Latest news with #MrSquiggle
ABC News
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Mr Squiggle and Friends Exhibition Giveaway
The National Museum of Australia's newest exhibition is here. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington showcases nearly 300 items from puppets and props to costumes and artworks, celebrating one of Australia's most imaginative creators. Tune in to Breakfast on ABC Radio Canberra from Monday 21 July to find out how you can win a prize pack to see the exhibition, plus one lucky winner will be upgraded to a major VIP prize. Prize details 5 x Minor prizes: Mr Squiggle Merch Pack (each pack includes a limited-edition Mr Squiggle and Friends tote bag, a Mr Squiggle activity book and pencils, a copy of Mr Squiggle and the Preposterous Purple Crocodile by Margaret Hetherington, illustrated by Norman Hetherington) 1 x Major prize upgrade: lunch at the museum café, exhibition tour and museum magazine Visit the National Museum of Australia's website to find out more. Competition terms and conditions apply.
ABC News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Iconic Mr Squiggle items on show at the National Museum of Australia
Mr Squiggle lit up TV screens for 40 years. Now, the National Museum of Australia in Canberra is displaying the show's iconic items.
The Advertiser
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
He was the pencil-nosed puppet who ruled kids prime-time telly
It's only when you start describing some of the shows you grew up with that you realise how surreal they all sound. And isn't this what makes them great? A puppet with a pencil for a nose, who lives on the moon and comes down every afternoon in a creaky, patched-up rocket to draw pictures? A family of blue heelers living an ordinary suburban existence in Brisbane? A pair of walking, talking bananas, wearing, yes, pyjamas? A dad and his three kids living in a lighthouse and having supernatural adventures most weeks of the year? A young boy and his trusty pet kangaroo? The list goes on. And they all, in their own ways, hit the spot of comfort and safety. That warm embrace we all felt, at some stage in our early lives, of afternoon telly - after school, before the news, snack in hand and little else to distract us. It's no surprise that a major new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia focused on Mr Squiggle, the aforementioned pencil-nosed puppet, is set to be a crowd-pleaser. Think of all of the adults mired in the highs and lows of parenting. Why, we wonder, can't our kids just be happy with something as simple, innocent and ingenious as Mr Squiggle? Created in the earliest days of Australian television by a young cartoonist named Norman Hetherington, Mr Squiggle had a basic premise that would remain the same for the next 40 years. Children would write in with a "squiggle", and Mr Squiggle - a marionette operated from above by Hetherington himself - would turn them into recognisable drawings with his pencil nose. Quite often, the picture would be upside down, and Mr Squiggle would ask his human companion to flip it the right way, revealing the picture. Viewers can date themselves by the companion they most remember - Miss Gina, then Miss Pat, then Miss Sue, then Miss Jane (my era for sure) then, after they dropped the "miss", Roxanne and finally, Rebecca Hetherington, Norman's daughter. It's Rebecca who's behind the show; she had the solemn task, after Hetherington died aged 89 in 2010, of deciding what to do with his vast collection of work. In his home studio, which remained intact, he had kept every drawing, sketch, script, letter and puppet he'd ever been involved in, as well as stage designs, set decorations and costumes. "Years ago, when dad was still alive, I didn't really think that anyone would be necessarily interested in them," she says. "So I actually thought, oh, it's going to be me and a storage unit for the rest of forever." But with both her parents gone, and with no rush to pack up the family home, she had the luxury of time to consider the collection, and ensure it remained intact. "I could unpack it in my head, and I started talking to different institutions, just to find out what the process was," she says. "But obviously no one, except for the museum, could really look at the whole collection. "He really kept all his creative output. It really told such a great story that it was a shame to break it up." Last year, the museum took into its collection more than 800 objects from the Hetherington archive, one of its most significant acquisitions. The exhibition takes in Hetherington's life and career, which intersected with several historical touchpoints in Australia, and includes about 300 items on display. But there's no question that the main event is the quaint little fellow in stripey tights and a calico smock. Displayed in a glass case alongside his co-stars the grumpy Blackboard and his trusty little rocket, Mr Squiggle (there was only ever one version of the puppet) will be getting a hero's welcome every day of the week, as people make a beeline for him. Sophie Jensen, the National Museum of Australia's deputy director and chief curator, well remembers the first time she encountered Mr Squiggle in the flesh, so to speak. It was several years ago, as part of the years-long conversation between Rebecca Hetherington and the museum, that Jensen finally visited the studio. It was an eerie wonderland, filled with drawings and tools and fabric. Puppets hung from the ceiling, many covered in cloth to protect them. "Rebecca inevitably said, 'Do you want to see Mr. Squiggle? And in my heart, I was thinking, I'm really just more excited to see Blackboard, because I love Blackboard," she says. It's worth noting that Jensen is one of the most senior figures in her trade - a museum curator with decades of experience. She's also a grown adult with the fondest possible memories of Miss Jane and Bill Steamshovel, and the rest of the gang. This was the ultimate celebrity experience. "Rebecca hung him on the stand, and she pulled up his calico. And, you think, 'Oh, my goodness, that's Mr. Squiggle, that's amazing'. "But it wasn't. It was just this puppet," she says. "And then Rebecca just tweaked one little thread, and he moved his head. And literally, my heart stopped ... it was him, come to life." The show is about the life and work of Norman Hetherington, but it's also a masterclass in history, good fortune, Australia's creative landscape, and the joys of just giving it a go. Born and bred in Sydney, Hetherington enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1942 and was quickly identified as someone with a gift for entertaining. He was then transferred to the 2nd Division Concert Party - which was later known as no. 4 Detachment, 1st Australian Army Entertainment Unit - when his lightning sketch and performing abilities were recognised. He served with the First Australian Army Entertainment Unit throughout the war, performing shows, capturing scenes in watercolours, and making quick sketches of his fellow officers, to great effect. "It's a really important part of military life, the morale of the troops," Jensen says. "They [the entertainment unit] were there to ensure that people were entertained, that there was a warmth and humanity, in fact, to their military experience." Rebecca says her father was diffident about his experience - he had a "good war", through sheer good fortune, but still saw things he wouldn't talk about until many years later. He also lived through the Depression, which taught him resilience, and gave him a creative outlook when it came to making do. After the war, he discovered the art of puppetry and became involved in the dawn of television. "His lifespan constantly intersected with some very interesting times," Rebecca says. "I also say about him that it's all very well having good fortune, but if you don't meet it with hard work and perseverance, it's wasted." She remembers her father constantly working. Mr Squiggle was a family affair; he created the puppets and performed all the voices, his wife Margaret wrote the scripts, and Rebecca was his final onscreen companion. But he always had multiple projects on the go - books, new characters and public campaigns. "He never stopped thinking about what he could do to entertain people. He was wildly imaginative but always with a great sense of purpose and direction," she says. Jensen, who has led a large team of conservators in bringing together the visual narrative of an extraordinary life, says Norman Hetherington was "utterly, relentlessly creative". "I still get amazed when I think that he sold his first cartoon to the Bulletin at 16," she says. "He was, even at that stage, really quite a creative talent in terms of his ability to be able to think, 'I want to be a cartoonist. That's my dream', and he was actively working in that space. "So the collection has to trace his whole creative arc, and it creates, at that same time, an arc of the Australian creative industries." It is, she says, an exhibition for the many adults who grew up in simpler times, when a puppet with a pencil for a nose was considered entertainment royalty. And it's a chance for the children of today to rediscover him, and try their hand at the art of the squiggle. Rebecca says her father would be amazed, and bewildered, by the exhibition - its scope, and innovation, and especially the interactive drawing wall where visitors can make their own squiggle, projected onto a massive screen. "He would just be shaking his head and looking around and loving it," she says. "That is one thing I'm sorry that he hasn't had the enjoyment of, meeting and working with people like Sophie and the conservators ... he would be really interested in their expertise." Most of all, she says, he'd want people to understand that his whole life and career had been about giving things a go and having fun. "When you say it's about Norman Hetherington, yes, it is. But I really hope that people walk out with a sense of, you can really do anything you want. "Why not be a cartoonist? Why not pick up and start drawing? Why not take up that watercolour class I was thinking about doing? "What's holding me back?" It's only when you start describing some of the shows you grew up with that you realise how surreal they all sound. And isn't this what makes them great? A puppet with a pencil for a nose, who lives on the moon and comes down every afternoon in a creaky, patched-up rocket to draw pictures? A family of blue heelers living an ordinary suburban existence in Brisbane? A pair of walking, talking bananas, wearing, yes, pyjamas? A dad and his three kids living in a lighthouse and having supernatural adventures most weeks of the year? A young boy and his trusty pet kangaroo? The list goes on. And they all, in their own ways, hit the spot of comfort and safety. That warm embrace we all felt, at some stage in our early lives, of afternoon telly - after school, before the news, snack in hand and little else to distract us. It's no surprise that a major new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia focused on Mr Squiggle, the aforementioned pencil-nosed puppet, is set to be a crowd-pleaser. Think of all of the adults mired in the highs and lows of parenting. Why, we wonder, can't our kids just be happy with something as simple, innocent and ingenious as Mr Squiggle? Created in the earliest days of Australian television by a young cartoonist named Norman Hetherington, Mr Squiggle had a basic premise that would remain the same for the next 40 years. Children would write in with a "squiggle", and Mr Squiggle - a marionette operated from above by Hetherington himself - would turn them into recognisable drawings with his pencil nose. Quite often, the picture would be upside down, and Mr Squiggle would ask his human companion to flip it the right way, revealing the picture. Viewers can date themselves by the companion they most remember - Miss Gina, then Miss Pat, then Miss Sue, then Miss Jane (my era for sure) then, after they dropped the "miss", Roxanne and finally, Rebecca Hetherington, Norman's daughter. It's Rebecca who's behind the show; she had the solemn task, after Hetherington died aged 89 in 2010, of deciding what to do with his vast collection of work. In his home studio, which remained intact, he had kept every drawing, sketch, script, letter and puppet he'd ever been involved in, as well as stage designs, set decorations and costumes. "Years ago, when dad was still alive, I didn't really think that anyone would be necessarily interested in them," she says. "So I actually thought, oh, it's going to be me and a storage unit for the rest of forever." But with both her parents gone, and with no rush to pack up the family home, she had the luxury of time to consider the collection, and ensure it remained intact. "I could unpack it in my head, and I started talking to different institutions, just to find out what the process was," she says. "But obviously no one, except for the museum, could really look at the whole collection. "He really kept all his creative output. It really told such a great story that it was a shame to break it up." Last year, the museum took into its collection more than 800 objects from the Hetherington archive, one of its most significant acquisitions. The exhibition takes in Hetherington's life and career, which intersected with several historical touchpoints in Australia, and includes about 300 items on display. But there's no question that the main event is the quaint little fellow in stripey tights and a calico smock. Displayed in a glass case alongside his co-stars the grumpy Blackboard and his trusty little rocket, Mr Squiggle (there was only ever one version of the puppet) will be getting a hero's welcome every day of the week, as people make a beeline for him. Sophie Jensen, the National Museum of Australia's deputy director and chief curator, well remembers the first time she encountered Mr Squiggle in the flesh, so to speak. It was several years ago, as part of the years-long conversation between Rebecca Hetherington and the museum, that Jensen finally visited the studio. It was an eerie wonderland, filled with drawings and tools and fabric. Puppets hung from the ceiling, many covered in cloth to protect them. "Rebecca inevitably said, 'Do you want to see Mr. Squiggle? And in my heart, I was thinking, I'm really just more excited to see Blackboard, because I love Blackboard," she says. It's worth noting that Jensen is one of the most senior figures in her trade - a museum curator with decades of experience. She's also a grown adult with the fondest possible memories of Miss Jane and Bill Steamshovel, and the rest of the gang. This was the ultimate celebrity experience. "Rebecca hung him on the stand, and she pulled up his calico. And, you think, 'Oh, my goodness, that's Mr. Squiggle, that's amazing'. "But it wasn't. It was just this puppet," she says. "And then Rebecca just tweaked one little thread, and he moved his head. And literally, my heart stopped ... it was him, come to life." The show is about the life and work of Norman Hetherington, but it's also a masterclass in history, good fortune, Australia's creative landscape, and the joys of just giving it a go. Born and bred in Sydney, Hetherington enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1942 and was quickly identified as someone with a gift for entertaining. He was then transferred to the 2nd Division Concert Party - which was later known as no. 4 Detachment, 1st Australian Army Entertainment Unit - when his lightning sketch and performing abilities were recognised. He served with the First Australian Army Entertainment Unit throughout the war, performing shows, capturing scenes in watercolours, and making quick sketches of his fellow officers, to great effect. "It's a really important part of military life, the morale of the troops," Jensen says. "They [the entertainment unit] were there to ensure that people were entertained, that there was a warmth and humanity, in fact, to their military experience." Rebecca says her father was diffident about his experience - he had a "good war", through sheer good fortune, but still saw things he wouldn't talk about until many years later. He also lived through the Depression, which taught him resilience, and gave him a creative outlook when it came to making do. After the war, he discovered the art of puppetry and became involved in the dawn of television. "His lifespan constantly intersected with some very interesting times," Rebecca says. "I also say about him that it's all very well having good fortune, but if you don't meet it with hard work and perseverance, it's wasted." She remembers her father constantly working. Mr Squiggle was a family affair; he created the puppets and performed all the voices, his wife Margaret wrote the scripts, and Rebecca was his final onscreen companion. But he always had multiple projects on the go - books, new characters and public campaigns. "He never stopped thinking about what he could do to entertain people. He was wildly imaginative but always with a great sense of purpose and direction," she says. Jensen, who has led a large team of conservators in bringing together the visual narrative of an extraordinary life, says Norman Hetherington was "utterly, relentlessly creative". "I still get amazed when I think that he sold his first cartoon to the Bulletin at 16," she says. "He was, even at that stage, really quite a creative talent in terms of his ability to be able to think, 'I want to be a cartoonist. That's my dream', and he was actively working in that space. "So the collection has to trace his whole creative arc, and it creates, at that same time, an arc of the Australian creative industries." It is, she says, an exhibition for the many adults who grew up in simpler times, when a puppet with a pencil for a nose was considered entertainment royalty. And it's a chance for the children of today to rediscover him, and try their hand at the art of the squiggle. Rebecca says her father would be amazed, and bewildered, by the exhibition - its scope, and innovation, and especially the interactive drawing wall where visitors can make their own squiggle, projected onto a massive screen. "He would just be shaking his head and looking around and loving it," she says. "That is one thing I'm sorry that he hasn't had the enjoyment of, meeting and working with people like Sophie and the conservators ... he would be really interested in their expertise." Most of all, she says, he'd want people to understand that his whole life and career had been about giving things a go and having fun. "When you say it's about Norman Hetherington, yes, it is. But I really hope that people walk out with a sense of, you can really do anything you want. "Why not be a cartoonist? Why not pick up and start drawing? Why not take up that watercolour class I was thinking about doing? "What's holding me back?" It's only when you start describing some of the shows you grew up with that you realise how surreal they all sound. And isn't this what makes them great? A puppet with a pencil for a nose, who lives on the moon and comes down every afternoon in a creaky, patched-up rocket to draw pictures? A family of blue heelers living an ordinary suburban existence in Brisbane? A pair of walking, talking bananas, wearing, yes, pyjamas? A dad and his three kids living in a lighthouse and having supernatural adventures most weeks of the year? A young boy and his trusty pet kangaroo? The list goes on. And they all, in their own ways, hit the spot of comfort and safety. That warm embrace we all felt, at some stage in our early lives, of afternoon telly - after school, before the news, snack in hand and little else to distract us. It's no surprise that a major new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia focused on Mr Squiggle, the aforementioned pencil-nosed puppet, is set to be a crowd-pleaser. Think of all of the adults mired in the highs and lows of parenting. Why, we wonder, can't our kids just be happy with something as simple, innocent and ingenious as Mr Squiggle? Created in the earliest days of Australian television by a young cartoonist named Norman Hetherington, Mr Squiggle had a basic premise that would remain the same for the next 40 years. Children would write in with a "squiggle", and Mr Squiggle - a marionette operated from above by Hetherington himself - would turn them into recognisable drawings with his pencil nose. Quite often, the picture would be upside down, and Mr Squiggle would ask his human companion to flip it the right way, revealing the picture. Viewers can date themselves by the companion they most remember - Miss Gina, then Miss Pat, then Miss Sue, then Miss Jane (my era for sure) then, after they dropped the "miss", Roxanne and finally, Rebecca Hetherington, Norman's daughter. It's Rebecca who's behind the show; she had the solemn task, after Hetherington died aged 89 in 2010, of deciding what to do with his vast collection of work. In his home studio, which remained intact, he had kept every drawing, sketch, script, letter and puppet he'd ever been involved in, as well as stage designs, set decorations and costumes. "Years ago, when dad was still alive, I didn't really think that anyone would be necessarily interested in them," she says. "So I actually thought, oh, it's going to be me and a storage unit for the rest of forever." But with both her parents gone, and with no rush to pack up the family home, she had the luxury of time to consider the collection, and ensure it remained intact. "I could unpack it in my head, and I started talking to different institutions, just to find out what the process was," she says. "But obviously no one, except for the museum, could really look at the whole collection. "He really kept all his creative output. It really told such a great story that it was a shame to break it up." Last year, the museum took into its collection more than 800 objects from the Hetherington archive, one of its most significant acquisitions. The exhibition takes in Hetherington's life and career, which intersected with several historical touchpoints in Australia, and includes about 300 items on display. But there's no question that the main event is the quaint little fellow in stripey tights and a calico smock. Displayed in a glass case alongside his co-stars the grumpy Blackboard and his trusty little rocket, Mr Squiggle (there was only ever one version of the puppet) will be getting a hero's welcome every day of the week, as people make a beeline for him. Sophie Jensen, the National Museum of Australia's deputy director and chief curator, well remembers the first time she encountered Mr Squiggle in the flesh, so to speak. It was several years ago, as part of the years-long conversation between Rebecca Hetherington and the museum, that Jensen finally visited the studio. It was an eerie wonderland, filled with drawings and tools and fabric. Puppets hung from the ceiling, many covered in cloth to protect them. "Rebecca inevitably said, 'Do you want to see Mr. Squiggle? And in my heart, I was thinking, I'm really just more excited to see Blackboard, because I love Blackboard," she says. It's worth noting that Jensen is one of the most senior figures in her trade - a museum curator with decades of experience. She's also a grown adult with the fondest possible memories of Miss Jane and Bill Steamshovel, and the rest of the gang. This was the ultimate celebrity experience. "Rebecca hung him on the stand, and she pulled up his calico. And, you think, 'Oh, my goodness, that's Mr. Squiggle, that's amazing'. "But it wasn't. It was just this puppet," she says. "And then Rebecca just tweaked one little thread, and he moved his head. And literally, my heart stopped ... it was him, come to life." The show is about the life and work of Norman Hetherington, but it's also a masterclass in history, good fortune, Australia's creative landscape, and the joys of just giving it a go. Born and bred in Sydney, Hetherington enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1942 and was quickly identified as someone with a gift for entertaining. He was then transferred to the 2nd Division Concert Party - which was later known as no. 4 Detachment, 1st Australian Army Entertainment Unit - when his lightning sketch and performing abilities were recognised. He served with the First Australian Army Entertainment Unit throughout the war, performing shows, capturing scenes in watercolours, and making quick sketches of his fellow officers, to great effect. "It's a really important part of military life, the morale of the troops," Jensen says. "They [the entertainment unit] were there to ensure that people were entertained, that there was a warmth and humanity, in fact, to their military experience." Rebecca says her father was diffident about his experience - he had a "good war", through sheer good fortune, but still saw things he wouldn't talk about until many years later. He also lived through the Depression, which taught him resilience, and gave him a creative outlook when it came to making do. After the war, he discovered the art of puppetry and became involved in the dawn of television. "His lifespan constantly intersected with some very interesting times," Rebecca says. "I also say about him that it's all very well having good fortune, but if you don't meet it with hard work and perseverance, it's wasted." She remembers her father constantly working. Mr Squiggle was a family affair; he created the puppets and performed all the voices, his wife Margaret wrote the scripts, and Rebecca was his final onscreen companion. But he always had multiple projects on the go - books, new characters and public campaigns. "He never stopped thinking about what he could do to entertain people. He was wildly imaginative but always with a great sense of purpose and direction," she says. Jensen, who has led a large team of conservators in bringing together the visual narrative of an extraordinary life, says Norman Hetherington was "utterly, relentlessly creative". "I still get amazed when I think that he sold his first cartoon to the Bulletin at 16," she says. "He was, even at that stage, really quite a creative talent in terms of his ability to be able to think, 'I want to be a cartoonist. That's my dream', and he was actively working in that space. "So the collection has to trace his whole creative arc, and it creates, at that same time, an arc of the Australian creative industries." It is, she says, an exhibition for the many adults who grew up in simpler times, when a puppet with a pencil for a nose was considered entertainment royalty. And it's a chance for the children of today to rediscover him, and try their hand at the art of the squiggle. Rebecca says her father would be amazed, and bewildered, by the exhibition - its scope, and innovation, and especially the interactive drawing wall where visitors can make their own squiggle, projected onto a massive screen. "He would just be shaking his head and looking around and loving it," she says. "That is one thing I'm sorry that he hasn't had the enjoyment of, meeting and working with people like Sophie and the conservators ... he would be really interested in their expertise." Most of all, she says, he'd want people to understand that his whole life and career had been about giving things a go and having fun. "When you say it's about Norman Hetherington, yes, it is. But I really hope that people walk out with a sense of, you can really do anything you want. "Why not be a cartoonist? Why not pick up and start drawing? Why not take up that watercolour class I was thinking about doing? "What's holding me back?" It's only when you start describing some of the shows you grew up with that you realise how surreal they all sound. And isn't this what makes them great? A puppet with a pencil for a nose, who lives on the moon and comes down every afternoon in a creaky, patched-up rocket to draw pictures? A family of blue heelers living an ordinary suburban existence in Brisbane? A pair of walking, talking bananas, wearing, yes, pyjamas? A dad and his three kids living in a lighthouse and having supernatural adventures most weeks of the year? A young boy and his trusty pet kangaroo? The list goes on. And they all, in their own ways, hit the spot of comfort and safety. That warm embrace we all felt, at some stage in our early lives, of afternoon telly - after school, before the news, snack in hand and little else to distract us. It's no surprise that a major new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia focused on Mr Squiggle, the aforementioned pencil-nosed puppet, is set to be a crowd-pleaser. Think of all of the adults mired in the highs and lows of parenting. Why, we wonder, can't our kids just be happy with something as simple, innocent and ingenious as Mr Squiggle? Created in the earliest days of Australian television by a young cartoonist named Norman Hetherington, Mr Squiggle had a basic premise that would remain the same for the next 40 years. Children would write in with a "squiggle", and Mr Squiggle - a marionette operated from above by Hetherington himself - would turn them into recognisable drawings with his pencil nose. Quite often, the picture would be upside down, and Mr Squiggle would ask his human companion to flip it the right way, revealing the picture. Viewers can date themselves by the companion they most remember - Miss Gina, then Miss Pat, then Miss Sue, then Miss Jane (my era for sure) then, after they dropped the "miss", Roxanne and finally, Rebecca Hetherington, Norman's daughter. It's Rebecca who's behind the show; she had the solemn task, after Hetherington died aged 89 in 2010, of deciding what to do with his vast collection of work. In his home studio, which remained intact, he had kept every drawing, sketch, script, letter and puppet he'd ever been involved in, as well as stage designs, set decorations and costumes. "Years ago, when dad was still alive, I didn't really think that anyone would be necessarily interested in them," she says. "So I actually thought, oh, it's going to be me and a storage unit for the rest of forever." But with both her parents gone, and with no rush to pack up the family home, she had the luxury of time to consider the collection, and ensure it remained intact. "I could unpack it in my head, and I started talking to different institutions, just to find out what the process was," she says. "But obviously no one, except for the museum, could really look at the whole collection. "He really kept all his creative output. It really told such a great story that it was a shame to break it up." Last year, the museum took into its collection more than 800 objects from the Hetherington archive, one of its most significant acquisitions. The exhibition takes in Hetherington's life and career, which intersected with several historical touchpoints in Australia, and includes about 300 items on display. But there's no question that the main event is the quaint little fellow in stripey tights and a calico smock. Displayed in a glass case alongside his co-stars the grumpy Blackboard and his trusty little rocket, Mr Squiggle (there was only ever one version of the puppet) will be getting a hero's welcome every day of the week, as people make a beeline for him. Sophie Jensen, the National Museum of Australia's deputy director and chief curator, well remembers the first time she encountered Mr Squiggle in the flesh, so to speak. It was several years ago, as part of the years-long conversation between Rebecca Hetherington and the museum, that Jensen finally visited the studio. It was an eerie wonderland, filled with drawings and tools and fabric. Puppets hung from the ceiling, many covered in cloth to protect them. "Rebecca inevitably said, 'Do you want to see Mr. Squiggle? And in my heart, I was thinking, I'm really just more excited to see Blackboard, because I love Blackboard," she says. It's worth noting that Jensen is one of the most senior figures in her trade - a museum curator with decades of experience. She's also a grown adult with the fondest possible memories of Miss Jane and Bill Steamshovel, and the rest of the gang. This was the ultimate celebrity experience. "Rebecca hung him on the stand, and she pulled up his calico. And, you think, 'Oh, my goodness, that's Mr. Squiggle, that's amazing'. "But it wasn't. It was just this puppet," she says. "And then Rebecca just tweaked one little thread, and he moved his head. And literally, my heart stopped ... it was him, come to life." The show is about the life and work of Norman Hetherington, but it's also a masterclass in history, good fortune, Australia's creative landscape, and the joys of just giving it a go. Born and bred in Sydney, Hetherington enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1942 and was quickly identified as someone with a gift for entertaining. He was then transferred to the 2nd Division Concert Party - which was later known as no. 4 Detachment, 1st Australian Army Entertainment Unit - when his lightning sketch and performing abilities were recognised. He served with the First Australian Army Entertainment Unit throughout the war, performing shows, capturing scenes in watercolours, and making quick sketches of his fellow officers, to great effect. "It's a really important part of military life, the morale of the troops," Jensen says. "They [the entertainment unit] were there to ensure that people were entertained, that there was a warmth and humanity, in fact, to their military experience." Rebecca says her father was diffident about his experience - he had a "good war", through sheer good fortune, but still saw things he wouldn't talk about until many years later. He also lived through the Depression, which taught him resilience, and gave him a creative outlook when it came to making do. After the war, he discovered the art of puppetry and became involved in the dawn of television. "His lifespan constantly intersected with some very interesting times," Rebecca says. "I also say about him that it's all very well having good fortune, but if you don't meet it with hard work and perseverance, it's wasted." She remembers her father constantly working. Mr Squiggle was a family affair; he created the puppets and performed all the voices, his wife Margaret wrote the scripts, and Rebecca was his final onscreen companion. But he always had multiple projects on the go - books, new characters and public campaigns. "He never stopped thinking about what he could do to entertain people. He was wildly imaginative but always with a great sense of purpose and direction," she says. Jensen, who has led a large team of conservators in bringing together the visual narrative of an extraordinary life, says Norman Hetherington was "utterly, relentlessly creative". "I still get amazed when I think that he sold his first cartoon to the Bulletin at 16," she says. "He was, even at that stage, really quite a creative talent in terms of his ability to be able to think, 'I want to be a cartoonist. That's my dream', and he was actively working in that space. "So the collection has to trace his whole creative arc, and it creates, at that same time, an arc of the Australian creative industries." It is, she says, an exhibition for the many adults who grew up in simpler times, when a puppet with a pencil for a nose was considered entertainment royalty. And it's a chance for the children of today to rediscover him, and try their hand at the art of the squiggle. Rebecca says her father would be amazed, and bewildered, by the exhibition - its scope, and innovation, and especially the interactive drawing wall where visitors can make their own squiggle, projected onto a massive screen. "He would just be shaking his head and looking around and loving it," she says. "That is one thing I'm sorry that he hasn't had the enjoyment of, meeting and working with people like Sophie and the conservators ... he would be really interested in their expertise." Most of all, she says, he'd want people to understand that his whole life and career had been about giving things a go and having fun. "When you say it's about Norman Hetherington, yes, it is. But I really hope that people walk out with a sense of, you can really do anything you want. "Why not be a cartoonist? Why not pick up and start drawing? Why not take up that watercolour class I was thinking about doing? "What's holding me back?"
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Iconic Mr Squiggle items on show at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra
Children's imaginations ran wild when a man from the moon with a pencil for a nose began to squiggle. Mr Squiggle lit up TV screens for 40 years — and now, decades after the kids' program last aired, the National Museum of Australia in Canberra is displaying hundreds of iconic Mr Squiggle items. The exhibit includes creator Norman Hetherington's artworks, scripts, and puppets. Hetherington operated and voiced the blue-haired, floppy, pencil-nosed puppet, with the role a perfect marriage of his skills as a cartoonist and puppeteer. Nineties kids will remember Mr Squiggle's sidekicks grumpy Blackboard, Bill Steamshovel and Gus the Snail. There was also Miss Rebecca, the daughter of Norman Hetherington and the show's last host. "The museum has done such an amazing job of collating it and restoring bits and pieces that needed a little bit of attention," Rebecca Hetherington said. Ms Hetherington says she is thrilled to see younger generations in awe of her late father's work. She recalls her early experiences with Mr Squiggle in her family home. "But, of course, along came the grandchildren and they're allowed to play with all the puppets," she added with a laugh. She says her youngest son, Tom, looks set to carry on the family's legacy as he has developed a "love of puppetry". The ABC's Mr Squiggle and Friends first aired in 1959. It was one of Australia's longest-running children's shows and prompted many children to first pick up a crayon. The show involved input from audiences, as children from around the country would send in their doodles and the host would place them on Mr Squiggle's grumpy blackboard to be transformed. The program received around 10,000 squiggles. The museum's interactive elements allow children to squiggle on screens, offering a new generation a chance to make characters out of what might first appear to be abstract markings. NMA curator Sophoe Jensen says many people are familiar with Mr Squiggle, but few would know the many other lively characters Hetherington fashioned. There are camels in hats, turtles playing ukuleles and a shrimp with a tuba. And extensive behind the scenes work took place to examine and preserve each item. Museum conservators retouched paint and sourced material where necessary, with plans in place to limit light exposure. The conservators even made hundreds of cushions to support the puppets while in storage. Ms Jensen says she hopes Hetherington's flare can inspire creativity in museum-goers. "[Visitors are] going to leave having a bit more of an understanding of the breadth of Norman Hetherington's world," Ms Jensen said. Ms Jensen notes the digital age offers children more TV programs and characters to choose from than ever before. But she says, unlike Hetherington's work, modern shows are usually two dimensional, with puppetry a rare medium. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington is free at the National Museum of Australian, open until mid-October.
The Advertiser
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Hurry up! Moon man Mr Squiggle lands at National Museum
One of Australia's most beloved television characters, the pencil-nosed blue-haired puppet Mr Squiggle, is being celebrated with an exhibition at the National Museum. Mr Squiggle and Friends was the life's work of multi-talented puppeteer Norman Hetherington and was on television for four decades, with the program's final episode airing on July 9, 1999. As the voice and operator of the Mr Squiggle puppet, he completed more than 10,000 drawings during that time - many of them upside down, and with his friend Blackboard telling him to "Hurry up!". The museum acquired the Norman Hetherington collection in 2024, including more than 800 objects, such as scripts, props and production notes. About 300 of those are going on show at the museum in Canberra and, don't worry, Mr Squiggle's friends Blackboard, Rocket, Bill the Steam Shovel and Gus the Snail will be on display too. Visitors can also try an interactive squiggle drawing exercise, so those who grew up in the post-Squiggle television era can see what drawing one is like. Norman Hetherington's daughter Rebecca presented Mr Squiggle and Friends as "Miss Rebecca" during its final decade. She worked with the museum for years to help curate the collection that showcases her father's life's work. Hearing from the public over the years since the show finished has made her realise the special place Mr Squiggle has in people's hearts. "It was meaningful, and people really treasure it, which is lovely," she said. The first inkling of the television show came from the quick sketches her father would do - upside down - as part of an entertainment act while he was in the army in the 1940s. Later, he joined the ABC TV Training School, with his early puppets Nicky and Noodle appearing on the first night of ABC television on November 5, 1956. Mr Squiggle touched generations of television audiences, said museum deputy director Sophie Jensen. "You should see the level of interest, interaction, warmth, memory, and humour that we get every time we talk about this collection," Dr Jensen said. As part of the exhibition, the National Museum is re-publishing some vintage Mr Squiggle books: Mr Squiggle and the Preposterous Purple Crocodile, and a set of three colouring books. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington opens on Friday at the National Museum in Canberra and runs until October 13 before touring nationally. One of Australia's most beloved television characters, the pencil-nosed blue-haired puppet Mr Squiggle, is being celebrated with an exhibition at the National Museum. Mr Squiggle and Friends was the life's work of multi-talented puppeteer Norman Hetherington and was on television for four decades, with the program's final episode airing on July 9, 1999. As the voice and operator of the Mr Squiggle puppet, he completed more than 10,000 drawings during that time - many of them upside down, and with his friend Blackboard telling him to "Hurry up!". The museum acquired the Norman Hetherington collection in 2024, including more than 800 objects, such as scripts, props and production notes. About 300 of those are going on show at the museum in Canberra and, don't worry, Mr Squiggle's friends Blackboard, Rocket, Bill the Steam Shovel and Gus the Snail will be on display too. Visitors can also try an interactive squiggle drawing exercise, so those who grew up in the post-Squiggle television era can see what drawing one is like. Norman Hetherington's daughter Rebecca presented Mr Squiggle and Friends as "Miss Rebecca" during its final decade. She worked with the museum for years to help curate the collection that showcases her father's life's work. Hearing from the public over the years since the show finished has made her realise the special place Mr Squiggle has in people's hearts. "It was meaningful, and people really treasure it, which is lovely," she said. The first inkling of the television show came from the quick sketches her father would do - upside down - as part of an entertainment act while he was in the army in the 1940s. Later, he joined the ABC TV Training School, with his early puppets Nicky and Noodle appearing on the first night of ABC television on November 5, 1956. Mr Squiggle touched generations of television audiences, said museum deputy director Sophie Jensen. "You should see the level of interest, interaction, warmth, memory, and humour that we get every time we talk about this collection," Dr Jensen said. As part of the exhibition, the National Museum is re-publishing some vintage Mr Squiggle books: Mr Squiggle and the Preposterous Purple Crocodile, and a set of three colouring books. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington opens on Friday at the National Museum in Canberra and runs until October 13 before touring nationally. One of Australia's most beloved television characters, the pencil-nosed blue-haired puppet Mr Squiggle, is being celebrated with an exhibition at the National Museum. Mr Squiggle and Friends was the life's work of multi-talented puppeteer Norman Hetherington and was on television for four decades, with the program's final episode airing on July 9, 1999. As the voice and operator of the Mr Squiggle puppet, he completed more than 10,000 drawings during that time - many of them upside down, and with his friend Blackboard telling him to "Hurry up!". The museum acquired the Norman Hetherington collection in 2024, including more than 800 objects, such as scripts, props and production notes. About 300 of those are going on show at the museum in Canberra and, don't worry, Mr Squiggle's friends Blackboard, Rocket, Bill the Steam Shovel and Gus the Snail will be on display too. Visitors can also try an interactive squiggle drawing exercise, so those who grew up in the post-Squiggle television era can see what drawing one is like. Norman Hetherington's daughter Rebecca presented Mr Squiggle and Friends as "Miss Rebecca" during its final decade. She worked with the museum for years to help curate the collection that showcases her father's life's work. Hearing from the public over the years since the show finished has made her realise the special place Mr Squiggle has in people's hearts. "It was meaningful, and people really treasure it, which is lovely," she said. The first inkling of the television show came from the quick sketches her father would do - upside down - as part of an entertainment act while he was in the army in the 1940s. Later, he joined the ABC TV Training School, with his early puppets Nicky and Noodle appearing on the first night of ABC television on November 5, 1956. Mr Squiggle touched generations of television audiences, said museum deputy director Sophie Jensen. "You should see the level of interest, interaction, warmth, memory, and humour that we get every time we talk about this collection," Dr Jensen said. As part of the exhibition, the National Museum is re-publishing some vintage Mr Squiggle books: Mr Squiggle and the Preposterous Purple Crocodile, and a set of three colouring books. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington opens on Friday at the National Museum in Canberra and runs until October 13 before touring nationally. One of Australia's most beloved television characters, the pencil-nosed blue-haired puppet Mr Squiggle, is being celebrated with an exhibition at the National Museum. Mr Squiggle and Friends was the life's work of multi-talented puppeteer Norman Hetherington and was on television for four decades, with the program's final episode airing on July 9, 1999. As the voice and operator of the Mr Squiggle puppet, he completed more than 10,000 drawings during that time - many of them upside down, and with his friend Blackboard telling him to "Hurry up!". The museum acquired the Norman Hetherington collection in 2024, including more than 800 objects, such as scripts, props and production notes. About 300 of those are going on show at the museum in Canberra and, don't worry, Mr Squiggle's friends Blackboard, Rocket, Bill the Steam Shovel and Gus the Snail will be on display too. Visitors can also try an interactive squiggle drawing exercise, so those who grew up in the post-Squiggle television era can see what drawing one is like. Norman Hetherington's daughter Rebecca presented Mr Squiggle and Friends as "Miss Rebecca" during its final decade. She worked with the museum for years to help curate the collection that showcases her father's life's work. Hearing from the public over the years since the show finished has made her realise the special place Mr Squiggle has in people's hearts. "It was meaningful, and people really treasure it, which is lovely," she said. The first inkling of the television show came from the quick sketches her father would do - upside down - as part of an entertainment act while he was in the army in the 1940s. Later, he joined the ABC TV Training School, with his early puppets Nicky and Noodle appearing on the first night of ABC television on November 5, 1956. Mr Squiggle touched generations of television audiences, said museum deputy director Sophie Jensen. "You should see the level of interest, interaction, warmth, memory, and humour that we get every time we talk about this collection," Dr Jensen said. As part of the exhibition, the National Museum is re-publishing some vintage Mr Squiggle books: Mr Squiggle and the Preposterous Purple Crocodile, and a set of three colouring books. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington opens on Friday at the National Museum in Canberra and runs until October 13 before touring nationally.
