Peter Bromhead
New Zealand cartoonist (1933–2026)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Bromhead MNZM (31 May 1933 – 2026) was a New Zealand commercial interior designer, cartoonist[1] and illustrator.
Bromhead was born in Portsmouth, England, on 31 May 1933.[2] His mother remarried after his father died and his stepfather's name was Bob Bromhead.[3] His first job was as a window dresser in London[3] and he trained as an industrial designer in England and Sweden.[1] He migrated to New Zealand in the 1950s with his first wife, mother and step-father.[1][3] He became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1979.[2]
He always harboured a desire to be a cartoonist but worked as a designer of commercial interiors and furniture importer directing his company Bromhead Design.[3][4] He was the editorial cartoonist for the Auckland Star from the early 1970s for 15 years.[4] He also drew cartoons for other publications including New Zealand Truth, Dominion, New Zealand Herald and New Zealand Listener.[3][4] He cartooned under his own name and the pseudonym Deighton.[4]
In 2016 he published his memoir Bromhead: Scratching a Living.[5]
Awards and honours
In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours, Bromhead was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a cartoonist.[7] In 2008 he was made a life member as a Fellow of the Designers Institute of New Zealand.[8] He was awarded the Danish Prince Henrik Medal of Honour for his design work.[4]
Bromhead was described by Richard Long, former editor of The Dominion Post, as probably the best pocket cartoonist operating in the British Commonwealth.[9] He has received 11 awards for cartooning at the Voyager Media Awards (previously Canon Media Awards and Qantas Media Awards).[10]
Publications
- The best of Bromhead : cartoons, 1975-78. (1978)
- The king and the dragon : an adult fairy-tale / written and illustrated by Bromhead. (1978)
- 4 years’ hard labour (1988)
- Alternative medicine : humour and cartoons (1992)
- Bromhead’s view : ice-cream! popcorn! xenical! (1999)
- A can of worms! (2005) - a children's story
- Twinkle’s big adventure (2005) - a children's story
- The box that wanted to be a ball (2005) - a children's story
- Bromhead: Scratching a Living (2016) - memoir