''Mr. Squiggle'' (originally also known as ''Mr. Squiggle and Friends'') is an Australian

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

, and the name of the title character from that ABC show. The show was presented on television in many formats, between its inception on 1 July 1959 and 1999, from five-minute slots to a one-and-a-half-hour variety show featuring other performers, and has had several name changes, originally airing as ''Mr. Squiggle and Friends''. At its height, the program was one of the most popular children's programs in Australia and toured theatre and conventions, entertaining several generations who grew with the program. It became one of the longest-running children's programs on Australian television, despite originally only asked to fill a six week gap on the ABC's schedule.

History

''Mr. Squiggle'', the central character was created by cartoonist and puppeteer Norman Hetherington OAM, and the character first appeared on the ''Children's TV Club'' on ABC TV, but was spun off into his own programme which first aired on 1 July 1959. Hetherington voiced and operated all of the show's puppets, while his wife Margaret wrote the scripts. The basic premise of the show remained the same: children wrote in with their "squiggles" and Mr. Squiggle would turn them into recognisable drawings by connecting lines with his pencil nose. More often than not, the picture would be drawn upside down (Hetherington manipulated the puppet from above by viewing the drawing upside down), and then Mr. Squiggle would gleefully declare, "Upside down! Upside down!"—asking his assistant to turn the picture the right way up and reveal the completed drawing. Every child whose "squiggle" was used on the show was sent a letter from Mr Squiggle himself. According to one interview, one little girl even sent Hetherington three handkerchiefs for Christmas. The last episode went to air just over 40 years after the first, on 9 July 1999. The last episode was produced in 1997; however, it was not until 2001 that the contract with the ABC concluded. After the show ceased production, the entire cast of puppets from ''Mister Squiggle and Friends'' were owned by the show's creator, Norman Hetherington. They have been loaned for display at exhibitions, such as at the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

and as part of the "50 Years of TV" exhibition at the

Australian Centre for the Moving Image ACMI, formerly the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, is Australia's national museum of screen culture including film, television, videogames, digital culture and art. ACMI was established in 2002 and is based at Federation Square in Melbo ...

in 2007. Hetherington and his puppets appeared on the ABC TV series ''Collectors'' in 2010. In 2005 the Mosman Art Gallery hosted a major exhibition on the art and life of Norman Hetherington called "Mr Squiggle, Who’s Pulling the Strings". It included an envelope that a child had addressed to "Mr Squiggle, The Moon", which was delivered to the show.

Characters

* Mr. Squiggle - Mr. Squiggle, the central character is a

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

with a

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...

for a nose, who visits his friends from his home at 93 Crater Crescent on the Moon, flying to Earth in his pet rocket (named Rocket). In every episode he would create several pictures from "squiggles" sent in by children from around the country. Mr. Squiggle is a cheery, gentle and good-natured yet scatter-brained character who is often distracted and occasionally goes for "space-walks", leading his assistant to calm him down and get him to focus on the task of drawing.

Other characters

Other puppet characters that appeared in the show included: * Blackboard, the grumpy

blackboard A blackboard or a chalkboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate, better known as chalk. Blackboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or da ...

that Mr. Squiggle uses for an

easel An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, painters traditionally use an easel to support a painting while they work on it, normally stan ...

, whose catchphrases are "Hurry up", "Hmmph", "Double hmmph" and “Boringgg" * Gus the

Snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

, who had a TV for a shell and later, a flower pot, often tells knock-knock jokes. * Bill the

Steam Shovel A steam shovel is a large steam engine, steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as Rock (geology), rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. Steam shovels played a major role in ...

, who likes to tell corny jokes (often in the form of

riddle A riddle is a :wikt:statement, statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or Allegory, alleg ...

s) and belch steam (talcum powder) out of his "nose" when he laughs.

Assistants

Mr. Squiggle was helped by a human assistant in all of the show's incarnations; they included Miss Gina (Gina Curtis), Miss Pat ( Pat Lovell), Miss Jane ( Jane Fennell), and later series featured Roxanne (Roxanne Kimmorley) and Rebecca (Rebecca Hetherington, Hetherington's daughter). In his first incarnation as Mr. Jolly Squiggle on the ''Children's TV Club'' his assistant was Miss Faith (Faith Linton).

Guest cast

Comedian Mikey Robins played one of the show's characters, Reg Linchpin, for a year from 1989 to 1990. Other notable guest performers on the show included actor

Paul Chubb Paul Dunford (14 January 1949 – 9 June 2002), professionally billed as Paul Chubb, was an Australians, Australian film, television and stage actor and scriptwriter primarily in genres of comedy and drama. Early life He was born in Arncliffe, N ...

and magician Timothy Hyde.

Commemorated

In February 2019 the Royal Australian Mint released a series of two dollar coins to mark the 60th anniversary of the first broadcast of the programme. The coins feature images of Squiggle himself, Gus the Snail, Bill the Steam Shovel, and Blackboard.

Historical collection

In April 2024, the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

announced that it had acquired a collection of Norman Hetherington's puppets, scripts, artworks, props, graphics, merchandise, and fans' "squiggles", with the intention of eventually putting them on display.Twyford, Lottie, "National Museum of Australia acquires collection of Mr Squiggle creator, Norman Hetherington", ''ABC News'', 29 April 2024.
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References

External links

* {{IMDb title, title=Mr. Squiggle and Friends
Mr Squiggle
at the

Australian children's television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Black-and-white Australian television shows Australian television shows featuring puppetry Television series about extraterrestrial life Australian science fiction television series 1959 Australian television series debuts 1999 Australian television series endings 1960s Australian television series 1970s Australian television series 1980s Australian television series Puppets