Will Mahony

For over seven years, from March 1933, Mahony's cartoons were a regular feature in The Labor Daily (later renamed the Daily News), the newspaper reflecting the views and policies of the Australian Labor Party. In June 1940, the newspaper was acquired by the Daily Telegraph, with most of the staff including Mahony being retained. In November 1944, Mahony was dismissed from the staff of the Daily Telegraph for refusing to put his name to a cartoon critical of trade unions. In the post-war years, Mahony worked as an artist drawing comic strips and book illustrations.

• Name — Will Mahony • Birth Name — Francis William Mahony • Born — 11 March 1905 • Died — 1 April 1989 • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — Artist, cartoonist, illustrator, painter, printmaker

Francis William Mahony was born at Notting Hill in London on 11 March 1905, the son of the Australian artist Frank P. Mahony and his wife, Mary (née Tobin). Mahony's father died of cancer in the Kensington Infirmary on 28 June 1916 and was buried at Hanwell in county Middlesex. Will Mahony was brought to Australia as a child and educated in Sydney.

During 1932, Mahony produced cartoons for Sydney's The World newspaper (reprinted in Brisbane's The Daily Standard, a newspaper closely affiliated with the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party). From late March 1933, Mahony's cartoons were regularly published in The Labor Daily, the newspaper reflecting the views and policies of the Australian Labor Party since 1922. He remained on the staff of The Labor Daily, with his political cartoons appearing frequently in its pages, until the newspaper changed its name to the Daily News in December 1938, after which Mahony remained as a staff artist under the new masthead. By 1940, Mahony and his family were living at the Sydney suburb of Denistone. In June 1940, the Daily News was acquired by Consolidated Press Ltd. and incorporated into the Daily Telegraph in July, with many of the Daily News staff joining the Daily Telegraph, including Mahony. In December 1940, a volume of cartoons by three artists employed by the Daily Telegraph – Mahony, George Finey and W. E. Pidgeon ('Wep') – was published. The 48-page collection titled War Cartoons comprised cartoons relating to the war in Europe. In early November 1944, Mahony refused to sign his name to a cartoon critical of trade unions, which he considered "were based upon the Telegraph proprietors' anti-Labor prejudices and not upon truth". As a result of his stand, Mahony was told by the editor, Brian Penton, that he should seek other employment and dismissed as a staff-member. Penton then requested that George Finey produce a cartoon critical of striking coal miners. Finey refused, telling the editor he had "moral objections" to doing so, and he too was sacked (or resigned) from the newspaper. • Illustration — Photograph of Will Mahony sketching his daughter Janis, published in The Mail (Adelaide), 19 April 1952. In the first half of 1945, Mahony had several cartoons published in Tribune, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia.

In July 1945, Mahony took over the drawing of the Chesty Bond comic strip, replacing its original artist Syd Miller, who was contracted to draw the comic-strip Sandra for Melbourne's The Herald newspaper. By that stage, Chesty Bond was being published five days a week in The Sun newspaper in Sydney. Mahoney continued to illustrate Chesty Bond until April 1947, when it was taken over by Virgil Reilly. Mahony provided the illustrations for The Bradman Book, compiled by 'Outfield', and published in 1948 by Atlas Publications in Melbourne to mark the Australian cricket team's test tour to England. In 1955, Mahony collaborated with the author Gavin Casey to produce the comic strip Clamor, serialised in Melbourne's Argus newspaper, the story of "a great Australian racehorse who carries the blood of Carbine". The first instalment was published on 4 March 1955 as six-row strip, but subsequent daily instalments appeared as a single row on the page with the other regular Argus comic strips. The final instalment of Clamor was published on 6 September 1955. Mahony provided illustrations for Gulf, written by Barry Crump and published in 1964.

The children's book The Great Ballagundi Damper Bake by Christobel Mattingley, published in 1975, was illustrated by Mahony. In 1977, Mahony provided the illustrations for the children's book The Famous Race for Wombat's Lace, with verse written by Graham Jenkin. Mahony was living at Terrey Hills prior to his death. Francis William ('Will') Mahony died on 1 April 1989, aged 84.