Peter Bromhead

Peter Bromhead
MNZM
Born(1933-05-31)31 May 1933
Portsmouth, England
Died25 August 2026(2026-08-25) (aged 93)
Rotorua, New Zealand
CitizenshipNew Zealand
Occupations
  • Designer
  • editorial cartoonist
EmployerAuckland Star (1973–1989)

Peter Bromhead MNZM (31 May 1933 – 25 August 2026) was a New Zealand editorial cartoonist and commercial interior designer.

Biography

Bromhead was born in Portsmouth, England, on 31 May 1933. His mother remarried after his father died and his stepfather's name was Bob Bromhead. His first job was as a window dresser in London and he trained as an industrial designer in England and Sweden. He migrated to New Zealand in the 1950s with his first wife, mother and step-father. He became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1979.

He always harboured a desire to be a cartoonist but worked as a designer of commercial interiors and furniture importer directing his company Bromhead Design. He was the editorial cartoonist for the Auckland Star from 1973 to 1989. He also drew cartoons for other publications including New Zealand Truth, The Dominion, The New Zealand Herald and the New Zealand Listener. He cartooned under his own name and the pseudonym Deighton.

In 2016 he published his memoir Bromhead: Scratching a Living.

Bromhead died in Rotorua on 25 August 2026, at the age of 93.

Honours and awards

In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours, Bromhead was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a cartoonist. In 2008, he was made a life member as a Fellow of the Designers Institute of New Zealand. He was awarded the Danish Prince Henrik Medal of Honour for his design work.

Bromhead was described by Richard Long, former editor of the Dominion Post, as "probably the best pocket cartoonist operating in the British Commonwealth". He received 11 awards for cartooning at the Voyager Media Awards (previously Canon Media Awards and Qantas Media Awards).

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 "Peter Bromhead in New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Watt, Lawrence (29 August 2026). "'You are always looking to see where the paradox lies': Peter Bromhead on a life in cartoons". The Post. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "The irreverent high-priest of Minimalism". Our Homes Today. Times Newspapers. 16 March 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bromhead, Peter, 1933-". tiaki.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Peter Bromhead: cartoonist". Otago Daily Times. 12 September 2026. p. 24.
  6. ↑ "Peter Bromhead: Scratching a Living". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Currie, Shayne (4 September 2026). "Media Insider: Cartoonist Peter Bromhead dies, aged 93 – a colourful life inside and outside the pages". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "Queen's Birthday honours list 1999 (including Niue)". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 7 June 1999. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "History of Life Members LDINZ". Designers Institute of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "Art Expo 26 - 28 August 2011 hosted by Auckland Grammar School". artexhibition.ags.school.nz. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Peter Bromhead | New Zealand Cartoon Archive". www.cartoons.org.nz. Retrieved 4 February 2019.