Donald Alaster Macdonald
Encyclopedia
Donald Alaster Macdonald (6 June 1859 – 23 November 1932) was an Australia
n journalist
and nature writer.
Macdonald was born in Fitzroy, Victoria
, a suburb of Melbourne
, the elder son of Donald Macdonald and his wife Margaret, née Harris. Macdonald was educated at the Keilor
state school where he became a pupil-teacher in 1876. He later joined the Corowa Free Press and then the
Melbourne Argus
newspaper in 1881. On 26 February 1883 at Scots Church, Melbourne, Macdonald married Jessie Seward — their only daughter was born in 1885.
Writing under the pen name
'Observer', Macdonald established himself as a cricket
and Australia rules football commentator. Macdonald "completely revolutionized cricket reporting" — he made the reports more vivid than the earlier over by over style.
Macdonald was first Australian war correspondent at the South African War
; during the war he was besieged at Ladysmith
. Macdonald's despatches from Ladysmith were eventually sent to Australia and published in the Argus. Later they were reprinted in a book How we kept the flag flying : the story of the siege of Ladysmith (1900).
Macdonald established a weekly column in the Argus called 'Nature Notes and Queries'; in 1909 it was extended to 'Notes for Boys'. Macdonald also published the Bush Boy's Book (1911), enlarged in four more editions in 1927-33; a Nature book for children, At the End of the Moonpath (1922); and his daughter made a selection of his writings in The Brooks of Morning (1933). Macdonald also compiled the Tourists' Handbook of Australia (1905) and wrote a novel, The Warrigal's Well (1901), in collaboration with John F. Edgar.
Macdonald died at Black Rock, Victoria
(a seaside suburb of Melbourne), on 23 November 1932, and was survived by a daughter, Mrs Elaine Whittle.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and nature writer.
Macdonald was born in Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
, a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, the elder son of Donald Macdonald and his wife Margaret, née Harris. Macdonald was educated at the Keilor
Keilor, Victoria
Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Brimbank and Hume...
state school where he became a pupil-teacher in 1876. He later joined the Corowa Free Press and then the
Melbourne Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
newspaper in 1881. On 26 February 1883 at Scots Church, Melbourne, Macdonald married Jessie Seward — their only daughter was born in 1885.
Writing under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
'Observer', Macdonald established himself as a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and Australia rules football commentator. Macdonald "completely revolutionized cricket reporting" — he made the reports more vivid than the earlier over by over style.
Macdonald was first Australian war correspondent at the South African War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
; during the war he was besieged at Ladysmith
Siege of Ladysmith
The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
. Macdonald's despatches from Ladysmith were eventually sent to Australia and published in the Argus. Later they were reprinted in a book How we kept the flag flying : the story of the siege of Ladysmith (1900).
Macdonald established a weekly column in the Argus called 'Nature Notes and Queries'; in 1909 it was extended to 'Notes for Boys'. Macdonald also published the Bush Boy's Book (1911), enlarged in four more editions in 1927-33; a Nature book for children, At the End of the Moonpath (1922); and his daughter made a selection of his writings in The Brooks of Morning (1933). Macdonald also compiled the Tourists' Handbook of Australia (1905) and wrote a novel, The Warrigal's Well (1901), in collaboration with John F. Edgar.
Macdonald died at Black Rock, Victoria
Black Rock, Victoria
Black Rock is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Black Rock had a population of 5796.-History:...
(a seaside suburb of Melbourne), on 23 November 1932, and was survived by a daughter, Mrs Elaine Whittle.
External links
- How we kept the flag flying : the story of the siege of Ladysmith (1900) by Donald Macdonald at the National Library of Australia