imported>Roundtheworld: /* Career */

2026-03-12T18:50:30Z

Career

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{{short description|British and Papua New Guinean cartoonist (died 2011)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Bob Browne
| image = File:Bob Browne.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year||}}
| birth_place = [[Erith]], London, England
| death_date = {{Death date |2011|03|02||df=y}}
| death_place = [[Port Moresby]], Papua New Guinea
| known_for = Cartoons
| movement =
| spouse =
| parents =
| relatives = [[David Browne (footballer)|David Browne]]
}}
'''Bob Browne''' (died 2011) was a British cartoonist and teacher who was a naturalized citizen and resident of [[Papua New Guinea]] (PNG). Initially becoming prominent as a cartoonist in PNG with a series of newspaper advertisements advertising a brand of pick-up trucks and buses, he went on to draw daily cartoons for the ''[[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier]]'' and also produced several books.
==Early life and education==
Browne was born in [[Erith]] in London. He studied graphic design at the [[London College of Communication|London College of Printing]] and then worked in different jobs before travelling to [[Morocco]] in 1970, where he was shocked by the poverty he saw. This inspired him to apply for a position with the British [[Voluntary Service Overseas]] (VSO), which posted him to [[Wewak]] in the [[East Sepik]] province of PNG, to work with the Wirui Press, run by a [[Catholic Church|Catholic Mission]]. There, he started to draw cartoons for the ''[[Wantok Niuspepa]]'', which was established in 1970 by Francis Mihalic, a member of the [[Society of the Divine Word]], as a weekly newspaper published in PNG's [[lingua franca]], called ''[[Tok Pisin]]'', or pidgin.<ref name="David">{{cite web |last1=Ingram |first1=David |title=Goodbye Mr Grass Roots |url=https://thenewsmanual.com/2011/03/03/goodbye-mr-grass-roots/ |website=The News Manual |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="Maus">{{cite web |title=Bob Browne |url=https://www.mauswara.com/bobbrowne.html |website=Mauswara |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>
==Career==
After two years in Wewak with VSO, Browne moved to [[Port Moresby]], the capital of PNG, where he helped to establish the Centre for Creative Arts in 1972. When it became the [[University of Papua New Guinea|National School of Arts]], he became head of the Graphics Department.<ref name=David/><ref>{{cite web |title=Imagining Papua New Guinea |url=https://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/imagining/ |website=National Gallery of Australia |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>

He first became widely known to the PNG public through a series of cartoons advertising [[Isuzu]] motor vehicles. Called ''Isuzu Lu'', the cartoons featured the main character, Lu, and many others in situations where they benefitted from owning or being in Isuzu vehicles. The characters spoke in urban ''Tok Pisin'', were often shown in traditional dress and were usually in overcrowded vehicles, whether [[pickup trucks]] or buses. These cartoons led, in 1980, to his being offered space in the ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier'' for a daily cartoon, called ''Grass Roots''. With his instantly recognisable drawing style, Browne portrayed Roots as a rather hopeless, beer-drinking character with a long-suffering wife. Despite his naivety, Roots was able to identify problems in PNG and criticise its shortcomings in a non-aggressive way, not letting his criticisms descend into cruelty.<ref name=David/><ref name=Maus/><ref>{{cite web |title=Tok Pisin with Isuzu Lu: Hey, Poro! |url=https://faroutliers.com/2009/09/27/tok-pisin-with-isuzu-lu-hey-poro/ |website=Far Outliers |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="Garry">{{cite web |title=The Garry Trudeau of Papua New Guinea |url=https://microkhan.com/2011/03/09/the-garry-trudeau-of-papua-new-guinea/ |website=Microkhan.com |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>

In 1981 Browne started the Grass Roots Comic Company. As well as cartoons for newspapers, he produced anthologies of his work, such as the ''Isuzu Lu'' and ''Grass Roots'' cartoons, as well as illustrations for many books and booklets. He produced ''The Grass Roots Guide to Papua New Guinea Pidgin'', in which the Roots character defined in his inimitable way the meaning of terms in ''Tok Pisin'', such as ''Mauswara'' (Mouth water), "Like smoke out the exhaust pipe of a bus, it comes out of the mouth of most politicians when somebody turns on their ignition." The definition was accompanied by a cartoon of a bloated politician floating like a balloon.<ref name=David/><ref name=Maus/><ref name=Garry/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Browne |first1=Bob |title=The Best of Grass Roots, No. 1 |date=1981 |publisher=The Grass Roots Comic Company |edition=First |url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Best-Grass-Roots-1980-81-Browne-Bob/32370107239/bd |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>

For some years Browne produced ''The Grass Roots Offisel Kalenda''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grass Roots Offisel Kalenda|url=https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Grass-Roots-Offisel-Kalenda-1991-Browne/32372624573/bd |website=Abe Books |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref> In 1991 he collaborated with David Ingram and Peter Henshall to produce an online training manual for journalists that became very popular throughout the South Pacific.<ref name="Manual">{{cite web |last1=Ingram |first1=David |last2=Henshall |first2=Peter |last3=Browne |first3=Bob |title=About The News Manual |url=https://www.thenewsmanual.net/about.htm |website=The News Manual |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref> Browne also worked as a church pastor, a missionary and as manager of the Port Moresby City Mission, which provides vocational training for young people.<ref>{{cite web |title=City Mission Headquarters, Port Moresby |url=https://citymissionpng.org/ |website=City Mission PNG |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref> He played, coached and supported basketball and soccer. He also served on various government advisory bodies. In 1985 he received Papua New Guinea's 10th Anniversary of Independence Medal for Services to the Community.<ref name=David/><ref name=Maus/>

==Death==
Browne died in [[Port Moresby General Hospital]] on 2 March 2011. He had married a Papua New Guinean, Segana, who came from [[Central Province (Papua New Guinea)|Central Province]]. Their son, [[David Browne (footballer)|David Browne]], 15 at the time of his father's death, went on to become a professional footballer, playing for [[Auckland City FC|Auckland City]] in New Zealand and for clubs in the Netherlands and Finland, as well as for the PNG national team.<ref name=David/><ref>{{cite news |title=Brown inks PNG's pathway in Europe |url=https://www.thenational.com.pg/browne-inks-pngs-pathway-europe/ |access-date=11 March 2026 |publisher=The National |date=29 August 2016}}</ref>

==Publications==
Some of Browne's publications are listed below:
* 1981. ''The Best of Grass Roots, No. 1''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Browne |first1=Bob |title=The Best of Grass Roots, No. 1 |date=1981 |publisher=The Grass Roots Comic Company |edition=First |url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Best-Grass-Roots-1980-81-Browne-Bob/32370107239/bd |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>
* 1991. ''Grass Roots Guide to Papua New Guinea Pidgin''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Browne |first1=Bob |title=Grass Roots Guide to Papua New Guinea Pidgin |date=1991 |publisher=Grass Roots Comic Company |isbn=9789980860613 |edition=reprint |url=https://books.google.pt/books/about/Grass_Roots_Guide_to_Papua_New_Guinea_Pi.html?id=tUtNewAACAAJ&redir_esc=y |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>
* 1991. ''The News Manual'' (originally a book, now online in 3 volumes), with David Ingram and Peter Henshall.<ref name=Manual/>
* 2006. ''Isuzu Lu Book 5''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Browne |first1=Bob |title=Isuzu Lu Book 5 |date=2006 |publisher=Grass Roots Comics Company |location=Port Moresby |isbn=9789980860620 |url=https://www.abebooks.com/9789980860620/Isuzu-Lu-Book-5-Bob-9980860626/plp |access-date=11 March 2026}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Bob}}

[[Category:Date of birth unknown]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:21st-century Papua New Guinean people]]
[[Category:20th-century Papua New Guinean people]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Papua New Guinea]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London College of Printing]]
[[Category:Papua New Guinean artists]]
[[Category:English editorial cartoonists]]

Bob Browne - Revision history

imported>Roundtheworld: /* Career */