Curio

State Library of New South Wales
The Story of Tommy Bear and the Zookies (1920)

The Story of Tommy Bear and the Zookies (1920)

Printed

Part of the Thyne Reid Trust Collection

A823/W187.1/1A1

Published 13 years before the birth of Blinky Bill, Tommy Bear was the precursor to the iconic Blinky. In this short story, Tommy Bear is prescribed a holiday in Sydney to ‘have some fun’, which he does with the mischievous Zookies.

Dorothy Wall was influenced by May Gibbs and recognised the appeal held by the Australian bush and its animals. She drew Tommy Bear in a simple bush setting with mythical creatures called Zookies, which in appearance were not unlike gumnut babies.

Tommy Bear was the precursor to the loveable Blinky Bill. In this story we can already see the mischievous, cheeky nature emerging that Wall would assign to Blinky.

Dorothy Wall was born in New Zealand in 1894 and moved to Sydney in 1914 with the hope of becoming a successful artist.

Tommy Bear and the Zookies was Wall’s first book, it was a short story with just sixteen pages including six colour plates.