Cook was born in Foxton, of English and Māori descent; his great-grandfather was Te Rauparaha.
[5] He moved to Australia along with other New Zealand cartoonists George Finey, and Cecil 'Unk' White;[6] there he worked as a freelance illustrator for Smith's Weekly and the Sydney Bulletin.
[9] During his time in Australia he was art editor at the Daily Telegraph and magazines Bachelor Girl and Australian Women's Weekly.
After moving to England in 1950 he became art editor for Amalgamated Press, the largest publisher of comics in the UK.
[4][10] He died in London in 1981, survived by his wife Irene and son Peter, named after his comic character.