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Lorna McDonald

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Australian historian and author

Lorna McDonald (OAM)
Born(1916-08-10)10 August 1916
Portland, Victoria
Died25 June 2017(2017-06-25) (aged 100)
NationalityAustralian
EducationUniversity of Queensland
Alma materCentral Queensland University
SpouseHugh McDonald
ChildrenDonal, Roger, and Gavin
AwardsOrder of Australia, John Douglas Kerr Medal of Distinction
Scientific career
FieldsHistory
Thesis (1985)

Lorna Lorraine McDonald OAM (née Bucknall; 10 August 1916 – 25 June 2017) was an Australian historian and author.

Early life

McDonald was born at Portland, Victoria in 1916 and attended school at Mount Gambier, South Australia.

She married Hugh Fraser McDonald (1909–81), a Presbyterian minister, at the Presbyterian Church in Drik Drik, Victoria in 1938. They had three sons Donal, Roger and Gavin, all born and educated in NSW. McDonald and her husband moved to Rockhampton, Queensland in 1963.

Professional career

Academic achievements

Once McDonald moved to Rockhampton, she began studying externally, completing degrees from the University of Queensland.

In 1975, McDonald gained a master's degree after publishing a thesis on land settlement in the Port Curtis and Leichhardt districts of Queensland. Ten years later, McDonald received a PhD for her thesis on the history of the Central Queensland cattle industry.

In 2000, McDonald was awarded Doctor of Letters from Central Queensland University.

Writing

In 1981, McDonald released the first of more than twenty books which are all related to the history of Central Queensland with the first publication entitled Rockhampton: A history of city & district which explored in detail the history of the region.

Her 2011 publication, Treasures in a Tea Tin was based on her discovery of an old tea tin that contained a collection of old letters, postcards, photos and artworks that were written to Joan Archer while she was away in England. McDonald found the tea tin in the 1990s while she was doing unrelated research about the Archer brothers.

After celebrating her 100th birthday in 2016, McDonald relaunched The Moving Mind: The life of Henry Arthur Kellow (1881–1935) a biography of Rockhampton Grammar School principal Henry Kellow, originally published in 1981. At the relaunch of the book, McDonald admitted she wasn't interested in writing another book, but was reading books about geology and biology as she liked to read things about subjects that she had not yet studied.

Criticism of Q150 shortlist

In 2009, McDonald openly questioned why various landmarks in Central Queensland had failed to be shortlisted for the "Queensland's Top 150 Icons" list, compiled as part of the Q150 sesquicentenary celebrations, after the Queensland Government invited the public to nominate their favourite Queensland landmarks for the list. McDonald said she was surprised that the Fitzroy River, Customs House and the Mount Morgan Mine didn't manage to secure a place amongst the other 300 landmarks that were shortlisted for the final Top 150 list.

Bibliography

Author

  • Rockhampton: A History of City & District (1981)
  • Sketches of old Rockhampton (1981) (Illustrated by Edith Neish, Text by Lorna McDonald)
  • Henry Arthur Kellow, 1881–1935 (1981)
  • Cattle Country: The Beef Cattle Industry in Central Queensland, 1850s–1980s (1988)
  • Gladstone: The city that waited (1988)
  • A Proud Name: Rees R & Sydney Jones (1989)
  • Great Traditions: St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Rockhampton, 1861–1994 (1994)
  • Rockhampton: A History of City & District (Second Edition) (1995)
  • Magic Ships: Life Story of Colin Archer (1997)
  • That's Sport! A History of the Frenchville Sports Club, 1948–1998 (1998)
  • Delving into the Past: The Jubilee History of Rockhampton & District Historical Society, 1948–1998 (1998)
  • Over Earth and Ocean: The Archers of Tolderodden and Gracemere – a Norse-Australian Saga, 1819–1965 (1999)
  • West of Matilda: Life in Outback Queensland, 1890s to 1990s (2001)
  • Capricornia Queensland: A heritage sketchbook (2001) (Illustrated by Edith Neish, Text by Lorna McDonald)
  • Success Through Worthy Service: Anderson's City Printing Works, 1903–2003 (2003)
  • Rockhampton's Heritage Walk: Take 10,000 Steps (2005)
  • Tartan over Capricornia: Scottish Immigrants in Central Queensland (2006) (co-authored with Sue Smith)
  • Treasures in a Tea Tin (2011)
  • A Proud Name: Rees R & Sydney Jones (Second Edition) (2014) (co-authored with Robert Macfarlane)
  • The Moving Mind: The Life of Henry Arthur Kellow, 1881–1935 (Second Edition) (2016)

Editor

  • Letters of Australian pioneer family, 1827–1880; The Generation of Gittins and Sarah Bucknall, 1797–1880 (1984) Edited and Introduced by Graeme Bucknall and Lorna McDonald
  • Sin, Sweat & Sorrow: The Making of Capricornia Queensland, 1840s–1940s (1993) Edited by Liz Huf, Lorna McDonald and David Myers
  • Sin, Sweat & Sorrow: The Making of Capricornia Queensland, 1840s–1940s (Second Edition) (1999) Edited by Liz Huf, Lorna McDonald and David Myers

Oral projects

  • Mary Bradford interview (1982)
  • Sidney Robinson interview (1982)
  • Hamish Spence interview (1982)
  • Mona Collins interview (1982)
  • Tom Collins interview (1983)
  • William Power interview (1985)

Lorna McDonald Collection

In 2013, McDonald donated 22 boxes to the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland, consisting of her collection of diaries, research notes, photographs and personal papers which she had accumulated during her research between 1963 and 2013.

Recognition

In 1995, McDonald was awarded an Order of Australia medal. In 2007, McDonald was presented with the Royal Historical Society of Queensland's John Douglas Kerr Medal of Distinction. Since her death, McDonald's work in collecting, interpreting, and writing the history of the Central Queensland has been celebrated with the annual Arts Central Queensland Lorna McDonald Essay Prize.

Death

McDonald died on 25 June 2017. Rockhampton mayor Margaret Strelow said that the city's councillors were very saddened at hearing the news of McDonald's death, and said the contribution she had made in both preserving and recording the history of Central Queensland will leave a legacy of which McDonald's family should be proud.

References

  1. ^ Author takes a well-deserved break, Kara Paradies, The Morning Bulletin, 2 December 2011; retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. Wedding Bells: McDonald-Bucknall, Portland Guardian, 17 November 1938. Retrieved 7 March 2017
  3. Words of Wisdom from Centenarian Dr Lorna McDonald, Jacquie Mackay, Breakfast with Jacquie Mackay, ABC Capricornia, 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  4. ^ Lorna McDonald Collection: Biographical Notes, UQ Library, University of Queensland, 2013. Accessed 7 March 2017
  5. ^ Lorna McDonald, Central Queensland Centenarian: Rockhampton social historian Lorna McDonald OAM is 100 today, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, 10 August 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  6. Land settlement in the northern districts of Port Curtis and Leichhardt, 1835–1869, Lorna Lorraine McDonald, 1975.
  7. A history of the beef cattle industry in the Fitzroy region of Central Queensland, 1850s–1970s, Lorna Lorraine McDonald, 1985.
  8. Treasures in a Tea Tin, Jacquie Mackay, Breakfast with Jacquie Mackay, ABC Capricornia, 2 December 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  9. ^ The woman who knows plenty of Rockhampton's secrets, Michelle Gately, The Morning Bulletin, 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  10. Education and a Shooting, Michelle Gately, The Morning Bulletin, 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  11. Historian questions icons list, The Morning Bulletin, 23 February 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  12. Rockhampton: A History of City & District catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  13. Sketches of old Rockhampton catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  14. Henry Arthur Kellow catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  15. Cattle Country catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  16. Gladstone: The city that waited catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  17. A Proud Name catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  18. Great Traditions catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  19. Rockhampton: A History of City & District catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  20. Magic Ships catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  21. That's Sport! catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  22. Delving into the Past catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  23. Over Earth and Ocean catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  24. West of Matilda catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  25. Capricornia Queensland: A heritage sketchbook catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  26. Success Through Worthy Service catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  27. Rockhampton's Heritage Walk catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  28. Tartan over Capricornia catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  29. Treasures in a Tea Tin catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  30. A Proud Name catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  31. The Moving Mind catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  32. Letters of Australian pioneer family catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  33. Sin, Sweat & Sorrow catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  34. Sin, Sweat & Sorrow catalogue record, National Library of Australia
  35. Mary Bradford interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
  36. Sidney Robinson interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
  37. Hamish Spence interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
  38. Mona Collins interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
  39. Tom Collins interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
  40. William Power interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
  41. Arts Central Queensland website: https://artscqinc.org.au/lorna-mcdonald-essay-competition/?doing_wp_cron=1617925335.3793239593505859375000
  42. Death notice: McDonald, Dr Lorna Lorraine OAM, Tributes, finda Classifieds, page 32, The Morning Bulletin, 26 June 2017. Accessed 26 June 2017.
  43. Tributes flow after respected Rockhampton woman dies, Michelle Gately, The Morning Bulletin, 26 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
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