Michael Plant Atchison (4 August 1933 – 16 February 2009) was an Australian cartoonist who worked for the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n ''

Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

'' for over 40 years. He was born in

Sandringham, Victoria Sandringham is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside local government area. Sandringham recorded a population of 10,926 at the 2021 census. History Sa ...

and moved to South Australia with his family in 1939. He was educated at Glenelg Primary, then King's College, a boys' school which later became the co-ed Pembroke. He attended

Adelaide Teachers' College The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

and embarked on a teaching career. He married fellow Teachers' College student Olga and together left for England in 1960, where he worked as a freelance artist, contributing to magazines including

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

as well as working as art director for a London advertising agency. They moved to Sydney in 1967. He began work at ''The Advertiser'' in 1967 as the eventual replacement (

Robert Hannaford Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford , (born 9 November 1944) is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford. Family Hannaford was born a ...

intervened) for

Pat Oliphant Patrick Bruce "Pat" Oliphant (born 24 July 1935) is an Australian-born American artist whose career spanned more than sixty years. His body of work as a whole focuses mostly on American and global politics, culture, and corruption; he is partic ...

who had left for a career with the ''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'' in 1964. And like Oliphant, he was to illustrate the frequent prose and poetic contributions of his great friend

Max Fatchen Maxwell Edgar Fatchen, AM (3 August 192014 October 2012) was an Australian children's writer and journalist. Early life Fatchen was born at "Narma" private hospital, South Terrace, Adelaide, the only son of Cecil William Fatchen and Isabel ...

Style and influences

Fellow cartoonist John Stoneham observed that Atchison "always worked completely freehand, never following pencil lines, but drawing ink straight on to paper, an art form which is long forgotten". He acknowledged the influence of cartoonists

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Designers for Industry, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and i ...

Bruce Petty Bruce Leslie Petty, born 23 November 1929 at Doncaster, a suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's best known political satirists and cartoonists.André François André François (9 November 1915 – 11 April 2005), born André Farkas, was a Hungarian-born French cartoonist. Life He was born in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary (now Timișoara, Romania), He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budap ...

.Tributes pour in for loved cartoonist
Harris, Samela ''The Advertiser'' 17 February 2009 accessed 16 September 2011

Word for Word

From 1989 ''The Advertiser'' carried on its daily comics page Atchison's "Word for Word" panel which explored origins and meanings of English words and phrases. Its last appearance was on 7 May 2009. A series of "Word for Word" collections has been published.

Signature

Many cartoonists have a trademark which may be found in their works; Atchison's, born in 1974, was a scruffy little dog which occasionally behaved disgracefully. His personal trademark was a pair of red braces.

Last years

Atchison lived with cancer from 1994, but despite pain and irksome operations never lost his affable good humour. He was forced by the pain to retire in June 2008, replaced by Jos Valdman. Michael died the following year, survived by his wife of over 50 years, Olga Atchison, two daughters Michelle and Nicola and three grandchildren Anthony, Matthew and Caillin.

Recognition

He was awarded the traditional artist's smock by his colleagues in 1998. He was inducted into the

South Australian Media Hall of Fame South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

in 2004. Michael was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(OAM) in 2007. He received the Jim Russell Award from the

Australian Cartoonists' Association The Australian Cartoonists' Association is the Australian professional cartoonists' organisation and was established on 17 July 1924 as the Society of Australian Black and White Artists. It soon became The Black and White Artists Society; and, b ...

in 2007. An original cartoon (featuring the "dog of no name") may be seen in an alleyway off the main street in the Adelaide Hills town of

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

. It forms part of a mural contributed by half-a-dozen cartoonists during the 2007 S.A.L.A. ( South Australian Living Artists) festival.

Artwork links

A cartoon of Prime Minister

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

may be seen a
National Archives of Australia
A comment on 21st Century aboriginal life may be seen her
National Museum of Australia

Publications

*''Songs for My Dog and Other Wry Rhymes'' Max Fatchen and Michael Atchison 2004 *''Wry Rhymes for Troublesome Times'' Max Fatchen and Michael Atchison Kestrel 1985 *''Songs for My Dog and Other People'' Max Fatchen and Michael Atchison 1980 *''Word Perfect'' Dudley Burton and Michael Atchison 1987 *''Words, Words, Words'' Tom Burton, Michael Atchison Radio Adelaide 5UV *''Words in Your Ear'' Tom Burton and Michael Atchison Wakefield Press 1999 *''Wallaby; An Aussie, a Broad'' Tom Burton, Michael Atchison, Rod MacLean Wakefield Press Pty, Ltd. *''Mr. Dohnt's Notice Garden'' Michael Page and Michael Atchison HarperCollins Australia, 1988 *''Lakeliners 2007: Short Stories and Poems from Milang'' Stuart Jones, Christine Stratton, Doreen Simpson, Greta Mansveld, Michael Atchison Milang Progress Association, Inc. *''Long Words Bother Me'' Stuart Jones, Christine Stratton, Doreen Simpson, Greta Mansveld, Michael Atchison Sutton Pub. Ltd. *''What's Your Problem, Vol II'' Barbara Ross, Michael Atchison Advertiser Newspapers, Ltd. *''Word for Word: A Cartoon History of Word Origins Book 1'' Dog-eared Pub. *''Word for Word: A Cartoon History of Word Origins Book 2'' Dog-eared Pub.

References

External links

Tribute to Michael Atchison by Senator Dana WortleyAtchison, Michael in Design & Art Australia Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atchison, Michael Australian editorial cartoonists 2009 deaths 1933 births Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Artists from Adelaide Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide