The first person to be considered a political cartoonist was a Dunedin engraver, James Brown. His pencil cartoon did not appear in any publications, but were appreciated in 1850's Otago.
Newspapers began to publish cartoon after photo-engraving was introduced in the 1880's.
1890's-1900's debated were over women's suffrage, prohibition, labour issues and the introduction of a raft of new reforms. Race was a frequent topic, expressing fear of Asian immigrants. Maori depicted as both a dying race and obstacle towards the colony's progress.
Some NZ cartoonists found success in other countries, such as David Low who crated cartoons for the Sydney Bulletin from 1911 and London's Evening Standard in the 1930's.
During WW1, most cartoons were patriotic, showing the NZ soldiers as heroes and Germans as beasts. WW2 saw cartoons that mocked enemy leaders.
1950-60's were a quiet time for cartooning. 1970's-80's were a period of public protests, political conflict and social changes. The feminist movement paved the way for female cartoonists.
Negative and racists portrayals of the Maori were common in the 19th and early 20th century cartoons.
David Low achieved fame for his political cartoons in Britain. Hitler was reported to be so incensed by Low's cartoons that he placed the cartoonist on the Nazi death list.
Fred O'Neil was a Dunedin businessman and artists , whose hobby of making quirky animated films brought him international recognition. he sent his Plasticine hero to Venus 30 years before Wallace and Gromit were sent to the moon by Nick Park.
Bob Stenhouse, was the first Kiwi animator to be nominated for an Academy award, His Oscar nominated short was The Frog, The Dog and the Devil.
Murray Ball's cartooning career started in childhood, copying Walt Disney/Toma nd jerry characters. he was a cartoonist for the Manawatu times, he stayed for three years before leaving to become a freelancer. He is the creator of Footrot Flats.
Ian Taylor, formed Taylormade productions in 1989. best known for it's children's television show, Tiki Tiki Forest.
Len Lye, experimented with painting directly onto the film because he couldn't afford a camera. His film Colour Box won a medal of honour at the Brussels International Cinema.
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