Mungo Wentworth MacCallum
Mungo Wentworth MacCallum | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 December 1941 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 9 December 2020 (aged 78) Ocean Shores, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Political journalist and commentator |
| Spouse | Jenny Garrett |
Mungo Wentworth MacCallum (21 December 1941[1] – 9 December 2020) was an Australian political journalist and commentator.
Biography
He was the son of Mungo Ballardie MacCallum (1913–1999), a journalist and pioneer of television in Australia, and Diana Wentworth, a great-granddaughter of the Australian explorer and politician William Charles Wentworth (1790–1872). MacCallum's father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were also called Mungo MacCallum. He was a nephew of William Charles Wentworth IV (1907–2003), who was a Liberal member of the House of Representatives (1949–1977) and a strident anti-communist. MacCallum and his uncle, while agreeing on certain questions, were fundamentally of different political inclinations. He was once described by Gough Whitlam as a "tall, bearded descendant of lunatic aristocrats".[2]
MacCallum was born in Sydney and educated at the elite Cranbrook School, a short walk from where he lived with his mother and father in his grandmother's house in Wentworth Street, Point Piper. After leaving school, he went to the University of Sydney, where he obtained a BA with third-class honours.
Writing career
MacCallum was also known for his strongly centre-left, pro-Australian Labor Party views, being critical both of the conservative Liberal and National Parties, and of the far left (e.g., communists) who attack Labor for its cautious reformism. From the 1970s to the 1990s he covered Australian federal politics from the Canberra Press Gallery for The Australian, The National Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Nation Review and radio stations 2JJ / Triple J and 2SER. He wrote political commentary for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) current affairs and news analysis program The Drum,[3] frequently wrote for the magazine The Monthly, and contributed political commentary to Australia's national Community Radio Network, columns for the Byron Shire Echo and The Northern Star, and a weekly cryptic crossword for The Saturday Paper.
He also authored several books, including Run, Johnny, Run, written after the 2004 Australian federal election. His autobiographical narrative of the Australian political scene, Mungo: the man who laughs – has been reprinted four times. How To Be A Megalomaniac or, Advice to a Young Politician was published in 2002, and Political Anecdotes was published in 2003. In December 2004, Duffy & Snellgrove published War and Pieces: John Howard's last election.In 1986 Hutchinson of Australia published his memoirs/autobiography 'Plankton's Luck: A Life on Retrospect'(ISBN 0 09 157350 5), which contains some of his poems and an account of his W WII job editing a journal called 'SALT' written for and by Australian Sea, Air and Land Troops which MacCallum felt was his most worthwhile achievement but which was defunded after the war despite many appeals from returned Servicemen and women who felt they had found a voice for their political, ideological and literary interests.
On 8 September 2014 a minor sensation was caused when the misinformation of his death was placed in a tweet on the social media site Twitter.[4] The matter was clarified within the hour but, equally within the same hour, a trending hashtag #mungolives had sprung up on the same site.
On 2 December 2020, MacCallum announced on the website "Pearls and Irritations" that, due to deteriorating health, he was finishing his journalistic career.[5] He had throat cancer and prostate cancer and also suffered a heart attack before his death.[6] MacCallum died on 9 December 2020, aged 78.[7][8]
MacCallum was a resident of Ocean Shores, on the north coast of New South Wales.
References
- ^ Austlit Public Author Browse
- ^ Mike Seccombe, "Watcher full of wry", Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald, 10–11 November 2001, p. 13
- ^ "Mungo MacCallum". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ Reports of Mungo MacCallum's death greatly exaggerated . Sydney Morning Herald , 8 September 2014.
- ^ McCallum, Mungo. "That's all she wrote". Pearls and Irritations. John Menadue. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Mungo MacCallum, veteran journalist and commentator, dies aged 78". ABC.Au. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Vale Mungo MacCallum". Crikey Worm. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- ^ Ross, Hannah; Shoebridge, Joanne (10 December 2020). "Mungo MacCallum, veteran journalist and commentator, dies aged 78". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 11 December 2020.
Further reading
- Pratt, Mel (1973) Interview with Mungo Wentworth MacCallum, Federal political correspondent Mel Pratt collection at the National Library of Australia
Bibliography
- Punch and Judy: The Double Disillusion Election Of 2010 Penguin Books ISBN 978-1-86395-511-9
- Australian Story: Kevin Rudd and the Lucky Country, Quarterly Essay 36 December 2009, ISBN 978-1-86395-457-0
- Poll Dancing, December 2007, Black Inc. books
- Evolution Baby, October 2005, The Monthly 6
- The Vanishing. It wasn't the time, but he was the leader Labor had to have, May 2005, The Monthly 4
- From Nation To Now, May 2005, The Monthly 1
- Girt By Sea: Australia, the Refugees and the Politics of Fear, March 2002, Quarterly Essay 5 ISBN 978-1-86395-123-4
- The Saturday Paper [1] Contributors: Mungo MacCallum
External links
- The Monthly. Articles by Mungo MacCallum for The Monthly
- In Conversation: Mungo MacCallum and Shane Maloney discuss the fall of John Howard and Mungo's account of the campaign, Poll Dancing published by Black Inc.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
