Ginger Meggs
Encyclopedia
Ginger Meggs, a popular long-run Australian comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks
Jimmy Bancks
James Charles Bancks or Jimmy Bancks was an Australian cartoonist best known for his comic strip Ginger Meggs....
. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-class household.
While employed at The Bulletin, Bancks submitted cartoons to the Sydney Sunday Sun, where he began his Us Fellers strip in 1921 in the "Sunbeams" section of the Sunday Sun. Ginger first appeared in Us Fellers on 13 November 1921, drawn by Bancks.
Bancks died 1 July 1952, from a heart attack. Ron Vivian
Ron Vivian
Ron Vivian was an Australian cartoonist who is perhaps best known as having drawn Ginger Meggs after the original creator, Jimmy Bancks in the early-1940s. He also contributed political cartoons to the Australian Daily Telegraph and illustrated many Royal Australian Air Force magazines during the...
took over the strip, followed by Lloyd Piper
Lloyd Piper
Lloyd Piper was an Australian cartoonist and art teacher, who drew Wolf for the Sunday Telegraph and later, Ginger Meggs.-References:* - manuscript collection held by the National Library of Australia...
, James Kemsley
James Kemsley
James Lawrence Kemsley OAM was an Australian cartoonist who drew Jimmy Bancks' original creation, Ginger Meggs.-Childhood:...
and Jason Chatfield
Jason Chatfield
Jason Chatfield is an Australian editorial and comic strip cartoonist and stand-up comedian, based in Melbourne, Victoria. He has been a professional cartoonist since 2003. His work covers the areas of comic strips, political cartoons, book illustrations, commissioned caricatures and live ...
.
Adaptation
Ginger Meggs was adapted into a feature film by Jonathan DawsonJonathan Dawson
Jonathan Dawson is an Australian academic, filmmaker, film and literary critic and broadcaster.-Background:Jonathan Dawson was born in Melbourne. At Melbourne University he graduated in English Honours and won awards for acting and two One Act Playwriting Competitions...
in 1982.
"Ginger Meggs" was also adapted into a stage musical with has been running since the early nineties, distributed by David Spicer Productions.
Commemoratives
In 1985, a postage stampPostage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
honouring Ginger or his creator was issued by Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
as part of a set of five commemorating children's books.
On 1 July 2011, the Perth Mint, released a commemorative 1oz Silver Australian $1 coin to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Ginger Meggs. The coin features an homage to Bancks’ 1945 Sunbeams Annual (Series 22) cover, which featured Ginger Meggs on the back of a kangaroo with his dog, Mike and his pet monkey, Tony. The obverse portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the 2011 year-date and is issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.
The coin was designed by current Ginger Meggs cartoonist, Jason Chatfield with the assistance of fellow Australian artists Peter Broelman and Rolf Harris.
1 July 2011 was the 59th anniversary of James C Bancks' death. The Perth Mint is the oldest mint in Australia.
Artists
James C Bancks (dec.) created, wrote, drew and syndicated Ginger Meggs from 1921-1952[In the interim, there were a years worth of strips to run while another artist was found.
Ron Vivian (dec.) wrote and drew Ginger Meggs from 1953-1973
Lloyd Piper (dec.) wrote and drew Ginger Meggs from 1973-1983
James Kemsley (dec.) wrote, drew and syndicated Ginger Meggs from 1984-2007
On 3 December 2007, James Kemsley
James Kemsley
James Lawrence Kemsley OAM was an Australian cartoonist who drew Jimmy Bancks' original creation, Ginger Meggs.-Childhood:...
, cartoonist for Ginger Meggs for 23 years, died at his home in Welby, New South Wales
Welby, New South Wales
Welby is a small town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town is located 1 km west of Mittagong and houses the local Southern Highlands RTA office. At the 2006 census, Welby had a population of 777....
.
In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honour lists, the Australian Government posthumously recognised Kemsley for his efforts with the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Jason Chatfield now writes, draws and syndicates Ginger Meggs since 2007.
The strip remains widely syndicated today, appearing in over 120 newspapers in 34 countries.
Songs
- Ginger Meggs: The Sunbeams Song" music by Henry T. Hayes and Billy Edwards (c1923)
- Ginger Meggs / words and music by Jack O'Hagan
- Just a Little Ginger Headed Feller, words and music by Mary Brett, arranged by Tom Davidson (1938)