Today marks the first appearance one of three new characters being introduced to the Ginger Meggs universe in 2019: A young Australian boy named Rahul Jayasinha.

Rahul’s father was born in India, met his wife in Sri Lanka and moved to Australia to start their own medical practice. Now both Australian citizens, they had Rahul ten years after moving to Australia, making him a dinki di Aussie! He’s just moved house and so has just started at Ginger’s school.

Rahul loves nothing more than getting out in the sun and playing cricket — and giving Ginger a run for his money! He’s a little bit taller than the other boys, and can run faster than Tiger Kelly on a rampage.

The first appearance of Rahul occurs at the end of today’s Sunday strip, the second of a three-part continuation after Ginger is forced to stay in his bedroom and finish his homework before he’s allowed to go and play cricket with the boys.

Unfortunately, he arrives too late and the game is all wrapped up. He discovers they had invited the new kid to fill-in, but fast realised that he was so good, they wouldn’t mind having him on the team permanently!

Rahul will develop with the rest of the characters in the strip over time, and we’re excited to see him work his way into more storylines across the coming years. Every Aussie kid should be able to see themselves in the characters of Ginger Meggs. Stay tuned for our next introduction this year of a young indigenous Australian girl who plays music and gives the lads a run for their money on the sports field!

And of course, stay tuned for more adventures with the entire gang, every day at GoComics.com

• A big note of thanks to my friend Dilruk Jayasinha for his advice on the character and his cultural heritage.

When and how do I decide when to include modern aspects into a nearly century-old comic strip…