"How's th' war going mate, are we winnin'"

Bluey and Curley cartoon consisting of three frames. In the first frame, Bluey and Curley who are travelling in a jeep are questioned by a bearded, scruffy looking man who asks: 'How's th' war going mate, are we winnin'?' Bluey replies 'The war! Gorblimey, the war's been over since last August!' In the second frame the man yells out 'Crikey!' as he races down the track. In the third frame he yells out to his wife and children who are hiding in a dead tree trunk lying on the ground. 'Mum! Kids! Yer can come out now, th' war's over!' watched by the ubiquitous dog leaning out of the tree trunk and the goanna on a log at right. The Bluey and Curley cartoon strip was drawn by Gurney for the Melbourne 'Sun News-Pictorial' and syndicated to other publications between 1939 and 1955. It was one of the most popular cartoons in Australia during the Second World War. Its two chief characters were the Australian soldiers Bluey, the older, more experienced digger, and Curley, who was younger and more naive. The humour of the Bluey and Curley comic strips is the epitome of the sardonic Australian style, The jokes are good natured, making fun of the rich or snobbish. The two characters are usually placed in situations of everyday life allowing their audience to identify with them and their experiences, and allowing Australians to laugh at themselves rather than at others. This particular cartoon was published in February 1946. The cartoon is a good example of Australian humour in popular culture immediately after the Second World War.