Cecil John White (1900 – March 1986), known under the pen name 'Unk' White, was an Australian cartoonist born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. White came to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1922 with the artists Joe and Guy Lynch and was soon immersed in the bohemian scene there. He was a regular contributor to Australian magazines, notably ''

Melbourne Punch ''Melbourne Punch'' (from 1900, simply titled ''Punch'') was an Australian illustrated magazine founded by Edgar Ray and Frederick Sinnett, and published from August 1855 to December 1925. The magazine was modelled closely on ''Punch'' of Londo ...

'' and '' The Bulletin'', also ''

Smith's Weekly ''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia. History The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir ...

'' and ''Beckett's Budget''. White produced the comic strips, ''Freckles'' in 1928 and ''The Adventures of Blue Hardy'' for ''Pix'' magazine in 1938. He was a foundation member of the Black and White Artists' Club and its first secretary. In 1944 Unk was accredited as an official war artist and saw active service with the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in New Guinea, the Pacific and Japan. He was also a highly regarded painter in watercolours. From the late 1960s White drew many of the architectural drawings in the Rigby Sketchbook series.

Publications

*''Unk White's Laugh Parade'' Frank Johnson, Sydney 1940 *''Unk White's Second Laugh Parade'' Frank Johnson, Sydney 1940 *''Unk White's Giggles'' Pinnacle Press, Sydney 1943 illustrations for Rigby Sketchbook series (pub. Adelaide) inc.: *''The Rocks, Sydney'' by Olaf Ruhen, 1966 *''Sydney Harbour Sketchbook'' by R. Sriber, 1968 *''Auckland Sketchbook'' by M. H. Holcroft, 1969 *''Norfolk Island Sketchbook'' by R. Sriber, 1969 *''New England Sketchbook'' by Peter Newell, 1970 *''Ballarat and Western Goldfields Sketchbook'' by John Bechervaise, 1970 *''Bendigo and Eastern Goldfields Sketchbook'' by John Bechervaise, 1970 *''Hawkesbury River Sketchbook'' by Frank Cayley 1970 *''Blue Mountains Sketchbook'' by John Bechervaise, 1971 *''Nineteenth Century Sydney Sketchbook'' by Tess van Sommers, 1974 *''Paddington Sketchbook'' by Patricia Thompson 1975 *''Queensland Sketchbook'' by Peter Newell, 1976 *''Historic Sydney Sketchbook'' by Olaf Ruhen, Patricia Thompson, 1977

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Unk Australian cartoonists Australian comics artists 1900 births 1986 deaths Australian war artists