The FLAME Festival – 8-10 May this year – is a biennial community event in Wallaroo, Kadina and Moonta, the three historic Copper Coast towns, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. here are some cartoon sketches from the weekend.
Friday: as the sun set on Wallaroo Beach the Nharangga Dreaming Story Winda The Owl was told by local students with song, dance, lanterns and large glowing puppets.
Saturday at the Kadina Showgrounds …
Sunday at Queens Square, Moonta …
Australia ICOMOS, the cultural heritage professionals, celebrated its 50th anniversary in Burra South Australia , May 1-3 2026. ‘Since 1977 Australia ICOMOS has been committed to improving conservation philosophy and practice for culturally significant places’. The backdrop for the conference was the world heritage listing bid for Burra and Moonta: Australian Cornish mining sites. As the cartoons show, this was but one of a wide range of issues covered by a dynamic group.
And more …
In 1984 the Victorian Council of Social Service published Yoland Wadsworth’s Do It Yourself Social Research. as the back cover of the second edition said: “This introduction to social research methods became a runaway bestseller when it was first published. For fifteen years it has been used by students and professionals in sociology, social work, community development, education, health , welfare, psychology, management, environmental studies, legal studies and many other fields.”
This project was an education for me, an important stage in my cartooning development. Yoland Wadsworth knew exactly what the illustrations needed to depict: she understood how text and illustration combine to communicate with the reader.
Two further books followed: Everyday Evaluation on the Run and Human Inquiry for Living Systems. Now, just over 40 years since Do It Yourself Social Research Routledge has reprinted the revised and updated set – including revised covers and many of the illustrations : ‘This 3-volume collection of path-breaker Yoland Wadsworth’s crucial work will assist new generations in conducting research effectively at every stage’.
The ‘Swiss Cheese’ safety model. One of the cartoon illustrations developed with Dr David Low for the Australian Pollution Research Network report Improving Child Safety in Public Parks and Playgrounds: a case study on hazardous chemical use in the City of Clarence, along with other cartoons used in their anti-pesticides campaigns.
…resist the Kool-Aid!
Sweet and Sour is a children’s story by David Novak – A Telling Experience. He brings his story to life in his wonderful way. The illustrations were first drawn as cards to tell the story using a kamishibai, a Japanese paper theatre stage. The story was inspired by the stories David read to his son Jack, ‘especially the tale of Momotaro and the evil Oni (ogres)’.
I met David Novak at the 2016 Sydney International Storytelling Conference and we met up again in 2018. We talked about a simple animation of one of his stories. It was only recently, with the help of a grant David received for the kamishibai stage and pictures, that we got it together.
The Storytelling Conferences are wonderful events attracting storytellers from around the world – creating a feast of stories and presentations. And great inspiration for pictures! I have cartooned at a number of the conferences – see posts from 2025 and 2016.
some of the kamishibai cards …
Ten years ago in South Australia as part of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission: SA citizens’ jury votes against storing nuclear waste. A demonstration of the real value of the citizen jury process. The AUKUS agreement with South Australian involvement in the building and maintenance of nuclear submarines challenges the citizen jury vote in 2016.
For a post on the 2016 Citizen’s Jury see here.
Simon Kneebone - cartoonist and illustrator 