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{{Short description|Australian journalist (1859–1932)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Donald Macdonald
| name = Donald Macdonald
| image = MACDONALD-Donald-Alaster.jpg
| image = MACDONALD-Donald-Alaster.jpg
| caption = Donald Macdonald, undated (c. 1920)
| caption = Macdonald {{c.|1920}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1859|6|6}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1859|6|6}}
| birth_place = [[Fitzroy, Victoria]]
| birth_place = [[Fitzroy, Victoria]], Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1932|11|23|1859|6|6}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1932|11|23|1859|6|6}}
| death_place = [[Black Rock, Victoria]]
| death_place = [[Black Rock, Victoria]]
| education = Keilor state school
| occupation = Journalist, war correspodent, sports writer, nature writer
| occupation = Journalist, war correspondent, sports writer, nature writer
| spouse = Jessie Seward (–1934)
| spouse = Jessie Seward
| children = Elaine Macdonald m. Whittle (1885–1948)
| children = 1
}}
}}


'''Donald Alaster Macdonald''' (6 June 1859 – 23 November 1932) was an Australian journalist and nature writer, writing under the [[pen name]]s including 'Observer' and 'Gnuyang' (gossip).<ref name=Aus1932>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141367598 |title=DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=3 December 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=7 (METROPOLITAN EDITION) |via=Trove }} </ref><ref name=adb>Hugh Anderson, '[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100240b.htm Macdonald, Donald Alaster (1859–1932)]', ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Vol. 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, p. 249. Retrieved 14 November 2010</ref> He was considered one of Australia's widely known journalists,<ref name=Argus1932>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4510525 |title=MR. DONALD MACDONALD. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove }} </ref> and is in the Melbourne Press Club's Australian Media Hall of Fame.<ref name=MPC>{{cite web |title=Donald Macdonald |url=https://halloffame.melbournepressclub.com/article/donald-macdonald |website=The Australian Media Hall of Fame |publisher=The Melbourne Press Club |accessdate=22 May 2020}}</ref> He was credited with making 'Australian natural history and botany popular interests'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242984661 |title=Donald Macdonald |newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=10 |via=Trove }} </ref>
'''Donald Alaster Macdonald''' (6 June 1859 – 23 November 1932) was an Australian journalist and nature writer, writing under the [[pen name]]s including 'Observer' and 'Gnuyang' (gossip).<ref name=Aus1932>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141367598 |title=DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=3 December 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=7 (METROPOLITAN EDITION) |via=Trove }}</ref><ref name=adb>Hugh Anderson, '[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100240b.htm Macdonald, Donald Alaster (1859–1932)]', ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Vol. 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, p. 249. Retrieved 14 November 2010</ref> He was considered one of Australia's widely known journalists,<ref name=Argus1932>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4510525 |title=MR. DONALD MACDONALD. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove }}</ref> and is in the Melbourne Press Club's Australian Media Hall of Fame.<ref name=MPC>{{cite web |title=Donald Macdonald |url=https://halloffame.melbournepressclub.com/article/donald-macdonald |website=The Australian Media Hall of Fame |publisher=The Melbourne Press Club |accessdate=22 May 2020}}</ref> He was credited with making 'Australian natural history and botany popular interests'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242984661 |title=Donald Macdonald |newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=10 |via=Trove }}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==


Macdonald was born in [[Fitzroy, Victoria]], a suburb of [[Melbourne]], the elder son of Donald Macdonald (of Scottish–Canadian heritage) and his wife Margaret, ''née'' Harris. Macdonald was educated at the [[Keilor, Victoria|Keilor]] state school where he became a pupil-teacher in 1876. He later joined ''[[The Corowa Free Press]]'' and then the ''[[The Argus (Australia)|Melbourne Argus]]'' newspaper in 1881.
Macdonald was born in [[Fitzroy, Victoria]], a suburb of [[Melbourne]], the elder son of Donald Macdonald (of Scottish–Canadian heritage) and his wife Margaret, ''née'' Harris. Macdonald was educated at the [[Keilor, Victoria|Keilor]] state school where he became a pupil-teacher in 1876. He later joined ''[[The Corowa Free Press]]'' and then the ''[[The Argus (Australia)|Melbourne Argus]]'' newspaper in 1881.


On 26 February 1883 at [[Scots' Church, Melbourne]], Macdonald married Jessie Seward (–18 September 1934) in 1883.<ref name=adb /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10959615 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=21 September 1934 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove }} </ref> Seward was from a pioneering family of the Victorian [[Rochester, Victoria|Rochester]] area.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169881459 |title=City News. |newspaper=[[The Advocate (Melbourne)|Advocate]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=2 March 1907 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=21 |via=Trove }} </ref> Their only daughter (J)essie Elaine (1885–2 July 1948), married in 1910 to James Service Northam Whittle, also became a traveller and free lance journalist (writing under the [[pen name]] 'Taunton Vale').<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226878997 |title=MEN AND WOMEN. |newspaper=[[The Southern Cross (South Australia)|The Sunday Sun]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 December 1910 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=15 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22679410 |title=OBITUARY |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=5 July 1948 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{Citation | title=Papers of Elaine Macdonald (Mrs. Whittle) – 1882-1948 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/227766025 | accessdate=22 May 2020 }}</ref>
On 26 February 1883 at [[Scots' Church, Melbourne]], Macdonald married Jessie Seward in 1883.<ref name=adb /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10959615 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=21 September 1934 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove }}</ref> Seward was from a pioneering family of the Victorian [[Rochester, Victoria|Rochester]] area.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169881459 |title=City News. |newspaper=[[The Advocate (Melbourne)|Advocate]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=2 March 1907 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=21 |via=Trove }}</ref> Their only daughter (J)essie Elaine (1885–2 July 1948), married in 1910 to James Service Northam Whittle, also became a traveller and free lance journalist (writing under the [[pen name]] 'Taunton Vale').<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226878997 |title=MEN AND WOMEN. |newspaper=[[The Southern Cross (South Australia)|The Sunday Sun]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 December 1910 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=15 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22679410 |title=OBITUARY |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=5 July 1948 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title=Papers of Elaine Macdonald (Mrs. Whittle) – 1882-1948 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/227766025 | accessdate=22 May 2020 }}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Writing under the [[pen name]] 'Observer', Macdonald established himself as a [[cricket]] and [[Australia rules football]] commentator.<ref name=DM1925>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220639485 |title=DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[Daily Mail (Brisbane)|The Daily Mail]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=8 November 1925 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=13 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41178505 |title=DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[Cairns Post]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=10 December 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove }}</ref> Macdonald "completely revolutionized cricket reporting" — he made the reports more vivid than the earlier over-by-over style.<ref name=dab>{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Donald Alaster|Last=Macdonald |shortlink=0-dict-biogMc.html#macdonald1|accessdate=14 November 2010}}</ref>


Writing under the [[pen name]] 'Observer', Macdonald established himself as a [[cricket]] and [[Australia rules football]] commentator.<ref name=DM1925>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220639485 |title=DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[Daily Mail (Brisbane)|The Daily Mail]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=8 November 1925 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=13 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41178505 |title=DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[Cairns Post]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=10 December 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove }} </ref> Macdonald "completely revolutionized cricket reporting" — he made the reports more vivid than the earlier over-by-over style.<ref name=dab>{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Donald Alaster|Last=Macdonald |shortlink=0-dict-biogMc.html#macdonald1|accessdate=14 November 2010}}</ref>
Macdonald was first Australian [[war correspondent]] at the [[Second Boer War|South African War]]; during the war he was besieged at [[Siege of Ladysmith|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).<ref name=adb/><ref name=Aus1932 /> He returned to Australia in April–May 1900.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19077925 |title=MR. DONALD MACDONALD. |newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=19 May 1900 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=15 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241265734 |title=SMOKE CLOUDS |newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=7 May 1900 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=3 |via=Trove }}</ref>


Macdonald was first Australian [[war correspondent]] at the [[Second Boer War|South African War]]; during the war he was besieged at [[Siege of Ladysmith|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).<ref name=adb/><ref name=Aus1932 /> He returned to Australia in April–May 1900.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19077925 |title=MR. DONALD MACDONALD. |newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=19 May 1900 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=15 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241265734 |title=SMOKE CLOUDS |newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=7 May 1900 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=3 |via=Trove }} </ref>
Macdonald established a weekly column in the ''Argus'' called 'Nature Notes and Queries'; in 1909 it was extended to 'Notes for Boys'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10695440 |title=NOTES FOR BOYS. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=23 February 1909 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>1909 'NOTES FOR BOYS. GIRL AIDS.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 2 November, p. 7. , viewed 22 May 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10744847</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10746302 |title=NOTES FOR BOYS. SCOUTS' CONTROL. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=9 November 1909 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=9 |via=Trove }}</ref> 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.<ref name=adb/>

Macdonald established a weekly column in the ''Argus'' called 'Nature Notes and Queries'; in 1909 it was extended to 'Notes for Boys'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10695440 |title=NOTES FOR BOYS. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=23 February 1909 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>1909 'NOTES FOR BOYS. GIRL AIDS.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 2 November, p. 7. , viewed 22 May 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10744847 </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10746302 |title=NOTES FOR BOYS. SCOUTS' CONTROL. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=9 November 1909 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=9 |via=Trove }} </ref> 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.<ref name=adb/>


==Later years==
==Later years==
⚫
Macdonald died at his residence ''The Huts'', Karrakatta Street, [[Black Rock, Victoria]] (a seaside suburb of Melbourne),<ref name=DM1925 /><ref name=Argus1932 /> on 23 November 1932,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11714004 |title=Nature Notes and Queries |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1933 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=7 |via=Trove }}</ref> had a private funeral and cremation,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141367287 |title=DEATH OF MR. DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=26 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=9 (METROPOLITAN EDITION) |via=Trove }}</ref> and was survived by his daughter.<ref name=dab/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article143055383 |title=MR. DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[The Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga)|Daily Advertiser]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove }}</ref>

⚫
Macdonald died at his residence ''The Huts'', Karrakatta Street, [[Black Rock, Victoria]] (a seaside suburb of Melbourne),<ref name=DM1925 /><ref name=Argus1932 /> on 23 November 1932,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11714004 |title=Nature Notes and Queries |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1933 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=7 |via=Trove }} </ref> had a private funeral and cremation,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141367287 |title=DEATH OF MR. DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=26 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=9 (METROPOLITAN EDITION) |via=Trove }} </ref> and was survived by his daughter.<ref name=dab/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article143055383 |title=MR. DONALD MACDONALD |newspaper=[[The Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga)|Daily Advertiser]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 November 1932 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove }} </ref>


==Memorials==
==Memorials==
By May 1937 the [[Sandringham, Victoria|Sandringham]] municipal council had purchased land at Black Rock to be used as a bird sanctuary as the 'Donald Macdonald Park'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11061185 |title=PARK MEMORIAL |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=1 May 1937 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=16 |via=Trove }}</ref> The park today is an area between Fourth, Stawell, and Keating Streets, and Haydens Road. Within the reserve is a playing field, skate park, playground, and the Beaumaris scout den.


By May 1937 the [[Sandringham, Victoria|Sandringham]] municipal council had purchased land at Black Rock to be used as a bird sanctuary as the 'Donald Macdonald Park'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11061185 |title=PARK MEMORIAL |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=1 May 1937 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=16 |via=Trove }} </ref> The park today is an area between Fourth, Stawell, and Keating Streets, and Haydens Road. Within the reserve is a playing field, skate park, playground, and the Beaumaris scout den.
Additionally, a large memorial bird bath bearing his portrait in bronze was unveiled on Sunday 17 December 1939 at the Black Rock park by his daughter who had just returned from England. It was designed by sculptor Stanley Hammond, following contributions of many readers of ''The Argus'' and ''The Australasian'' from 1937.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11268711 |title=DONALD MACDONALD'S MEMORIAL |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=13 December 1939 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=8 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142153009 |title=NATURE AND BUSH NOTES DONALD MACDONALD MEMORIAL: TRIBUTES TO A GREAT NATURALIST |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=23 December 1939 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=36 |via=Trove }}</ref> The plaque read:

Additionally, a large memorial bird bath bearing his portrait in bronze was unveiled on Sunday 17 December 1939 at the Black Rock park by his daughter who had just returned from England. It was designed by sculptor Stanley Hammond, following contributions of many readers of ''The Argus'' and ''The Australasian'' from 1937.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11268711 |title=DONALD MACDONALD'S MEMORIAL |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=13 December 1939 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=8 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142153009 |title=NATURE AND BUSH NOTES DONALD MACDONALD MEMORIAL: TRIBUTES TO A GREAT NATURALIST |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=23 December 1939 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=36 |via=Trove }} </ref> The plaque read:


::Donald MacDonald, friend of the creatures of the wild, chose this district in which to live and to end his days.
::Donald MacDonald, friend of the creatures of the wild, chose this district in which to live and to end his days.
Line 46: Line 45:
::Erected by readers of his "Nature Notes" in the Argus.<ref name=MonAus>{{cite web |title=Donald MacDonald |url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/arts/display/30312-donald-macdonald |website=Monument Australia |accessdate=22 May 2020}}</ref>
::Erected by readers of his "Nature Notes" in the Argus.<ref name=MonAus>{{cite web |title=Donald MacDonald |url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/arts/display/30312-donald-macdonald |website=Monument Australia |accessdate=22 May 2020}}</ref>


The memorial bird bath is at the western end of the park on Haydens Road opposite Wattle Avenue.<ref name=MonAus />
The memorial bird bath is at the western end of the park on Haydens Road opposite Wattle Avenue.<ref name=MonAus />


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
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* ''Gum boughs and wattle blooms'' (1888)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article143306222 |title=GUM BOUGHS AND WATTLE BLOOM.* |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=28 January 1888 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=11 |via=Trove }}</ref>
⚫
* ''How we kept the flag flying: The story of the siege of Ladysmith'' (1900)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19075175 |title=REVIEWS. |newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=29 December 1900 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=13 |via=Trove }}</ref>
⚫
* ''The Warrigal's Well'' (1901), a novel with John F. Edgar<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68258314 |title=CURRENT LITERATURE. |newspaper=[[The Capricornian]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=2 November 1901 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=28 |via=Trove }}</ref>
⚫
* ''Tourists' Handbook of Australia'' (1905)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164031916 |title=A RACY "TOURISTS' GUIDE" |newspaper=[[The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 May 1905 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=1214 |via=Trove }}</ref>
⚫
* ''Bush Boy's Book'' (1911)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15281401 |title=THE BUSH BOY'S BOOK. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=14 October 1911 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198150606 |title=THE BUSH BOY'S BOOK. |newspaper=[[The Leader (Melbourne)|Leader]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=7 October 1911 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=54 |via=Trove }}</ref>
⚫
* ''At the end of the moonpath'' (1922),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190276430 |title=IN FAIRYLAND |newspaper=[[The World (Hobart)|World]] |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=28 November 1922 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58037235 |title=BOOKS TO READ "AT THE END OF THE MOONPATH." |newspaper=[[Sunday Times (Perth)]] |location=Western Australia |date=3 December 1922 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=3 (First Section) |via=Trove }}</ref> the funds raised 'provided a tidy income for the [[Royal Children's Hospital]]'<ref name=MPC />
⚫
* ''The brooks of morning'' (1933),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11692963 |title="THE BROOKS OF MORNING" |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=16 September 1933 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article167698504 |title=REVIEWS and CAUSERIE |newspaper=[[The Southern Cross (South Australia)|Southern Cross]] |location=South Australia |date=20 October 1933 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=3 |via=Trove }}</ref> compiled by Macdonald's daughter after his death


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{{Portal |Poetry |Australia|Biography|Journalism}}
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* ''Gum boughs and wattle blooms'' (1888)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article143306222 |title=GUM BOUGHS AND WATTLE BLOOM.* |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=28 January 1888 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=11 |via=Trove }} </ref>


⚫
* ''How we kept the flag flying: The story of the siege of Ladysmith'' (1900)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19075175 |title=REVIEWS. |newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=29 December 1900 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=13 |via=Trove }} </ref>

⚫
* ''The Warrigal's Well'' (1901), a novel with John F. Edgar<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68258314 |title=CURRENT LITERATURE. |newspaper=[[The Capricornian]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=2 November 1901 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=28 |via=Trove }} </ref>

⚫
* ''Tourists' Handbook of Australia'' (1905)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164031916 |title=A RACY "TOURISTS' GUIDE" |newspaper=[[The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 May 1905 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=1214 |via=Trove }} </ref>

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* ''Bush Boy's Book'' (1911)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15281401 |title=THE BUSH BOY'S BOOK. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=14 October 1911 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198150606 |title=THE BUSH BOY'S BOOK. |newspaper=[[The Leader (Melbourne)|Leader]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=7 October 1911 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=54 |via=Trove }} </ref>

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* ''At the end of the moonpath'' (1922),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190276430 |title=IN FAIRYLAND |newspaper=[[World]] |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=28 November 1922 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58037235 |title=BOOKS TO READ "AT THE END OF THE MOONPATH." |newspaper=[[Sunday Times (Perth)]] |location=Western Australia |date=3 December 1922 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=3 (First Section) |via=Trove }} </ref> the funds raised 'provided a tidy income for the [[Royal Children’s Hospital]]'<ref name=MPC />

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* ''The brooks of morning'' (1933),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11692963 |title="THE BROOKS OF MORNING" |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=16 September 1933 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article167698504 |title=REVIEWS and CAUSERIE |newspaper=[[The Southern Cross (South Australia)|Southern Cross]] |location=South Australia |date=20 October 1933 |access-date=22 May 2020 |page=3 |via=Trove }} </ref> compiled by Macdonald's daughter after his death

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{{Portal |Poetry |Australia|Biography|Journalism}}
==References==
==References==


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==External links==
==External links==

*[http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1018350 How we kept the flag flying : the story of the siege of Ladysmith] (1900) by Donald Macdonald at the National Library of Australia
*[http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1018350 How we kept the flag flying : the story of the siege of Ladysmith] (1900) by Donald Macdonald at the National Library of Australia
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* [https://halloffame.melbournepressclub.com/article/donald-macdonald The Australian Media Hall of Fame] entry for Macdonald

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* [https://halloffame.melbournepressclub.com/article/donald-macdonald The Australian Media Hall of Fame] entry for Macdonald


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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Donald Alaster}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Donald Alaster}}
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[[Category:1859 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
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[[Category:Australian war correspondents]]
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[[Category:Australian children's writers]]
[[Category:The Argus (Melbourne) people]]
[[Category:People from Fitzroy, Victoria]]
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[[Category:19th-century Australian writers]]
[[Category:People from the Colony of Victoria]]

Latest revision as of 00:47, 18 December 2023

Donald Macdonald
Macdonald c. 1920
Born(1859-06-06)6 June 1859
Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Died23 November 1932(1932-11-23) (aged 73)
Black Rock, Victoria
BildungKeilor state school
Occupation(s)Journalist, war correspondent, sports writer, nature writer
SpouseJessie Seward
Children1

Donald Alaster Macdonald (6 June 1859 – 23 November 1932) was an Australian journalist and nature writer, writing under the pen names including 'Observer' and 'Gnuyang' (gossip).[1][2] He was considered one of Australia's widely known journalists,[3] and is in the Melbourne Press Club's Australian Media Hall of Fame.[4] He was credited with making 'Australian natural history and botany popular interests'.[5]

Early life

[edit]

Macdonald was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, the elder son of Donald Macdonald (of Scottish–Canadian heritage) 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 in 1883.[2][6] Seward was from a pioneering family of the Victorian Rochester area.[7] Their only daughter (J)essie Elaine (1885–2 July 1948), married in 1910 to James Service Northam Whittle, also became a traveller and free lance journalist (writing under the pen name 'Taunton Vale').[8][9][10]

Career

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Writing under the pen name 'Observer', Macdonald established himself as a cricket and Australia rules football commentator.[11][12] Macdonald "completely revolutionized cricket reporting" — he made the reports more vivid than the earlier over-by-over style.[13]

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).[2][1] He returned to Australia in April–May 1900.[14][15]

Macdonald established a weekly column in the Argus called 'Nature Notes and Queries'; in 1909 it was extended to 'Notes for Boys'.[16][17][18] 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.[2]

Later years

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Macdonald died at his residence The Huts, Karrakatta Street, Black Rock, Victoria (a seaside suburb of Melbourne),[11][3] on 23 November 1932,[19] had a private funeral and cremation,[20] and was survived by his daughter.[13][21]

Memorials

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By May 1937 the Sandringham municipal council had purchased land at Black Rock to be used as a bird sanctuary as the 'Donald Macdonald Park'.[22] The park today is an area between Fourth, Stawell, and Keating Streets, and Haydens Road. Within the reserve is a playing field, skate park, playground, and the Beaumaris scout den.

Additionally, a large memorial bird bath bearing his portrait in bronze was unveiled on Sunday 17 December 1939 at the Black Rock park by his daughter who had just returned from England. It was designed by sculptor Stanley Hammond, following contributions of many readers of The Argus and The Australasian from 1937.[23][24] The plaque read:

Donald MacDonald, friend of the creatures of the wild, chose this district in which to live and to end his days.
Born at Fitzroy 1857, died at Black Rock 1932.
Erected by readers of his "Nature Notes" in the Argus.[25]

The memorial bird bath is at the western end of the park on Haydens Road opposite Wattle Avenue.[25]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Gum boughs and wattle blooms (1888)[26]
  • How we kept the flag flying: The story of the siege of Ladysmith (1900)[27]
  • The Warrigal's Well (1901), a novel with John F. Edgar[28]
  • Tourists' Handbook of Australia (1905)[29]
  • Bush Boy's Book (1911)[30][31]
  • At the end of the moonpath (1922),[32][33] the funds raised 'provided a tidy income for the Royal Children's Hospital'[4]
  • The brooks of morning (1933),[34][35] compiled by Macdonald's daughter after his death

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "DONALD MACDONALD". The Australasian. Victoria, Australia. 3 December 1932. p. 7 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b c d Hugh Anderson, 'Macdonald, Donald Alaster (1859–1932)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, p. 249. Retrieved 14 November 2010
  3. ^ a b "MR. DONALD MACDONALD". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 24 November 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ a b "Donald Macdonald". The Australian Media Hall of Fame. The Melbourne Press Club. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Donald Macdonald". The Herald. Victoria, Australia. 24 November 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 21 September 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "City News". Advocate. Victoria, Australia. 2 March 1907. p. 21. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "MEN AND WOMEN". The Sunday Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1910. p. 15. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "OBITUARY". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 5 July 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  10. ^ Papers of Elaine Macdonald (Mrs. Whittle) – 1882-1948, retrieved 22 May 2020
  11. ^ a b "DONALD MACDONALD". The Daily Mail. Queensland, Australia. 8 November 1925. p. 13. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  12. ^ "DONALD MACDONALD". Cairns Post. Queensland, Australia. 10 December 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  13. ^ a b Serle, Percival (1949). "Macdonald, Donald Alaster". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  14. ^ "MR. DONALD MACDONALD". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 19 May 1900. p. 15. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "SMOKE CLOUDS". The Herald. Victoria, Australia. 7 May 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  16. ^ "NOTES FOR BOYS". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 23 February 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  17. ^ 1909 'NOTES FOR BOYS. GIRL AIDS.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 2 November, p. 7. , viewed 22 May 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10744847
  18. ^ "NOTES FOR BOYS. SCOUTS' CONTROL". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 9 November 1909. p. 9. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  19. ^ "Nature Notes and Queries". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 24 November 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  20. ^ "DEATH OF MR. DONALD MACDONALD". The Australasian. Victoria, Australia. 26 November 1932. p. 9 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  21. ^ "MR. DONALD MACDONALD". Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 25 November 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  22. ^ "PARK MEMORIAL". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 1 May 1937. p. 16. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  23. ^ "DONALD MACDONALD'S MEMORIAL". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 13 December 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  24. ^ "NATURE AND BUSH NOTES DONALD MACDONALD MEMORIAL: TRIBUTES TO A GREAT NATURALIST". The Australasian. Victoria, Australia. 23 December 1939. p. 36. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  25. ^ a b "Donald MacDonald". Monument Australia. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  26. ^ "GUM BOUGHS AND WATTLE BLOOM.*". The Australasian. Victoria, Australia. 28 January 1888. p. 11. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  27. ^ "REVIEWS". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 29 December 1900. p. 13. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  28. ^ "CURRENT LITERATURE". The Capricornian. Queensland, Australia. 2 November 1901. p. 28. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  29. ^ "A RACY "TOURISTS' GUIDE"". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 17 May 1905. p. 1214. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  30. ^ "THE BUSH BOY'S BOOK". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 14 October 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  31. ^ "THE BUSH BOY'S BOOK". Leader. Victoria, Australia. 7 October 1911. p. 54. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  32. ^ "IN FAIRYLAND". World. Tasmania, Australia. 28 November 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  33. ^ "BOOKS TO READ "AT THE END OF THE MOONPATH."". Sunday Times (Perth). Western Australia. 3 December 1922. p. 3 (First Section). Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  34. ^ ""THE BROOKS OF MORNING"". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 16 September 1933. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
  35. ^ "REVIEWS and CAUSERIE". Southern Cross. South Australia. 20 October 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Trove.
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