one of Australia's leading political cartoonists, died yesterday after a long battle with leukaemia. He was 52.
He last worked on The Australian and was the cartoonist's idea of an Australian.
Laconic, self-effacing, a conservative larrikin, Mr Mitchell was nevertheless never shy of confronting humbug, whether of politicians, unions, business or, more recently, the "politically correct thought police" with whom he had many a mischievous running battle.
Born on June 24, 1941, he grew up in Kalgoorlie and the landscape influenced his drawings throughout his career with its simplicity, space and sharp light. But his first ambition was not to be a cartoonist but to join the Air Force.
When the Air Force rejected him because of poor eyesight, he joined The West Australian at 15 as a copy boy. He then moved into the art department and, when a position came up for a cartoonist in 1969, he started submitting his work.
He joined the Sydney Daily Telegraph in 1978 but reached his peak in his years with The Australian, which he joined in 1980. He revelled in the Hawke-Keating era and won several national awards in that period, including the annual Bulletin Black and White Artists' Awards in 1992 for his noted strip, The Bustards of the Bush.
Although he had been ill for many years, he never lost his humour. His funniest moment, he told me, was several years ago, when he was gravely ill when the Bill Mitchell Memorial Award was created for young cartoonists and he recovered to be able to present it himself, and was able to do so for several years.
His standard of work was always admired by his friendly rivals and his unwavering humour and wit in the face of terrible personal adversity was, and remains, an inspiration to us all.
Mr Mitchell lived on a small cattle property at Muswellbrook, in the Hunter Valley. He is survived by his wife, Rhonda, and four sons, Stuart, Leigh, Dale and Christopher.
The funeral will be held at Muswellbrook on Monday.
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald