(City of Newcastle)
Newy 87.8 FM – Newcastle Museum has become the first stop on a national tour for Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington, a new exhibition celebrating the creator of one of Australian television's most-loved children's characters.
The National Museum of Australia exhibition explores Hetherington's legacy as a wartime entertainer, cartoonist, artist, performer and puppeteer, taking visitors behind the scenes with hand-crafted puppets, wartime artworks and colourful stage props.
A separate exhibition, Murray Raine's Marvellous Marionettes, is running alongside the show, featuring a selection of around 20 marionettes the Newcastle-born puppeteer donated to Newcastle Museum last year.
Raine was inspired at age six by a puppet show at Waratah Infants School and became one of Australia's youngest professionally paid puppeteers. He was mentored by Hetherington, collaborating with him on a number of puppets and forming a lifelong friendship.
City of Newcastle's Director of Museum, Archive, Libraries and Learning, Julie Baird, said the exhibitions are "not just about nostalgic memories, they're about joy and empowering visitors to explore their own creativity without judgement".
Visitors can take part in an interactive 'squiggle' drawing experience within the exhibition, and Newcastle Museum will host a series of hands-on workshops inspired by Mr Squiggle throughout the July school holidays.
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