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 States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n ''

Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used ...

'' for over 40 years.

Life

Atchison was born in

Sandringham, Victoria Sandringham ( or sometimes ) 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 c ...

, to Lesly Atchison, née Plant, and Alan C. Atchison 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 is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

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 as well as working as art director for a London advertising agency. They moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1967. He began work at ''The Advertiser'' in 1967 as the eventual replacement (

Robert Hannaford Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford. Early life, education, and family Robert Lyall Hann ...

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 primarily focuses on American and global politics, culture, and corruption; he is particularly k ...

, who left for a career with the ''

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

'' 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 Isabe ...

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 (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's School and f ...

Bruce Petty Bruce Leslie Petty (23 November 1929 – 6 April 2023) was an Australian political satirist, sculptor and cartoonist.

and

André François André François may refer to: *André François (athlete) (born 1964), Vincentian sprinter *André François (footballer) (1886–1915), French international footballer *André François (cartoonist) (1915–2005), Hungarian-born French cartoonist ...

.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 in 2004. Michael was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian 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 then ...

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

Australian Cartoonists' Association The Australian Cartoonists' Association (ACA) is the Australian professional cartoonists' organisation and was established on 17 July 1924 as the Society of Australian Black and White Artists. It was the first association of newspaper artists in ...

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 The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

town of

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

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

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 OnlinePrime Minister Gough Whitlam, held by National Archives of AustraliaDreamtime to Nightmare, held by National Museum of Australia
{{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 England People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide Jim Russell award winners