Mr Squiggle and Friends

Like so many Australian’s, I grew up watching Mr Squiggle create upside down pictures from scribbles. His creativity, gentle nature and storytelling was always mesmerising, And of course his friends were always included. Who knew that a puppet could be so popular!

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Created by the masterful cartoonist and puppeteer Norman Hetherington, My Squiggle and His Friends continued to feature on the ABC from 1959 to 1999. The characters have become iconic and are certain to evoke nostalgia in almost all Australian generations.

When I learned that there was a Mr Squiggle exhibition, we immediately booked an overnight trip to Canberra. Closing in late 2025, I became quite excited to hear that the National Museum of Australia created the Mr Squiggle and Friends Travelling Exhibition, starting at Newcastle Museum.

The Characters

Mr Squiggle and friends | Mr Squiggle exhibition

One of the enduring secrets behind the success of Mr Squiggle was its unforgettable cast of characters. More than just television personalities, they became cherished companions who invited children to step into a world where imagination had no limits.

Through playful conversations, gentle humour and creative adventures, the show’s characters encouraged young viewers to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, transforming simple drawings into magical creations. Each character brought their own unique personality to the screen, helping generations of Australian children laugh, learn and believe that with a little imagination, anything was possible.

Mr Squiggle

When I was growing up, Mr Squiggle was quite possibly the gentlest and kindest hero on television. He lived on the Moon at 93 Crater Crescent and would fly down to Earth in his rocket to turn scribbles into artworks. They were always drawn upside down, and his human assistant, mostly his daughter Rebecca Hetherington, when I was growing up, would hold his hand while he drew and then turn the artwork the right way around once Mr Squiggle finished it.

Mr. Squiggle was primarily made from felt with a blue woollen fringe and a large yellow pencil for his nose. It was this very nose that he created his scribbles with. Hetherington tried several different mediums for the tip of the nose before settling on artist’s charcoal to get the perfect picture.

Blackboard

Blackboard was created way back in 1959. If my memory serves me correctly, he is always grumpy and regularly proclaims “Hurry Up” and “Boring!”. He is the easel to Mr Squiggle’s artwork, is forever impatient and was one of my favourites.

Whilst the cantankerous Blackboard had two eyes, only one would open. Hetherington made his body from thick cardboard. His legs were made from rope, with little red bags filled with sand for shoes that provided weight and stability.

Bill Steamshovel

Bill Streamshovel | Mr Squiggle and Friends

Bill the Steamshovel joined the Mr Squiggle and Friends show in 1962. He always made me laugh with his riddles and penchant for eating concrete. I never knew a show without him.

Made mostly from foam, he burped big puffs of steam as he laughed, which was actually talcum powder blown off camera through a tube, into his body and along his neck. It absolutely tricked me as a kid – I thought it was real smoke.

Gus the Snail

Gus the Snail was a little different to the other characters on Mr Squiggle. For starters, in a cast full of marionettes, he was the only hand puppet. He arrived on the show in 1977 and absolutely loved knock-knock jokes – he couldn’t get through an episode without telling one.

Gus was really bossy and had grand illusions of taking over the world. At the exhibition, you will spot Gus with a television balancing a potplant for a shell. During his time on the television show he adopted both, a television to begin with and switching it out with a giant flowerpot. I loved the television as the Human Helpers often showed different scenes on it by touching the knobs on Gus’ shell. Sometimes he even had an antennae on the top of the television. Poor Gus felt that the world wasn’t equal for snails.

Rocket

Of course, we can not forget Mr Squiggle’s pet rocket, Rocket! Also a marionette, Rocket was made from aluminium. Rocket has a hole for Mr Squiggle’s nose, and a party popper on the side which would inflate when Hetherington would blow in a tube off stage. With no voice, Rochet would often use the party popper to communicate.

Rocket’s primary job was to help Mr Squiggle travel between his home at 93 Crater Crescent on the Moon and to Earth.

Human Assistants

Mr Squiggle relied on his Human Assistant to assist him with his drawings. There were quite a number over the years, including:

Miss Gina from 1959 – 1960
Miss Pat from 1960 – 1975
Miss Sue 1975
Miss Jane from 1975 to 1986
Roxanne from 1986–1989
Rebecca (Norman Hetherington’s daughter) from 1989 until the show ended.

The Exhibition

Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington exhibition was first developed for the National Museum of Australia. It not only brings together Mr Squiggle and his friends, but also celebrates the career of Norman Hetherington and the wonderful creations he brought to life across his career.

The Exhibition features artwork by Heatherington when he was at war, other marionettes including Sir Giles in armour and Dragon and Nicky and Noodle, backdrops, Squiggle sketches, Norman Hetherington’s suitcase, and a number of interactive exhibits,

The interactive exhibits allow both kids and adults the opportunity to operate a puppet, create upside down sketches and even create their own puppet show.

Mr Squiggle and Friends are currently at the Newcastle Museum now right through to 1 November 2026. The exhibition will then head to a new location in Australia.