At the age of nine, Waite won a newspaper cartoon competition. He has been quoted as saying "I just knew from an early age that I wanted to be a cartoonist". His interest in art continued and he attended
Elam School of Fine Arts, as well as
Auckland Teacher Training College. He took up a position at the
Otago Daily Times as a staff cartoonist in 1949. He continued to work for London-based publications, including the
Sun (1964–69), the
Daily Mirror (1969–85), the
Sunday Mirror (1970–80) and the City Diary of
The Times (1987–1997). He was made Cartoonist of the Year in 1963 by the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain. == Publications ==