Ian McNamara , commonly known as "Macca", is an Australian radio presenter, singer-songwriter and producer, best known for hosting 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 ...

's long running radio program '' Australia All Over'' on the ABC Local Radio network.

Early life

McNamara graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

with a Bachelor of Economics degree before working as a jackaroo. In 1973 he played the guitar with

Col Joye Colin Frederick Jacobsen (born 13 April 1937), better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian pioneer rock singer-songwriter, musician and entrepreneur with a career spanning some sixty years. Joye was the first Australian rock and ...

and the Joy Boys.

Career

McNamara first joined the ABC in 1974, in the industrial relations department, but moved to the rural department two years later as a rural reporter. He then spent 12 months in television, working on ''

A Big Country ''A Big Country'' (1968 - 1991) was an Australian television documentary series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The series' purpose was to document life in rural Australia for the information of Australian city ...

'' and ''Countrywide'', before returning to rural radio in 1980 as a reporter and, eventually, the presenter of ''Australia All Over''. In 1984, he was appointed executive producer of the current affairs program ''City Extra'' (a 2BL current affairs show), but late in 1985 he returned to the Regional Radio Unit as executive producer of programs including ''Morning Extra'', ''Australia All Over'' and ''Resources''. Musically, his CD compilations include ''Australia All Over'' Volumes 1,2,3 (1987; 1988; 1989), ''Over The Top With Macca'' (1991), ''Macca Tracks'' (1993), ''Macca on air'' (1996), ''Macca by Request'' (two issues: 2002, 2004), and ''The Last Ten Years'' (2007). As an author, his work publications include ''Australia all over'' (1992), ''Australia all over. 2'' (1994), ''Macca's Australia: Australia all over'' (1997), ''On the Road with Macca'' (2003), ''Why I Live Where I Live'' (2005), and ''Australia all over: celebrating twenty-five years'' (2007) More recent publications include ''Say g'day: 'Australia all over' takes to the road'' (2010) and ''Australia all over: Song of the thong and other legendary verses'' (2011). He also co-authored two cookbooks with

Maggie Beer Maggie Beer (born Margaret Anne Ackerman, 19 January 1945) is an Australian chef, food author, restaurateur, and food manufacturer. Beer is one of the judges on '' The Great Australian Bake Off'' alongside Matt Moran and is also a regular gues ...

and Valli Little in 2006 and 2008.

Awards

In the 1994 Australia Day Honours, McNamara was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

(AM) for "service to the presentation and promotion of Australia's non-urban culture, through the radio programme ''Australia All Over''".

References

External links

''Australia All Over'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Ian Australian radio personalities Journalists from Sydney Living people Members of the Order of Australia 1951 births