DONALD MacDONALD, JOURNALIST AND HERO WHO GREW UP IN KEILOR, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.
itellya
Donald attended the Keilor school and knew the area,its pioneers and the coach drivers who passed through intimately. He became a pupil teacher at the school in 1876, and soon moved into journalism. Such details are available in his biography*, but not his act of bravery in 1899** at the age of about 40, which prompted this journal.
(*Macdonald, Donald Alaster - Australian Dictionary of Biography - ANU
adb.anu.edu.au/biography/macdonald-donald-alaster-7335)
(**http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138672090)
Professor Ernest Scott wrote a tremendous tribute to Donald (P.7, The Australasian,December 3,1932), starting with:
"The best of companions for a ramble, interested in everything, amusing, considerate, always ready for a chat with any farm hand, sportsman or swagman, and getting something from everybody he met and everything he saw."
(http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141367598)
DONALD'S BDM RECORDS.
The date of birth given in the biography would seem to be wrong, given his death in 1932 aged 75. No record could be found of Donald's birth in Victoria that conforms to the names of the parents in his death record. Confirmation of his birth at Fitzroy (but not in 1859)is given in one of the many tributes following his death in 1932. "Mr Macdonald was in his 76th year,having been born at Fitzroy in 1857. His boyhood was spent in Keilor." (http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189120892)
EventMarriage Event registration number1017 Registration year1883
Personal information
Family nameSEWARD Given namesJessie SexFemale Spouse's family nameMCDONALD Spouse's given namesDonald Alaster
EventDeath Event registration number3349 Registration year1932
Personal information
Family nameMCDONALD Given namesDonald Alex SexUnknown Father's nameMcdonald Donald Mother's nameMargaret (Harris) Place of birth Place of deathBlack R Age75
MR DONALD MACDONALD DEAD
Mr Donald Macdonald, the well-known journalist, naturalist and author, died on November 23.
(P.6, Weekly Times, 26-11-1932.)
RAMBLING NEAR KEILOR AS A BOY.
IN THE ARUNDEL WARREN. RABBITS OR CHINCHILLAS?
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Saturday 13 October 1928 p 8 Article Illustrated
Donald's heroic deed was performed at Lorne which is mentioned in this article about early coach drivers and Donald's regard for them.
THE LATE DONALD MACDONALD. TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARGUS.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Friday 2 December 1932 p 7 Article
by itellya
Profile | 
Research |
Contact | Subscribe | Block this user on 2017-02-02 12:08:57
Itellya is researching local history on the Mornington Peninsula and is willing to help family historians with information about the area between Somerville and Blairgowrie. He has extensive information about Henry Gomm of Somerville, Joseph Porta (Victoria's first bellows manufacturer) and Captain Adams of Rosebud.
Comments
janilye on 2017-02-02 13:59:43Donald Alaster Macdonald (1859?-1932), journalist and Nature writer, was born probably on 6 June 1859 at Fitzroy, Melbourne, elder son of Donald Macdonald and his wife Margaret, née Harris. His father farmed near Keilor, but after their mother died Donald and his brother lived with an aunt in the town. He was educated at the local state school, becoming a pupil-teacher in 1876 before joining the Corowa Free Press and in 1881 the Melbourne Argus. On 26 February 1883 at Scots Church, Melbourne, he married Jessie Seward; their only daughter was born two years later.
janilye on 2017-02-02 14:03:11