John Valentine (Jack) MacDonald (14 February 1880 – 17 August 1937) was a New Zealand-born Australian politician. MacDonald was born in Opotiki, New Zealand, the son of an Australian volunteer in the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

and veteran of the

1891 Australian shearers' strike The 1891 shearers' strike is one of Australia's earliest and most important industrial disputes. The dispute was primarily between Trade union, unionised and non-unionised wool workers. It resulted in the formation of large camps of striking work ...

. He completed his early education in New Zealand before his family migrated to New South Wales, whereafter he attended state schools. He spent time as a shearer in New South Wales and Victoria before returning to New Zealand and entering the printing trade. He began as a journeyman compositor, but shifted into journalism over time, working for the ''Wairoa Guardian'' and the Napier-based ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' before rising to become chief compositor and acting editor of the ''

Gisborne Herald ''The Gisborne Herald'' is the daily evening newspaper for Gisborne and environs. It is one of only four independently owned daily newspapers in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacifi ...

''. He was also involved in the Typographical Association in its early days and taught shorthand at the Gisborne Technical College in 1903–04. MacDonald later returned to Australia and worked as a journalist at '' The Argus'' and then ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' in

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 ...

, including a stint in the

parliamentary press gallery The Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery (french: Tribune de la presse parlementaire) is an association established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill. The organization was formed in 1866 by Tho ...

. He was one of the founding members of the

Australian Journalists Association The Australian Journalists Association (AJA) was an Australian trade union for journalists from 1910–1992. In 1913 the Australian Journalists' Association merged with the Australian Writers' and Artists' Union. This union had been formed in 1 ...

in 1910, spent time in London and studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, before returning to Australia. He was then recruited as editor of the new

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

newspaper '' The Daily Standard'' in 1912, serving in that role until his appointment to the Senate and also serving as acting manager in 1913–14. He was involved in campaigning against the conscription referendums of

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

, but in 1918 was one of 12 newspaper editors selected by the Nationalist Party government to visit the World War I front. On 26 May 1922, he was appointed to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Senator for Queensland, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Senator John Adamson; he had already been preselected as a Labor candidate for the forthcoming election. However, he was defeated at the 1922 election. MacDonald worked as a freelance journalist in the intervening years. Following the death of another Nationalist Senator,

Thomas Givens Henry Thomas Givens (12 June 1864 – 19 June 1928) was an Australian politician. He served as a Senator for Queensland from 1904 until his death in 1928 and was President of the Senate from 1913 to 1926. He began his career in the Australian ...

, MacDonald was again appointed to the Senate on 1 August 1928 but was defeated again at the 1928 election. He then worked as chief compiler for the Queensland Tourist Bureau, promoting the state's tourist opportunities. MacDonald was finally elected in his own right in the election of 1931, taking his place in the Senate in 1932. He died in office in 1937 after suffering reported "heart trouble" and was cremated at

Mount Thompson Crematorium Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium (formerly Brisbane Crematorium) includes a heritage-listed chapel (the West Chapel), columbaria and other features. It is located on north-western slopes of Mount Thompson in Brisbane, Australia. ...

References

Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate 1880 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians The Argus (Melbourne) people People from Ōpōtiki {{Australia-Labor-senator-stub