Mungo Wentworth MacCallum (21 December 1941 – 9 December 2020) was an Australian political journalist and commentator. MacCallum was once described by

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the ...

as a "tall, bearded descendant of lunatic aristocrats". His father,

Mungo Ballardie MacCallum John Mungo Ballardie MacCallum (commonly known as Mungo Ballardie MacCallum, 11 December 1913 – 12 July 1999) was an Australian journalist, broadcaster and poet. Early life MacCallum was born in Point Piper, Sydney on 11 December 1913. His ...

(1913–1999), was a journalist and pioneer of television in Australia, and his great-grandfather, Sir Mungo MacCallum (1854-1942), had been a prominent scholar and university administrator. Mungo MacCallum. His mother, Diana Wentworth, was a great-granddaughter of the Australian explorer and politician William Charles Wentworth (1790–1872). Her brother, William Charles Wentworth IV (1907–2003), was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for the seat of Wentworth in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, where he was a vociferous exponent of

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

, and of distinctive views on many other issues.

Early life

MacCallum was born in Sydney and educated at the elite Cranbrook School, a short walk from where he lived with his parents next door to his grandmother's house in Wentworth Street,

Point Piper Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra. Point Piper has been historically r ...

. After leaving school, he went to 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 ...

, where he obtained a BA with

third-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

Writing career

MacCallum was known for his strongly centre-left, pro-

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

views, being critical both of the conservative Liberal and National Parties, and of the far left (e.g., communists) who attacked Labor for its cautious reformism. From the 1970s to the 1990s he covered Australian federal politics from the

Canberra Press Gallery The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the A ...

for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', ''

The National Times ''The National Times'', later ''National Times on Sunday'', was a weekly newspaper published by Fairfax News from 1971 to 1986. Background The paper quickly developed a reputation for accurate investigative journalism, winning four consecutive ...

'', ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', ''

Nation Review ''Nation Review'' was an Australian Sunday newspaper, which ceased publication in 1981. It was launched in 1972 after independent publisher Gordon Barton bought out Tom Fitzgerald's ''Nation'' publication and merged it with his own ''Sunday Revi ...

'' and radio stations 2JJ / Triple J and

2SER 2SER is a community radio station in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, broadcasting on the frequency 107.3 FM and is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. The station is largely self-supporting, relying upon revenue ...

. During the 1980s he moved to Ocean Shores, on the north coast of New South Wales. He continued to write political commentary, notably for 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 ...

(ABC) current affairs and news analysis program The Drum, and for the magazine ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

''. He appeared on Australia's national '' Community Radio Network''; and contributed columns for the '' Byron Shire Echo'' and ''

The Northern Star ''The Northern Star'' is a daily newspaper serving Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia. ''The Northern Star'' is circulated to Lismore and surrounding communities, from Tweed Heads to the nort ...

'', and cryptic crosswords for ''

The Saturday Paper ''The Saturday Paper'' is an Australian weekly newspaper, launched on 1 March 2014 in hard copy, as an online newspaper and in mobile news format. The paper is circulated throughout Australian capital cities and major regional centres. Since ...

''. He was the author of several books, including ''Run, Johnny, Run'', written after the

2004 Australian federal election The 2004 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 9 October 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minist ...

. His autobiographical narrative of the Australian political scene, ''Mungo: the man who laughs'', has been reprinted four times. ''How To Be A Megalomaniac or, Advice to a Young Politician'' was published in 2002, and ''Political Anecdotes'' was published in 2003. In December 2004,

Duffy & Snellgrove Duffy & Snellgrove is a small, independent publishing house founded in Australia in 1996 by journalist Michael Duffy and his wife Alex Snellgrove. Since November 2005, the company has stopped publishing new works, although they continue to publ ...

published ''War and Pieces:

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

's last election''. On 8 September 2014 a minor sensation was caused when a false report of his death was placed in a tweet on the social media site

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. The matter was clarified within the hour but, within the same hour a trending hashta
#mungolives
had sprung up on the same site. On 2 December 2020, MacCallum announced on the website "Pearls and Irritations" that, due to deteriorating health, he was finishing his journalistic career. He was suffering from

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

, prostate cancer, and heart disease, and he died on 9 December 2020, aged 78.

References

Bibliography

''Punch and Judy: The Double Disillusion Election Of 2010''
Penguin Books
Australian Story: Kevin Rudd and the Lucky Country
''Quarterly Essay'' 36 December 2009,
''Poll Dancing''
December 2007
Black Inc. books

Evolution Baby
October 2005, ''

'' 6
''The Vanishing. It wasn't the time, but he was the leader Labor had to have''
May 2005, ''

'' 4
From Nation To Now
May 2005, ''

'' 1
''Girt By Sea: Australia, the Refugees and the Politics of Fear''
March 2002, ''Quarterly Essay'' 5 * ''

'

Contributors: Mungo MacCallum

External links

''The Monthly''
Articles by Mungo MacCallum for ''

''
In Conversation
Mungo MacCallum and Shane Maloney discuss the fall of

and Mungo's account of the campaign, ''Poll Dancing'' published b
Black Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccallum, Mungo Wentworth 1941 births 2020 deaths Australian Book Review people Australian political journalists University of Sydney alumni People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney

Early life

Writing career

References

Further reading

Bibliography

External links