David Pope (born 1965)
is an Australian cartoonist, who has served as the daily editorial cartoonist for ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' since March 2008.
Early life and education
David Pope was born in 1965.
The Pope family moved to
Canberra when David was 7 years old.
He lived in the
Belconnen
The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconn ...
suburb of
Macgregor
MacGregor or Macgregor may refer to:
People
* MacGregor (surname)
* MacGregor (filmmaker), a Spanish commercial cinematographer and film director
* Clan Gregor, a Scottish clan
* Macgregor baronets, related individuals including a British Army Br ...
,
and attended the schools
Ginninderra High School in
Holt and then
Copland College
Melba Copland Secondary School opened in 1978 at Copland Drive, Melba, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian contin ...
in
Melba.
He briefly attended university at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
in Canberra,
and later enrolled in Labour Studies at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
.
Pope describes himself as being "sidetracked into the peace movement, the punk movement and community radio" during the 1980s.
This included time associated with Canberra's
2XX FM
2XX FM (call sign: 1XXR) is a community radio station, broadcasting on the FM band in Canberra, Australia.
2XX FM is one of Australia's longest running community broadcasters. It took over the operation of the former Australian National Unive ...
, and the union movement.
Freelance cartoonist
David Pope began drawing cartoons for various Australian publications in the mid-1980s.
This included publications associated with the labour movement, environmental movement and other alternative press periodicals.
An early publisher was The University of Adelaide's ''Labour Studies Briefing'',
which used Pope's cartoons to illustrate the academic research into labour policy that was being summarised by the digest. Other publishers included ''
Common Cause'', ''
The Metalworker'', ''
The Socialist'', ''
Socialist Worker
''Socialist Worker'' is the name of several far-left newspapers currently or formerly associated with the International Socialist Tendency (IST). It is a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United Kingdom since ...
'', ''
Green Left Weekly
''Green Left'', previously known as ''Green Left Weekly'', is an Australian socialist newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". The newspaper was founded in 1990. Green Left is the ...
'', ''
Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
'', ''Chain Reaction'',
''The Republican'', ''The Northern Rivers Echo'', ''The Diplomat'', ''The New Doctor'', ''
Overland'', and ''
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
''.
Pope formed the publication business
Scratch! Media' to publish and distribute his work.
Before his permanent job with ''The Canberra Times'', Pope was published by that newspaper's ''Sunday Times'' during the early 2000s.
Pope was later the editorial political cartoonist for Sydney's ''
The Sun-Herald
''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald'' ...
'' during the mid 2000s.
David Pope's cartoons were published under the pen name of Heinrich Hinze throughout his freelance career, including his early years freelancing for ''The Canberra Times''.
This was a name Pope had originally used whilst a member of a
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band in the 1980s.
Pope decided to begin publishing under his own name upon being permanently employed by ''The Canberra Times'' in 2008.
''The Canberra Times''
David Pope had been freelancing for ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' for years, during the 2000s. He became the newspaper's editorial cartoonist in March 2008
following the resignation of
Geoff Pryor
Geoffrey Pryor (born 1944 in Canberra) is a retired Australian political cartoonist. He was the editorial cartoonist for ''The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Austr ...
, who had occupied that role for 30 years.
Pope remains in this role .
Influences, style and themes
David Pope cites Australian cartoonists
Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig (born 2 June 1945), typically referred to as Leunig (his signature on his cartoons), is an Australian cartoonist. His works include ''The Curly Pyjama Letters'', cartoon books ''The Essential Leunig'', ''The Wayward Leunig'', ' ...
,
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.[Geoff Pryor
Geoffrey Pryor (born 1944 in Canberra) is a retired Australian political cartoonist. He was the editorial cartoonist for ''The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Austr ...](_ ...<br></span></div> and <div class=)
as influences, particularly for the political sensibilities at the core of their cartoons.
Judy Horacek
Judy Horacek (born 12 November 1961) is an Australian cartoonist, artist, writer and children's book creator. She is best known for her award winning children's picture book ''Where is the Green Sheep?'' with Mem Fox, and her weekly cartoons ...
wrote about David Pope: ''"his cartoons fight for the small and the weak against the powerful and corrupt"''.
Horacek notes that as well as caricaturing public figures such as politicians, Pope's cartoons frequently feature ''"a collection of Everypersons - wide-eyed ordinary people who are battling and baffled"''.
Awards and recognition
, Pope has received 12 ''
Stanley Awards'' as voted by his peers in the
Australian Cartoonists' Association.
This includes the ''Gold Stanley'' for overall Australian Cartoonist of the Year in 2010, 2012 and 2015,
as well as other ''Stanley Awards'' for Editorial/Political Cartoonist (2002, 2011, 2012, 2014), Humorous Illustrator (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005), and Caricaturist (2012).
Pope has also won four
Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Awards from the
United Nations Correspondents Association The United Nations Correspondents Association (U.N. Correspondents Association), or UNCA, was founded in New York City in 1948. It has over 250 members today. It presents the annual UNCA Excellence in Journalism Awards. The purpose of the awards ...
,
and the 2012 Cartoonist of the Year by the
Museum of Australian Democracy
Old Parliament House, formerly known as the Provisional Parliament House, was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 after Parliament's relocation from Melbourne to the new capit ...
.
In 2015, Pope drew a cartoon titled ''"He Drew First"'' in response to the
Charlie Hebdo shooting
On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim terrorists and brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper ''Charlie Hebdo'' in Paris. Armed with ...
, which quickly found 'viral' international fame.
A signed print of this cartoon, was presented to
Charlie Hebdo magazine by Australian Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop
Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin ...
as an official gift in April 2015.
The cartoon has been described as "arguably one of the most viewed Australian cartoons ever produced",
due to the internationally-relevant topic of the cartoon, and its rapid spread through social media.
Personal life
, David Pope lives in Canberra with his partner. He has three children.
External links
Scratch! Media- David Pope's personal homepage
- collection of David Pope's editorial cartoons, displayed in reverse-chronological order
- 45 minute interview with David Pope by
Alex Sloan, recorded in 2013
Science, Cartoons and Politics: Communicating Big Ideas- 80 minute panel discussion about science communication, featuring David Pope, recorded in 2014
Reference list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, David
Australian editorial cartoonists
Living people
1965 births
The Canberra Times people