Mungo Wentworth MacCallum (21 December 1941 – 9 December 2020) was an Australian political journalist and commentator.
MacCallum was once described by
Gough Whitlam as a "tall, bearded descendant of lunatic aristocrats". His father,
Mungo Ballardie MacCallum (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 member for the seat of Wentworth in the
House of Representatives, where he was a vociferous exponent of
anti-communism, and of distinctive views on many other issues.
Early life
MacCallum was born in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
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. After leaving school, he went to the
University of Sydney, where he obtained a BA with
third-class honours.
Writing career
MacCallum was known for his strongly centre-left, pro-
Australian Labor Party 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
Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement.
Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
. From the 1970s to the 1990s he covered Australian federal politics from the
Canberra Press Gallery for ''
The Australian'', ''
The National Times'', ''
The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''
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 Rev ...
'' 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 (ABC) current affairs and news analysis program
The Drum, and for the magazine ''
The Monthly''. He appeared on Australia's national ''
Community Radio Network''; and contributed columns for the ''
Byron Shire Echo'' and ''
The Northern Star'', and cryptic crosswords for ''
The Saturday Paper''.
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 Minis ...
. 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 published ''War and Pieces:
John Howard'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. The matter was clarified within the hour but, within the same hour a trending hashta
#mungoliveshad 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,
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
, and
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
, and he died on 9 December 2020, aged 78.
References
Further reading
* Pratt, Mel (1973) ''Interview with Mungo Wentworth MacCallum, Federal political correspondent'' Mel Pratt collection at the National Library of Australia
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. booksEvolution Baby October 2005, ''
The Monthly'' 6
''The Vanishing. It wasn't the time, but he was the leader Labor had to have'' May 2005, ''
The Monthly'' 4
From Nation To Now May 2005, ''
The Monthly'' 1
''Girt By Sea: Australia, the Refugees and the Politics of Fear'' March 2002, ''Quarterly Essay'' 5
* ''
The Saturday Paper'
Contributors: Mungo MacCallum
External links
''The Monthly'' Articles by Mungo MacCallum for ''
The Monthly''
In Conversation Mungo MacCallum and Shane Maloney discuss the fall of
John Howard 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