Bob Brockie

{{Short description|New Zealand columnist, cartoonist and scientist (born 1932)}}{{Infobox person

| name = Bob Brockie

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM|size=100%}}

| birth_name = Robert Ellison Brockie

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1932}}

| birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand

| occupation = Cartoonist, scientist, columnist,

| years_active = 1975–2018

}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2018}}

Robert Ellison Brockie {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM}} (born 1932 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand cartoonist, scientist, columnist and graphic artist.

He was an editorial cartoonist for the National Business Review from 1975 to 2018, specialising in political satire. As a biologist he is interested in animal populations, animal behaviour and diseases and did his PhD on hedgehog ecology. He has published material on butterfly evolution in Sicily, behaviour of sparrows, magpies, possums, starlings, mange mites, animal roadkill, flax flowering, cabbage tree disease.

He was science columnist for Wellington's Dominion Post newspaper from 2001 to 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/107601664/bob-brockies-last-science-column|title=Bob Brockie's last science column|last=Brockie|first=Bob|date=8 October 2018|website=Stuff|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}

Brockie takes a strong interest in refuting popular myths, like danger to humans from 1080 poison used to control possum populations.{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4660116a1861.html |title=Our daily fix of 1080 poison |date=18 August 2008 |work=The Dominion Post |accessdate=21 September 2011}}

Brockie is a member of New Zealand Skeptics.New Zealand Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (Inc.) Newsletter Winter 2003

In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, Brockie was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to science and cartooning.{{cite web |url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2013 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2013 |date=3 June 2013 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |accessdate=18 June 2018}} He was elected a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand, but resigned his companionship in 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org.nz/who-we-are/our-people/our-companions/view-our-companions/|title=List of Companions of the Royal Society of New Zealand|website=royalsociety.org.nz|access-date=2018-11-27}}{{cite web |url=https://nopunchespulled.com/2022/02/16/the-disgraceful-nz-royal-society/ |title=The disgraceful NZ Royal Society |date=16 February 2022 |access-date=5 March 2023}} He has twice been named New Zealand Cartoonist of the Year.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cartoons.org.nz/cartoonists/bob-brockie|title=Bob Brockie {{!}} New Zealand Cartoon Archive|website=www.cartoons.org.nz|access-date=2019-02-04|archive-date=15 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115224559/http://www.cartoons.org.nz/cartoonists/bob-brockie|url-status=dead}}

In 2018, Brockie was dropped from the Fairfax Media chain and the National Business Review for his positions on the Treaty of Waitangi and climate change.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/102508455/the-treaty-has-no-place-in-scientific-endeavour|title = The Treaty has no place in scientific endeavour|date = 25 March 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/102634462/in-defence-of-science-and-our-treaty-a-reply-to-bob-brockie|title = In defence of science and our Treaty: A reply to Bob Brockie|date = 27 March 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/06-10-2017/an-85-year-old-man-just-bolted-into-the-race-for-worst-column-of-the-year/|title = An 85 year-old man just bolted into the race for worst column of the year|date = 6 October 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/107601664/bob-brockies-last-science-column|title = Bob Brockie's last science column|date = 7 October 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalpressclub.org.nz/285-banished-botanist-dr-bob-brockie-revealed-as-antipodean-david-bellamy|title = Banished Botanist Dr Bob Brockie Revealed as Antipodean David Bellamy – National Press Club Inc}}