Dorothy Wall
Dorothy Wall (12 January 1894 – 21 January 1942) was a New Zealand-born writer and illustrator of children’s books. She created Blinky Bill, a friendly koala who stars in Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian (1933), Blinky Bill Grows Up (1934), and Blinky Bill and Nutsy (1937). Most of her books were published by Angus & Robertson.
Wall was born in Kilbirnie, New Zealand, to English parents Charles James William Wall and Lillian Palethorpe. She won art scholarships at age ten in 1904. She moved to Australia in 1914 and worked for The Sun in Sydney. Her first children’s story, “Tommy Bear and the Zookies,” was published in 1920. In 1921 she married Andrew Delfosse Badgery, and they later divorced in 1934. They had a son named Peter.
During the 1920s and 1930s she worked as an illustrator. When Blinky Bill became popular, she also did book-jacket illustrations for Angus & Robertson. Financial difficulties led her to return to New Zealand in 1937, where she drew for the New Zealand Herald and the Auckland Weekly News. The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill was published in 1939 and helped her finances.
In July 1941 Wall moved back to Sydney. She died of pneumonia on 21 January 1942 at her home in Cremorne, New South Wales, aged 48. She was buried in the Northern Suburbs cemetery. In 1985 Australia Post issued a stamp honoring Wall or Blinky Bill as part of a set celebrating children’s books.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:13 (CET).