Alexander Gurney

 ( Australian Comics Writers ) 

His father and his mother (born in Hobart),Ryan, John Panel By Panel Cassell Australia 1979 along with Alex settled in Hobart, Tasmania. Soon after, the ship upon which his father, a steward in the merchant navy, was serving, went missing at sea (off the Canary Islands);Gurney, (2006), p.2. and his father was presumed dead. On 2 July 1908 his mother (always known as Birdie, rather than Alice) married again, to James William Albert Hursey (1866–1946). Marriages, The Mercury, (Wednesday, 2 September 1908), p. 1; Of Social Interest, The Mercury, (Saturday, 31 August 1940), p.4; Deaths: Hursey, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Thursday, 16 May 1946), p. 14.

Gurney married Junee Grover (1909–1984) on 16 June 1928 at Christ Church, South Yarra. Junee was the daughter of the journalist Montague Grover (1870–1943), and Ada Grover (1877–1928), née Goldberg. Births: Goldberg, The Argus, (Saturday, 18 August 1877), p. 1. Marriages: Grover—Goldberg, The Argus, (Monday, 24 May 1897), p. 1. Journalist Gets Divorce, The National Advocate, (Friday, 26 September 1913), p.2. On the Mountains: Editor Grover Divorces his Wife, The (Sydney) Truth, (Sunday, 28 September 1913), p.2. Alex and Junee Gurney had four children: John (1929–2004), The Talk of the Town: Ink Round the Think!, The (Adelaide) Mail, (Saturday, 30 June 1934), p.9. John was also the author of a number of books of humorous stories and jokes on various subjects. Jennifer Anne (1932–2004), Susan (1937–2003), Births: Gurney, The Argus, (Saturday, 27 March 1937), p.21. and Margaret (1943–), the eminent Melbourne artist. Preparation for Artist's Ball, The Age, (Thursday, 14 December, 1961), p. 15; Margaret Gurney Art; Melbourne Society of Women Painters & Sculptors: Margaret Gurney. ; Miller, C., "Art Trail Proves a Shore Draw", The Age, (Sunday, 2 January 2005).

Leaving school at age 13, he found employment at an ironmonger's shop, followed by a couple of other jobs, before embarking on an electrical apprenticeship with the Hydro Tasmania, in the expectation of becoming an electrical engineer. This entailed taking night classes at Hobart Technical College, but it was not long before his attention was drawn to art classes conducted at the same institution by Lucien Dechaineux (1869–1957).

In 1926 he published a book of his caricatures of eminent Tasmanians, Tasmanians Today, the first book of its kind ever published in Tasmania. Advertisement, The Mercury, (Friday, 11 June 1926), p. 11.; "Tasmanians To-Day", The Mercury, (Wednesday, 16 June 1926), p.9.; "Who's Who in Tasmania", The (Adelaide) Register, (Monday, 28 June 1926), p.8.For other examples of his caricatures, see: [22], and [23]. Also in 1926, he began working for newspapers, briefly in Melbourne for the Morning Post, Personal, The Mercury, (Friday, 30 July 1926), p.6. then freelanced in Sydney until he landed a job with the Sunday Times, then for a Labor paper The World, followed by the Daily Guardian, The Sydney Mail,[25]; [26]. then to Adelaide with The News in 1931.[27]; [28]. Throughout his lifetime he was renowned for his generous habit of giving the originals of his caricatures, cartoons, and comic strips to anyone who asked.For example, The Talk of the Town:The Tax Paradox, The (Adelaide Mail, ((Saturday, 7 October 1933), p. 7; [30].

In 1932, he created "Fred, the Football Fan" for the Adelaide Mail. Meet Fred, the Football Fan, The [Adelaide] Mail, (Saturday, 30 July 1932), p. 10.

When he moved to the Melbourne Herald in 1933 (as cartoonist for their Sports pages), he started a series Ben Bowyang (based on the C J Dennis creation, and the earlier caricature by Samuel Garnet WellsWells, S.G. (1923), "Ben and Bill", The (Melbourne) Herald, (20 June 1923), p. 6.) for that paper. Meet Ben Bowyang, The [Adelaide] Advertiser, (Monday, 20 November 1933), p. 14; Ben Bowyang Makes Debut Tomorrow, The [Adelaide] Advertiser, (Wednesday, 22 November 1933), p. 14; Ben Bowyang Tomorrow, The [Adelaide] Advertiser, (Wednesday, 29 November 1933), p. 18; Meet Ben Bowyang, The Courier-Mail, (Thursday,14 December 1933), p. 14. Ben Bowyang (by Alex Gurney), The [Adelaide] Advertiser, (Thursday, 23 November 1933), p. 13.Some samples of early Ben Bowyang strips: [38] (Note that, in this example, Gurney's own calligraphy has been over-typed with a Queensland reference); [39]. In 1934 he became their feature cartoonist.For examples of his work for the Melbourne Herald as a feature cartoonist, see A Modern Gulliver, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Saturday, 7 December 1935), p. 17, Letting The Rest Of The World Go By, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Saturday, 24 August 1935), p. 14, and The Grim Reaper, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Tuesday, 3 October 1939), p.5. Often, the message of his cartoons provoked deep thought; for example, Car Accidents, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Wednesday, 5 July 1939), p.6.

By 1939, his fame was such that, not only was he endorsing Red Capstan, cork-tipped, "special mild" cigarettes, he was also supplying the advertisement's art-work as well.This topical advertisement, which was published in the Brisbane Courier-Mail on the day after the 1939 Melbourne Cup, shows the winning trainer and jockey turning down the Melbourne Cup Trophy for a Red Capstan cigarette, plus an endorsement by, and photograph of, Alex Gurney. The advertisement also appeared in a number of other newspapers during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival; e.g., The Launceston Examiner on the day before the Caulfield Cup, and The West Australian on the Wednesday before the Melbourne Cup (and the day after), and in the Hobart Mercury, the day after the Cup.

Bluey and Curley first appeared in the "Picture-News" magazine. It was transferred to The Sun News-Pictorial in 1940, from whence it was syndicated throughout Australia,[54]; [55]; [56]; [57]; [58]. New Zealand and Canada.It was syndicated throughout Canada as "Bluey and Curley of the Anzacs: [59]; [60].

The strip was widely appreciated for the good-humoured way it depicted the Australian "diggers" and their "mateship", as well as for its realistic use of Australian idiom of the day. During the war, he was accredited as a war correspondent, and he visited army camps throughout Australia and New Guinea to ensure authenticity for his strip. What is Happening in Your Home State: South Australia, Army News, (Thursday, 2 November 1944), p.2; [62]; [63]; [64]; [65]; [66]. While in New Guinea he contracted malaria and was incapacitated for some time. We're Also Rationed, The Courier-Mail, (Wednesday 6 September 1944), p.3.

Gurney was in England in June 1946, as part of an Australian Press Syndicate sent specifically to view the Victory Parade. As well as sending caricatures of various eminent people involved in that parade back to Australia for distribution through the press, he also used the opportunity to have Bluey and Curley attend the parade, and a number of his Bluey and Curley comic strips reflected that event. Bluey and Curley, The (Perth) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 16 June 1946), p.6.; Bluey and Curley Go to the Victory March, The Sunday Times Comics, The (Perth) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 16 June 1946), p.8. Gurney's visit to London, and his version of events, as seen through his Bluey and Curley comic strip, was also historically significant for another reason: it was the first time that a newspaper comic strip had ever been transmitted from England to Australia by radio. Bluey and Curley by Radio from London, The (Perth) Sunday Times, Sunday 9 June 1946), p.2.

The strip lost some of its appeal and readership when the pair returned to "civvy street". After Gurney's sudden death in 1955, the strip was continued by Norman Rice, and then by Les Dixon.

His funeral service, conducted by Rev. Selwyn Ide, at St Stephen's Church of England, Gardenvale, on Tuesday, 6 December 1955, was attended by "more than 500 journalists, artists and friends". Death Notice: Gurney, The Age, (Tuesday, 6 December 1955), p. 14; Funeral Notice: Gurney, The Age, (Tuesday, 6 December 1955), p. 14; 500 Attend Alex Gurney's Funeral, The Argus, (Wednesday, 7 December 1955), p.9.

• Tasmanians Today: Caricatures and Cartoons Hobart 1926.
• Stiffy and Mo: Cartoons, Darlington 1928.
• How to Draw for "The Mail", Young People's Supplement, The (Adelaide) Mail, (Saturday, 8 April 1933), p.2.
• Ben Bowyang Herald and Weekly Times 1938.
• Sickness without Sorrow (illustrations to stories by 'GP') Robertson & Mullens, Melbourne 1947.The royalties from this book went to the Food For Britain Fund: About Books: Humour, The West Australian, (Saturday, 10 January 1948), p.5; Food For Britain Fund Closing "About Christmas", The Sydney Morning Herald, (Thursday, 10 August 1950), p. 1.
• Life with Laughter (illustrations to stories by 'GP') Georgian House, Melbourne 1950.

• Bob Dyer, This'll Slay you! by Bob Dyer; illustrations by Gurney, Bob Dyer, (Melbourne), 1943.

• Ben Bowyang
• Bluey and Curley

• Gurney, Margaret, My Dad: Alex Gurney 1902–1955, M. Gurney, (Black Rock), 2006.
• Gurney, John & Keith Dunstan, Gurney and Bluey and Curley: Alex Gurney and his Greatest Cartoons, Macmillan, (South Melbourne), 1986.
• Riley, Michael, "Alex Gurney — Cartoonist", Boyles Football Photos, (1 January 2015).
• Bennetts, Keith (1952), ""I'm Home Again", says Alex Gurney", The (Melbourne) Sun News-Pictorial, (Friday, 19 September 1952), p. 9.
• Hetherington, J., "Bluey's Creator Was Hobart Student", The Mercury, (Saturday, 28 July 1951), p.4.
• Hetherington, J., "He's the Boss of Bluey and Curley", The Barrier Miner, (Thursday, 2 August 1951), p.4.
• Hetherington, J., "Now, Meet Their Maker", The Sunday Times Magazine, The (Perth) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 12 August 1951), p.4.
• Hetherington, J., "Collins Street Calling", The Age, (Tuesday, 6 December 1955), p. 1.
• The Cartoonist Wields a Mighty Pen, The (Adelaide) Mail, (Saturday, 28 January 1933), p. 13.
• Meet Alex Gurney — Creator of Bluey and Curley, The Sunday Times Magazine, The (Perth) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 17 August 1947), p.9.
• J.A., "Bluey and Curley" Creator in Perth, The Sunday Times Magazine, The (Perth) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 15 May 1949), p. 15.
• Eidelson, M., "Bluey and Curley", Flood, Fire, and Fever: A History of Elwood, Prahran Mechanics' Institute Press, (Windsor), 2006.
• Lindesay, Vane, "Alex Gurney: Creator of Bluey and Curley", The La Trobe Journal, No 82, (Spring 2008), pp.59–65.
• Stanley, P, "Remembering the war in New Guinea, The real Bluey and Curley: Australian images and idioms in the island campaigns", Symposium Paper, Australia-Japan Research Project, 2000.
• Famous Strip Creator Dead, The Age, (Monday, 5 December), p.3.
• Death Notices: Gurney, Alexander George, The Age, (Tuesday, 6 December), p. 14.
• Funeral Notices: Gurney, Alexander George, The Age, (Tuesday, 6 December), p. 14.
• McCarter, Jim, "Historic Drawing Board", p. 6 in McCarter, J., Australian Curiosities: The Rare, Strange and Interesting (Robertson & Mullens' National Handbook No.15), Robertson & Mullens Ltd, (Melbourne), 1934.
• Kendig, D., "Alex Gurney", The Funnies Paper, (November/December 2000), pp. 24–26.
• Gurney, Alex (1902–55), p. 334 in Wilde, H.W., Hooton, J.W. & Andrews, B.G., Oxford Companion to Australian Literature (Second Revised Edition), Oxford University Press, (Melbourne), 1994.

• Alex Gurney - Cartoonist, Boyles Football Photos.