1 minute read
DISASTER AND CARTOONS
CHRIS SZEKELY
DESCRIPTION Rescuing New Zealand flag’s lost star, published 26 February 2011
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MAKER / ARTIST Malcolm Evans (b. 1945)
REFERENCE Digital cartoons (DC-Group-0039: DCDL-0017177)
DESCRIPTION Hands joining over the Christchurch and Pike River Mine disasters, published 24 March 2011
MAKER / ARTIST Malcolm Evans (b. 1945)
REFERENCE Digital cartoons (DC-Group-0039: DCDL-0017166) Opposite: Rescue workers haul a lost star from the New Zealand flag out of the rubble of Christchurch after the February quake. Above: Two hands, representing people affected by the two separate disasters in Christchurch and the Pike River Mine, join in mutual despair and kindness.
As the first decade of the new millennium ended, two terrible events took place in New Zealand. On 19 November 2010, there was a massive explosion at the Pike River Mine north of Greymouth. Twenty-nine coal miners were underground and unaccounted for as rescue efforts commenced. Subsequent explosions over the following days dashed all hopes of their survival. Ten years on, their bodies remained unrecovered.
Three months later, on 22 February, tragedy struck in Christchurch when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake devastated the city, causing massive destruction, heavy casualties and the loss of 180 lives. There had been a precursor six months earlier, on 5 September 2010, when the region was rocked by a 7.1 quake. The damage caused by that event was significant and widespread, but miraculously there were no fatalities. Cantabrians were thankful for their good fortune — and unaware that catastrophe was on the way. More than a decade later, the rebuild of Christchurch continues.
Sometimes less is more when expressing grief and loss visually on a page or screen. A good cartoon can pivot on a simple concept to make a powerful point. The awardwinning veteran cartoonist Malcolm Evans (b. 1945), who drew many cartoons relating to the Canterbury earthquakes and ensuing issues, is well represented in the Turnbull’s Cartoon and Comics Archive, alongside other leading New Zealand cartoonists. Disasters, both national and international, are a recurring if inevitable theme within the collection.
