Feather in his hat

Portrait of an Australian soldier from the 9th division cavalry regiment. The soldier is wearing a slouch hat with a feather which is curled into the letter nine, he is smiling and giving a thumbs up.

'Feather in his Hat' is a portrait of the 9th Division Cavalry Regiment who during the war saw action in Egypt, Palestine and Syria and distinguished itself in Alamein and El Daba. Mahony's cartoon presents a satirical interpretation of the Aussie soldier which propagates an image of the man as brave, nonchalant as well as a bit of a larrikin. During the war, the depiction of the Australian soldier in such a manner was common, and images such as this one owe much to the generation of the myth of the Australian digger.

Will Mahony was a leading Australian cartoonist whose work exhibits a more graphically considered approach to cartooning. Beginning a career as a cadet at Smiths Weekly, the war saw to one of his most productive periods and his work was published in major Sydney publications including Sydney Evening News, Sydney Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Possessing a strong character, in 1945 he was fired from the Daily Telegraph for refusing to draw a political cartoon for the editor.