Gladys Edith McKay (20 February 1891 – 30 January 1963) was an Australian writer.
[Author: Edith McKay]
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. Accessed 20 August 2018.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, McKay volunteered as a nurse and was sent overseas to
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
and
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
with the
Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service
The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr. Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...
.
McKay is best known for her 1947
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
"''The House of Winston Blaker"''.
''"The House of Winston Blaker"'' received mostly positive reviews nationally and was later adapted by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
as a
radio serial
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
.
McKay was also known for her
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
, written under the name of Edith Dithmack.
[ More than 120 of McKay's short stories were broadcast on ABC Radio in the 1940s.
In 1949, McKay won the ABC's short story competition in 1949 for ''Faith''.][(12 July 1949]
Boonah woman wins competition
, ''Queensland Times
''The Queensland Times'' is an online newspaper serving Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich and surrounds in Queensland, Australia. The newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia. The circulation of ''The Queensland Times'' is 10,804 Monday to Friday a ...
''. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 20 August 2018.
ABC Radio adapted another of McKay's works into a serial format in 1952. ''Unborn Tomorrow'', inspired by the history of Kanaka labour on the Queensland sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
fields, was aired from Monday to Friday at 8:45am.
McKay was born in Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
, and worked as a solicitor's clerk in Bundaberg
Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...
before settling in the Boonah district.[(13 June 1946]
Our Contributors: E. Dithmack
'' Western Mail''. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 20 August 2018.[
]
See also
* Agnes Bennett
Agnes Elizabeth Lloyd Bennett (24 June 1872 – 27 November 1960) was a New Zealand doctor, a Chief Medical Officer of a World War I medical unit and later was awarded an O.B.E. for her services in improving the health of women and children.
...
* Mabel Atkinson
* Elsie Inglis
Eliza Maud "Elsie" Inglis (16 August 1864 – 26 November 1917) was a Scottish doctor, surgeon, teacher, Women's suffrage, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, Scottish Women's Hospitals. She was the ...
* Jessie Ann Scott
Jessie Ann Scott (9 August 1883 – 15 August 1959) was a New Zealand medical doctor, medical officer and prisoner of war.
Early life
Jessie Scott was born in Brookside, North Canterbury, New Zealand, in 1883 and attended Christchurch Gir ...
* Olive Kelso King
Olive May Kelso King (30 June 1885 – 1 November 1958) was an adventurer and mountain climber. During World War I she drove ambulances for the Scottish Women's Hospitals and later the Serbian Army. In the final stages of the war she raised ...
* Mary de Garis
Mary Clementina De Garis (16 December 1881 – 18 November 1963) was an Australian medical doctor. During World War I she worked at the Ostrovo Unit in Serbia for the Scottish Women's Hospitals and after the war worked at Geelong Hospital i ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Edith
1891 births
1963 deaths
People from Rockhampton
20th-century Australian women writers
20th-century Australian writers