Ginger Meggs: Australia’s Favourite Boy

By Niall Roeder

The Museum of Sydney’s latest exhibition is dedicated to Australia’s longest-running comic strip. Although forever young in the comic world, Ginger Meggs has been around for over 90 years, first showing his cheeky face in the Us Fellers comic strip in Sydney’s Sunday Sun newspaper in 1921.

This exhibition explores the journey Ginger Meggs and pals, love interest Minnie Peters and arch nemesis Tiger Kelly have taken over the last century. From print to digital, Meggs and his crew have outlasted their original creator and his three successors, persevering against the odds. Think about it, what form of entertainment lasts 94 years? What lasts 94 years in general?!

Over the years, the cheeky ‘ranga’ has been honoured with a postage stamp, 1oz Silver Australian $1 coin, movie, stage musical and three songs, and James Kemsley (Ginger Meggs artist 1984-2007) was given the Medal of the Order of Australia for his Ginger Meggs work.

Like everything and everyone, Meggs has changed over time; his eyes have gone from squinting lines to round with pupils, his clothing has evolved with the trends and at times he’s had the odd appropriation, like the Sydney Hipster Meggs we saw recently in the Sydney Morning Herald.

GINGER MEGGS EXHIBITION

WHERE: Museum of Sydney
WHEN: July 25 to November 8
COST: Free with general museum admission: Adult $10, Concession/child (under 15) $5, Family $20, Members free

Image 1 – Cartoonist Jason Chatfield in Museum of Sydney website

Image 2 – Cartoonist Jason Chatfield reinterprets Ginger Meggs as a Sydney hipster for SMH