Do you remember watching Mr Squiggle and his friends Blackboard, Rocket, Gus the Snail and Bill Steamshovel on the television?
In each episode the grumpy Blackboard would tell Mr Squiggle to "hurry up, hurry up" as he created drawings from random "squiggly" lines with his pencil nose.
Fair enough, too. Mr Squiggle covered Blackboard's face with paper and used it as a canvas for each of his works of art.
Mr Squiggle was a marionette operated from above by puppeteer Norman Hetherington, the creative genius behind the popular children's television show Mr Squiggle and Friends that ran for 40 years.
Hetherington is one of the most significant figures in 20th-century Australian cultural life and he kept, in his home studio, every drawing, sketch, script, letter and puppet, as well as stage designs, set decorations and costumes.
He died in 2010, aged 89.
In 2024 the National Museum of Australia in Canberra acquired more than 800 items from Hetherington's collection. A year later it became an exhibition, Mr Squiggle and Friends.
Newcastle Museum is the first stop on its national tour, where Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington will show from July 4 to November 4. The free exhibition explores Hetherington's whimsy, humour and talent, and visitors of all ages will be able to explore their creativity through an interactive "squiggle" drawing experience.
Exhibiting alongside Mr Squiggle and Friends at Newcastle Museum is Murray Raine's Marvellous Marionettes.
Raine is a world-class, Newcastle-born puppeteer and performer who was mentored by Hetherington and whose career path was inspired by a puppet show he watched as a child at Waratah Public School.
He and Hetherington's daughter, Rebecca, will attend the exhibition launch in Newcastle on July 3.
"I know full well if [Norman] was still with us he would be as excited and delighted about this exhibition as I am. Rebecca and I have been very close since childhood, so we are so pleased to be doing this together," Raine tells Weekender.
"Newcastle played an enormous role in my life and career. My family all still live in Newcastle, and my nephew now owns our family home in Georgetown - although it's completely renovated now from when my father and grandfather built it in the 1950s."
Raine was born at Waratah Mater Hospital in 1963 and says he has "wonderful memories" of growing up in Georgetown in the 1960s and '70s.
The first puppet show he ever saw is similarly etched in his memory. It proved to be life-changing.
"In 1969 The Marionette Theatre of Australia's production of Puss N' Boots came to [what was then] Waratah Infants School. This was the first time that I had seen a live marionette performance," he says.
"Of course, I had seen Mr Squiggle on television, but I had never seen string puppets in a live show. I sat in the front row, mesmerised, and halfway through I glanced up and saw the puppeteers operating the puppets.
"It had not occurred to me that people were operating these puppets. I thought the puppets were real. I decided then and there that was what I wanted to do. My family thought it would be a passing phase, but of course it wasn't."
In 1970 his mother took him to another marionette show.
"[Newcastle puppeteer Marti McClelland] was presenting Jack and the Beanstalk in the reception centre at Winn's Department Store on Hunter Street. It was excellent," Raine says.
"We were taken backstage and introduced to Marti and she mentioned that she taught puppetry every Saturday in New Lambton for Young People's Theatre (their Hamilton theatre had not yet been built). I enrolled the following Saturday.
"Young People's Theatre opened doors to a whole new life for me."
Raine launched his solo cabaret marionette career in 1974 when Murray's Marvellous Marionettes was added to a Darwin cyclone relief concert.
"The act was successful and I realised I was onto something. The show grew and became more lavish each year. These were the days when nightclubs, RSLs and leagues clubs had showrooms and presented Vegas-style variety shows," he says.
He went on to win an Australian Mo Award, twice, for his cabaret revue It's Vegas On A String.
"The act has taken me around the world and financially has been very kind to me. Those were the days when cabaret acts, especially if you were 'unusual', could make a healthy living out of the entertainment industry," he says.
He recalls the time he was performing at an arts festival in Dubai when he was "summoned to perform for the princess at the palace for her birthday party", describing it as "surreal and extravagant".
Raine performed weekly on NBN Television, too, on The Now Crowd and Buttons and Lyn. He was also part of the launch of NBN mascot Big Dog in 1983.
"When I did my original audition for The Early Bird Show, I did it with Humphrey B. Bear because the Big Dog costume was not yet ready," Raine says.
"The original role was for a puppeteer, but they asked me to do some on-air compering with Humphrey. I'm not sure why, but whatever I did, they liked. They said for me to forget the puppets and instead created the role of Professor I. Bungle which I performed for two years.
"The Early Birds and Big Dog and Friends (both directed by Rob Short), were great fun. We did two hours of unscripted live television each day presenting community events, cartoons, local personalities, and 'what's happening' in Newcastle."
In 1985 he moved to Sydney to join The Marionette Theatre of Australia, going on to work for theatre and puppet companies including Jim Henson's Productions (famous for The Muppets).
Raine and his mother wrote to Norman Hetherington in 1977, when he was president of the NSW Puppetry Guild.
"I was also a member of the guild and I wanted to add a new act to my show - the trapeze artist - which was renowned for being one of the most difficult trick marionettes to operate," he says.
"I had no idea how to build or string the puppet, so we wrote to Norman and asked for his assistance, not thinking that he would reply. The following week I came home from school and there was a detailed letter from him with the design, stringing and directions on how to manipulate the puppet.
"This was the beginning of a close and wonderful friendship.
"Over the years Norman designed many of my spectacular cabaret marionettes. We spent many hours together in his Sydney workshop discussing our love of puppetry. Although our styles are very different, I was greatly influenced by his unique way of designing and presenting marionettes."
Raine was also influenced by Newcastle audiences he encountered as an actor.
"In my live stage shows I would integrate outrageous audience participation into the show," he says.
"This came about by working as an actor in Newcastle theatre restaurants in the early '80s both at Fanny's and Pickwicks Theatre Restaurant (which was in Darby Street). These were tough audiences, often highly intoxicated and rowdy. It was a great training ground for any young performer."
Raine says Hetherington "designed and constructed more than 500 sensational puppets" throughout his career, "many equally as fabulous and as quirky and Mr Squiggle and his friends".
Raine, too, has built "literally hundreds" of puppets for himself and other puppeteers. The bulk of his collection is in storage in Melbourne.
"Both Norman and I had a similar outlook to building and performing puppets. We had a simple rule: make it fun," he says.
"Over the years puppetry has evolved and it appears that every generation of new puppeteers bring their own ideas and style to the genre.
"Both Norman's and my work was traditional puppetry. We simply wanted to entertain an audience. We felt no need to be political or make a statement or send a message. We wanted people to come to our show and be entertained and have fun.
"Today's puppetry often has a far more serious slant to it. I guess you would say it's a sign of the times."
Mr Squiggle and Friends had a series of on-screen presenters: Miss Gina, Miss Pat, Miss Sue, Miss Jane and then, after they dropped the "miss", Roxanne and Rebecca (Hetherington).
"My father met Murray when he was a young teenager first exploring his love of puppetry," she says.
"He was more than happy to help Murray whenever he could, and this began a long friendship bonded by mutual respect and enjoyment of each other's work.
"When my children were young my father always made sure that we took them to see Murray's shows. He wanted them to understand what wonderful puppets and great puppetry looked like - and he also just loved seeing Murray's shows and my kids were a great excuse!"
She describes Raine's approach to puppetry and performance as "unique and flamboyant".
"He is a showman and his interaction with an audience is wildly entertaining, but his quiet moments where he interacts just with the puppet are magical and draw the audience in," Hetherington says.
"Some people can make wonderful puppets, some people are terrific performers, but Murray and my father are unique in that they are masters of both."
And she doesn't think puppetry is a dying art, even in this technological age.
"I believe that, in many ways, there has been a return to 'in real life' art forms and entertainment. Maybe it's a bit of a backlash to the saturation of technology in our lives," Hetherington says.
"My father used to say that puppetry was the most perfect craft form and hobby. It involved design, making and building, and then playing and performance. Your imagination is involved at every step of the way. What fun!"
"This exhibition is not just about nostalgic memories, it's about joy and empowering visitors to explore their own creativity without judgement," Newcastle Museum director Julie Baird says.
"Newcastle Museum is turning 15 in August. It seems like a long time and a heartbeat, all at once, for those of us working in the building.
"The museum and the city has matured since 2011 so our visitors no longer expect our exhibitions to be all dinosaur blockbusters. They are asking for more local stories and we have stepped up and changed how we work to deliver this.
"We had 111,000 visitors during Model Newcastle and won the National Trust NSW Exhibition award this year. Our visitor evaluation keeps telling us to do more, so watch this space for some exciting new exhibitions in 2027."
