David Keith McGill (born Auckland 1 December 1942) is a New Zealand writer and publisher.McGill, David Keith, ''New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001'', p. 601. He writes "thrillers, serious fiction, New Zealand history, dictionaries".New Zealand Book Council, David McGill
(Retrieved 1 February 2018)

Early life

McGill spent his early childhood in Matata, Bay of Plenty where his father was employed by the

New Zealand Post Office The New Zealand Post Office (NZPO) was a government department of New Zealand until 1987. It was previously (from 1881 to 1959) named the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department (NZ P&T). As a government department, the New Zealand Post Office ...

. Later, when McGill was 11,David McGill, ''The Other New Zealanders'', Mallinson Rendell, Wellington, 1982, pp. 9 and 10. the family shifted to Auckland (Evans Rd, Glen Eden, Auckland) when his father became a

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. The family later lived at Eastbourne, Wellington where his father was transferred.David McGill, ''I Almost Tackled Kel Tremain'', Silver Owl Press, 1996, pp. 20-79. McGill has said that he was inspired to start writing by his father and his first effort was a diary "in Form Two year" (he was 12) while on holiday at

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most pop ...

. It was co-authored by his father. McGill has said that as a teenager he was "moody and intense" and didn't have a clue what he could ever do.

Education

McGill received his secondary education from the Christian Brothers at St Peter's College, Grafton (1953-1957). He then studied for the Catholic priesthood (commencing at the age of 14) under the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Holy Name Seminary Holy Name Seminary was a Roman Catholic seminary staffed by the Society of Jesus established in New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1947 in Christchurch and closed at the end of 1978. Establishment With Holy Cross Co ...

in 1958 and 1959 which were also the final years in which that institution operated as a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

. McGill was greatly influenced by his time at the seminary and especially by the teaching of the seminary professor, Father Bernard O'Brien SJ (whose

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

was "Dim" because he was so intelligent). They each experienced instances as young men of near-drowning as formative experiences in their lives."Jesuit lecturer dies", ''Zealandia'', 17 January 1982, p. 3. However, in relation to his education, he has said that the Brothers at St Peter's College "were sadists. We just got belted. At the seminary the

humiliated the students with their words."Joseph Romanos, "The Wellington Interview: David McGill A man of words", ''The Wellingtonian'', 11 November 2010
(Retrieved 20 February 2013) McGill has said that going to the seminary was "a chance to get away from my parents and Auckland and go to Christchurch. It was an adventure. I was the last minor seminarian. Apparently, the dropout rate was 90 per cent." He has said that he was not particularly religious. "I was a solemn young chap, a bit of a loner, not much taken with group activities. I didn't fit in in the seminary. I was buying Playdate magazines, mainly to look at

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

's bum. I spent a lot of time playing snooker. They had a fantastic snooker room with a fullsize table and lots of brass, oak and mahogany. I spent so long there I was told I wasn't taking my vocation as a priest seriously. After two years I wanted to go to university. But I was only 16, so I had to wait another year." McGill later attended

Wellington Teachers College Wellington College of Education (formerly Wellington Teachers' Training College) was established in 1888 with the purpose of educating teachers in New Zealand. It became the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, formed from th ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. He spent six years (1967-1973) in Europe.

Career

He became a teacher and taught briefly at primary schools in Wellington ( Mt Cook School),

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

and

Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from ...

. He also worked in a wool store, and for the

Gear Meat Company Gear Meat Company was a meat processing company with a large works that operated in Petone, New Zealand from 1874 until 1981 and was one of the major employers in Petone. Foundation and early years The company was founded by James Gear, a bu ...

and became a seagull, a non-registered waterside worker. This enabled him to work on the wharf. McGill started writing at teachers' college. He edited "Stud-Op", short for "Student Opinion". He worked as a journalist for the ''

NZ Listener New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country b ...

'', ''

TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

'' (London) and '' The Bulletin'' (Sydney). He was a columnist for the '' Evening Post'' (Wellington). He has since 1990 been a full-time non-fiction writer covering a very broad range of New Zealand subjects from, for example, ethnic history to architecture. McGill has also written several novels. He has written more than 50 books.

Other initiatives

McGill was Chairman of Amnesty International NZ and was founder and first elected chairman of the

Wellington Civic Trust Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. His journalism awards include the Reed Literary Award for Environmental Journalism 1978 and the Cowan Memorial Prize in 1981.

References

External links