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David McRobbie David McRobbie i(A3075 works by) (a.k.a. David Hewitt McRobbie)
Born: Established: 1934 Glasgow,
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Scotland,
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United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe, ;
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: 1958
Heritage: Scottish
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BiographyHistory

McRobbie came from a poor family of five children who were evacuated during World War II down the Scottish coast to Ayr. In 1958, McRobbie moved to Australia and worked as an apprentice marine fitter and a ship's engineer. He trained as a primary-school teacher in Papua New Guinea and worked as a college lecturer and parliamentary researcher there.

McRobbie is also a scriptwriter and producer of children's radio and television programs for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He wrote the scripts for the successful television series The Wayne Manifesto based on his series of books about twelve-year-old Wayne Wilson. McRobbie also wrote for reading schemes and contributed material on creative writing for schools. He is a full-time writer and lives in Brisbane, Queensland.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Vinnie's War Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2011 Z1795647 2011 single work children's fiction children's

'Just then came: crump, CRUMP, CRUMP! Three bombs in quick succession, coming frighteningly close. With each explosion, the ground shook. Dust and chips fell from the ceiling. Everyone in the shelter gasped at the same time. Vinnie held his breath, waiting for the fourth bomb, but it didn't come.

'When Vinnie is sent away from the bombs in London, he has no idea what awaits him. All he has left of his old life is his harmonica. On the train, Vinnie meets fierce Kathleen, sweet Joey and gangly Dobbs. The evacuee children find themselves thrown together in the country town of Netterfold, which seems beautiful and peaceful - until they meet the locals.

'There is a war raging across Europe, but Vinnie and his friends soon find they have their own war to fight as they face up to terrifying teachers, bad billets, and hostile neighbourhood kids who set out to make their lives as 'vaccies' miserable. And when things start to go missing, they discover that there are mysteries lurking in Netterfold's shadows, just waiting to be solved...

'Through music and friendship, can Vinnie make peace and finally find a place where he belongs?'  (Publication summary)
2012 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards — Best Language Development Book for Upper Primary Children (2003-2013)
y separately published work icon Mum, Me, the 19C Pymble : Angus and Robertson , 2002 Z959622 2002 single work novel young adult adventure ' Cara Gillespie and her mother are transported back in time to 1840s Australia after visiting a "living" museum. They need to get back to Dad, who is waiting in the car park in the Mitsubishi, but before they can do so, there are funny and frightening adventures to be faced.' (Libraries Australia record).
2002 shortlisted Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction — Young Adult Division — Best Novel
y separately published work icon Tyro Ringwood : Penguin , 1999 Z419145 1999 single work novel young adult 'In 1953 in Scotland, sixteen-year-old Andrew is eager to begin his apprenticeship as a ship's engineer at the Dalrossan Dockyard but soon realizes that his new workplace is full of unwritten rules and dangerous undercurrents and that he cannot tell his friends from his enemies.' University of Queensland Library record.
2000 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
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Last amended 27 Sep 2012 13:02:51
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