Nevile Lodge was a well-known cartoonist, who had a long association with Wellington’s Evening Post. Specialising in depictions of New Zealand’s rugby, racing and beer culture of the 1950s and 1960s, he was made an OBE in 1981.
Nevile Lodge’s cartooning career took off in a peculiar place. Serving as a Corporal during the Second World War, he was taken prisoner at El Alamein. During his incarceration, he entertained fellow prisoners and guards with his comic sketches. After the war, he began life as a freelance cartoonist.
For the Evening Post, he contributed ‘Lodge Laughs’, full of topical and social comment, as well as full page covers for the weekend Sports Post. This led to further opportunities, with his cartoons being used in NZ Truth, New Zealand Listener and New Zealand Free Lance. In 1956, Nevile Lodge was made the editorial cartoonist at the Evening Post, a full time engagement. He always continued to free-lance, throughout his career.
Nevile Lodge’s cartoons were typified by their accurate depictions of the behaviour and aesthetic of New Zealanders in the 1950s and 1960s.Although forays into politics were not unheard of, it is these portraits of an era which are most fondly remembered.
By Ian F. Grant; reworded by Patrick Whatman
How to cite this page: 'Nevile Lodge', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/nevile-lodge, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 16-May-2012
Community contributions