Blinky Bill

Blinky Bill

Copy of the 1939 cover of The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall
Author	Dorothy Wall
Country	Australia
Language	English
Genre	Children's literature
Published	1933 Angus & Robertson
Media type	Illustrated audiobook

Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, Jacko – the Broadcasting Kookaburra, which was illustrated by Wall. Wall then featured Blinky Bill in a series of her own books, including Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian, Blinky Bill Grows Up, and Blinky Bill and Nutsy. The books are considered quintessential Australian children's classics, and have never been out of print in Australia.

While telling the adventures of Blinky Bill, a naughty little boy in the form of a koala, the stories also present messages of conservation. Blinky Bill is known for his mischievousness and his love for his mother. His friends include his step-sister Nutsy, his kangaroo friend Splodge, his platypus friend Flap, Marcia the marsupial mouse, and his mentor Mr Wombat or Wombo, as Blinky prefers to call him. In general throughout the stories he does things that are realistic for koalas as well as things that child readers would like to do. Wall tells the stories directly to the children and Blinky often interacts with the readers in an introduction. Her dedications are often to 'All the Kind Children', with her own son Peter and other common Australian names of the 1930s appearing. The books are also fully illustrated by Dorothy Wall herself.

The first book Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian was published in 1933 by Angus & Robertson and was based on stories told to her only child, Peter. The book is 69 pages long, with 15 pages of illustrations. The second book, Blinky Bill Grows Up, was published in 1934 and is 82 pages long with 16 pages of illustrations. The third book Blinky Bill and Nutsy: Two Little Australians was published in 1937 and is 115 pages long.The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill, first published in 1939, was reprinted 26 times between 1940 and 1965.

Wall drew Blinky Bill comic strips, most notably one in 1937 called Blinky Bill's Escapades, which told of the adventures of Blinky, Nutsy and Splodge as they left Australia for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Angus & Robertson made plates of four strips to entice publishers, but, after considerable procrastination, the Sydney Morning Herald turned it down. She persisted with the Herald for years along with the Sunday Telegraph. Wall also drew some full-page strips, in full colour, of Blinky Bill, Splodge and friends in the army, called Our Squad. Largely because of the cost and rarity of paper during the war, none was ever published.