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Ronald McKie Ronald McKie i(A12552 works by) (a.k.a. Ronald Cecil Hamlyn McKie; R. C. H. McKie)
Born: Established: 11 Dec 1909 Toowoomba, Toowoomba area, Darling Downs, Queensland, ; Died: Ceased: 8 May 1991
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Ronald McKie was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, and was educated at the Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland. McKie worked as a journalist on newspapers in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore and China. During World War II he served with the AIF for a short time (1942-1943) before becoming a war correspondent for the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard. After the war he worked for the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

Between 1950 and 1980 McKie wrote a number of books on the war, including Proud Echo (1953) and Echoes from Forgotten Wars (1980), as well as several books on the Asian region, including Malaysia in Focus (1963) and Singapore (1972). McKie is also highly regarded for his works of fiction. He is best-known for The Mango Tree (1974), an award-winning account of his boyhood in Bundaberg, Queensland.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Mango Tree Sydney : Collins , 1974 Z531098 1974 single work novel 'The Mango Tree is an evocative journey into a long-lost Australian childhood. It is a novel about a young man growing up in a country town in the early years of the 20th century which, like a faded letter from a forgotten lover, evokes bitter-sweet memories of the dream-days of youth in a world long past.
'As we follow Jamie through the joys and pains of growing up, a magic quality in the writing unlocks our own memories of childhood and adolescence so that we share with him again the delights of Christmas in the country, the sounds of the circus, the scent of horses, the tender fumblings of first love, the shock of sudden death. This magical tour takes us through the town from Comino's Café to the Royal hotel, from the great mango tree of the title to the quiet river with its island of petrified gum-trees. We meet Grandmother in her grey dress, stern but kindly; the Professor, a remittance man who drinks to escape a nameless past but who still has his moments of glory; poor, fated Maudie, the 'town bike', and her demonic guardian, Preacher Jones, ranting hell-fire and damnation to a terrible end; these and many more. A nostalgic book full of laughter and tears, to be swallowed at a sitting, or savoured slowly with delight. A tender, lyrical book.' (Publication summary)
1974 joint winner The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards — Barbara Ramsden Award
1974 winner Miles Franklin Literary Award
VIEW ALL AWARDS

Known archival holdings

Albinski 144-145
Last amended 19 Nov 2013 18:15:10
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