Geoff 'Jeff' Hook Geoff 'Jeff' Hook

I remember having a morning ritual in the 80's of scrouring The Sun newspaper cartoon [ Jeff's View ] for a hidden hook. I often complained bitterly that the cartoonist [Sir] Geoff "Jeff"Hook had forgotten to put it in.

Geoff was born in Tasmania in 1928. As a cadet press artist on the Hobart Mercury, he completed a course in Graphic Art at the Hobart Technical College which included tuition in Fine Arts under Jack Carrington-Smith, Margaret Chandler, Harry Buckey and Edith Holmes. He started his career as a press artist and part-time cartoonist on the Hobart Mercury; moved to Melbourne and started at the Sun News Pictorial in 1964. Geoff became the full-time cartoonist for The Sun (later to become the Herald Sun) soon after.

Geoff has traveled widely in the course of work, including the U.K., Europe, the United States, Vietnam, and China.

In 1981 Geoff won the award for humorous illustration in the Australian Black and White Artists Club's Bulletin Awards. In 1987 Geoff won the award for the Best Political Cartoon at the International Cartoon Festival at Knokke-Heist, Belgium, and in 1991 he won the award for Best Press Cartoon at the same Fesitival. More recently, in 1998, Geoff was awarded the Australian Black and White Artists Club's Silver Stanley Award for lifetime achievement.

Geoff "retired"in early 1993 and began freelancing. In addition to giving talks on cartooning, he regularly contributes to the Sunday Herald-Sun (editorial cartoons), as well as doing cartoons and illustrations for other papers, magazines and books. Recently he illustrated "Harry the Honkerzoid"and "Planet of the Honkerzoids"written by his son, Brendan, and published in the Penguin Puffin Series. The Penguin Puffin series also now includes a reprint of "Jamie the Jumbo Jet", a children's book written and illustrated by Geoff, and first published in the mid 1970's.

Geoff is a life member of the Australian Black and White Artists Club and is also a member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists. In addition to cartooning, he especially enjoys sketching and using the watercolour medium.

For relaxation, Geoff is fond of cycling and rode across the Rocky Mountains in the United States during the cross country bicycle ride that was held during that country's Bicentennial celebrations. He also rode from Melbourne to Sydney in 1988 as part of Australia's Bicentennial celebrations and has taken part in several Great Victorian Bike Rides.

Geoff's work is represented in international cartoon collections, and several corporate collections in Australia, as well as the collection of political cartoons at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, and more recently Geoff has just completed extensive interviews for the Oral History Collection at the National Library of Australia, Canberra. Open access with the library to tape and transcript is available.

Geoff has now "officially retired"from cartooning and is now devoting all his energies to his painting, so we will no longer be running current cartoons here on the web site, however don't go away! We've got 37 years worth of cartoons yet to be shown, so we'll be still running two cartoons a week and while they may not have been drawn yesterday, you will probably note that, perhaps, in the world of politics, not a lot has changed...

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We were delighted to find the Geoff Hook web site and urge anyone who remembers him, or for that matter anyone with a wicked sense of humour.. to try painting, but if you want to get hooked...

The next cartoon will be up now

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❊ Web Links ❊

➼ Geoff 'Jeff' Hook 

➼ www.geoffhook.com






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