Cartoonist, lithographer, author, screenwriter, filmmaker and vaudeville performer.
The son of a Birmingham publican, Jack Ward joined a firm of local lithographers at age 14. Four years later he and his family immigrated to Australia, settling Queensland. Over the next two decades he worked primarily as a lithographic artist and designer for such newspapers as the Boomerang, Brisbane Courier and Queenslander. The Brisbane Courier records in 1902, too, that Ward had recently created a phonograph recording of a local band (6 February 1902, p,4).
Ward lived in New Zealand between ca. 1905-1908, finding employment with the Auckland Star and the Graphic. Ward also appeared on the vaudeville stage, presenting a 'living pictures' turn. A par published in the Evening Post (Wellington) in 1907 records that his act, staged under the management of the Fullers, was called 'The Robing of the Gods' and was performed with Ruby White ('Mimes and Music.' 1 June 1907, p.11). After returning to Australia in 1909 he settled in Sydney and went on to establish a career as a sketch artist and cartoonist (notably for the Sydney Morning Herald and Sydney Mail). He also found work as a lithographer.
Over the years Ward's interest in birds had increased. In 1914 he undertook an expedition through Papua and New Guinea, and returned the following year with a moving pictures camera so as to document his travels and to cover the life and culture of the people. 'At the suggestion of Dan Carroll, Ward decided to exploit his footage commercially by adding a dramatic narrative' (Pike and Cooper, p.117). This led to the making, and eventual release, of Australia's Own (1919). Ward later produced a number of documentaries, including The Quest for the Bird of Paradise (ca. 1923) and Death Devils in a Papuan Paradise (1924), which Pike and Cooper suggest likely contained footage from Australia's Own. In all Ward undertook 14 expeditions through Papua New Guinea. His non-Papua/New Guinea film, the urban comedy Those Terrible Twins was released in 1925.
Ward's interest in birds saw him become a keen collector and writer on various aspects relating to birds. He also experimented with fish cross-breeding. Known for many years as the 'birdman of Balmain,' by local residents, he died at his home, Shannon Grove, 10 Ewenton St, Balmain, aged 90.
[Some details sourced from Peter Reynolds - see below for publication details and online access. Thanks to Rosslyn Clayton for additional information and corrections]
