Douglas Wilkie (1909 – 10 April 2002) was an Australian journalist, a respected columnist for ''

The Sun News-Pictorial ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' (known as ''The Sun'') was a morning daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, from 1922 until its merger in 1990 with ''The Herald (Melbourne), The H ...

''.

History

The son of travelling

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

an actors

Allan Wilkie Allan Wilkie CBE (9 February 1878 – 7 January 1970) was an English Shakespearean actor of Scottish descent noted for his career in Australia. Biography Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, he was educated at Liverpool High School and went to ...

and Frediswyde Hunter-Watts, he began his newspaper career as a copy boy with the ''

Hobart Mercury ''The'' ''Mercury'' is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd (DBL), a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of News Corp. The weekend issues of the paper are called ''Mercury on ...

''. This period was followed by

Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...

appointing him as

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

correspondent for '' The Herald''. By 1935 he was a foreign correspondent for ''The Herald'' in China, reporting on the Japanese "consolidation" of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

as the White Russians departed west. In 1942 he was in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, reporting for the Adelaide ''

Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

'' on the Japanese invasion, followed by Rangoon, Delhi, and London, from where he reported on

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

and the

Invasion of Europe Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. He was in Berlin to report on the Occupation and the post-war shortages. Around this time he was condemned in the Catholic press for criticising

General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

, for favoring peace with Russia and recognition of China, and preferring Moslem values to Christian. Wilkie is best remembered for his regular political commentary for ''

'' which he wrote during 1946–1986. His columns were syndicated across Australia, in Adelaide as "As I See It". He was notoriously critical of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

's obsession with

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. The

Douglas Wilkie Medal The Douglas Wilkie Medal is an award presented to those who do the least for Australian rules football, in the best and fairest manner. An accolade presented by the Anti-Football League, it is named after Douglas Wilkie, a ''Sun News-Pictorial'' ...

, a mock award of the

Anti-Football League The Anti-Football League is an Australian organisation that pokes fun at the obsession with Australian rules football. It was founded by Melbourne journalist Keith Dunstan in 1967. Origins The Anti-Football League was created in response to a ...

, was named in his honour.

References

Sources

*Obituary, ''Herald Sun'', 11 April 2002. *Obituary, ''The Age'', 18 April 2002.

External links

Interview with Wilkie by Mel Pratt (Sound recording) via National Library of Australia
1909 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Australian journalists The Mercury (Hobart) people {{Australia-journalist-stub