Lorna Lorraine McDonald (née Bucknall; 10 August 1916 – 25 June 2017) was an Australian historian and author.
Early life McDonald was born at Portland, Victoria in 1916 and attended school at Mount Gambier, South Australia.Author takes a well-deserved break, Kara Paradies, The Morning Bulletin, 2 December 2011; retrieved 7 March 2017.
She married Hugh Fraser McDonald (1909–81), a Presbyterian minister, at the Presbyterian Church in Drik Drik, Victoria in 1938.Wedding Bells: McDonald-Bucknall, Portland Guardian, 17 November 1938. Retrieved 7 March 2017 They had three sons Donal, Roger and Gavin, all born and educated in NSW.Words of Wisdom from Centenarian Dr Lorna McDonald, Jacquie Mackay, Breakfast with Jacquie Mackay, ABC Capricornia, 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017. McDonald and her husband moved to Rockhampton, Queensland in 1963.Lorna McDonald Collection: Biographical Notes, UQ Library, University of Queensland, 2013. Accessed 7 March 2017
Professional career Academic achievements Once McDonald moved to Rockhampton, she began studying externally, completing degrees from the University of Queensland.Lorna McDonald, Central Queensland Centenarian: Rockhampton social historian Lorna McDonald OAM is 100 today, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, 10 August 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
In 1975, McDonald gained a master's degree after publishing a thesisLand settlement in the northern districts of Port Curtis and Leichhardt, 1835–1869, Lorna Lorraine McDonald, 1975. on land settlement in the Port Curtis and Leichhardt districts of Queensland. Ten years later, McDonald received a PhD for her thesisA history of the beef cattle industry in the Fitzroy region of Central Queensland, 1850s–1970s, Lorna Lorraine McDonald, 1985. on the history of the Central Queensland cattle industry.
In 2000, McDonald was awarded Doctor of Letters from Central Queensland University.
Writing In 1981, McDonald released the first of more than twenty books which are all related to the history of Central Queensland with the first publication entitled Rockhampton: A history of city & district which explored in detail the history of the region.
McDonald's 2011 publication, Treasures in a Tea Tin was based on her discovery of an old tea tin that contained a collection of old letters, postcards, photos and artworks that were written to Joan Archer while she was away in England. McDonald found the tea tin in the 1990s while she was doing unrelated research about the Archer brothers.Treasures in a Tea Tin, Jacquie Mackay, Breakfast with Jacquie Mackay, ABC Capricornia, 2 December 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
After celebrating her 100th birthday in 2016, McDonald relaunched The Moving Mind: The life of Henry Arthur Kellow (1881–1935)The woman who knows plenty of Rockhampton's secrets, Michelle Gately, The Morning Bulletin, 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017. a biography of Rockhampton Grammar School principal Henry Kellow, originally published in 1981.Education and a Shooting, Michelle Gately, The Morning Bulletin, 15 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017. At the relaunch of the book, McDonald admitted she wasn't interested in writing another book, but was reading books about geology and biology as she liked to read things about subjects that she had not yet studied. Later examples of her research have been noted for factual inaccuracies, particularly in the second edition of her heritage walk publication, which contained discrepancies regarding the origins of the Majestic Cafe. McDonald attributed the establishment and legacy of the cafe to post-WWII Greek immigrants who she claimed replaced the previous operators in the 1950s. However, archival records from the Morning Bulletin between 1913 and 1954 demonstrate that the venue on East Street, located next to James Stewart & Co., was originally built and operated by the Wotley family. The premises initially opened as "Cafe Beautiful" on Tuesday, 27 March 1934, before being officially rebranded by the Wotleys as "Cafe Majestic" in 1937.
Criticism of Q150 shortlist In 2009, McDonald openly questioned why various landmarks in Central Queensland had failed to be shortlisted for the "Queensland's Top 150 Icons" list, compiled as part of the Q150 sesquicentenary celebrations, after the Queensland Government invited the public to nominate their favourite Queensland landmarks for the list. McDonald said she was surprised that the Fitzroy River, Customs House and the Mount Morgan Mine didn't manage to secure a place amongst the other 300 landmarks that were shortlisted for the final Top 150 list.Historian questions icons list, The Morning Bulletin, 23 February 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
Bibliography Author Rockhampton: A History of City & District (1981)Rockhampton: A History of City & District catalogue record, National Library of Australia Sketches of old Rockhampton (1981) (Illustrated by Edith Neish, Text by Lorna McDonald)Sketches of old Rockhampton catalogue record, National Library of Australia Henry Arthur Kellow, 1881–1935 (1981)Henry Arthur Kellow catalogue record, National Library of Australia Cattle Country: The Beef Cattle Industry in Central Queensland, 1850s–1980s (1988)Cattle Country catalogue record, National Library of Australia Gladstone: The city that waited (1988)Gladstone: The city that waited catalogue record, National Library of Australia A Proud Name: Rees R & Sydney Jones (1989)A Proud Name catalogue record, National Library of Australia Great Traditions: St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Rockhampton, 1861–1994 (1994)Great Traditions catalogue record, National Library of Australia Rockhampton: A History of City & District (Second Edition) (1995)Rockhampton: A History of City & District catalogue record, National Library of Australia Magic Ships: Life Story of Colin Archer (1997)Magic Ships catalogue record, National Library of Australia That's Sport! A History of the Frenchville Sports Club, 1948–1998 (1998)That's Sport! catalogue record, National Library of Australia Delving into the Past: The Jubilee History of Rockhampton & District Historical Society, 1948–1998 (1998)Delving into the Past catalogue record, National Library of Australia Over Earth and Ocean: The Archers of Tolderodden and Gracemere – a Norse-Australian Saga, 1819–1965 (1999)Over Earth and Ocean catalogue record, National Library of Australia West of Matilda: Life in Outback Queensland, 1890s to 1990s (2001)West of Matilda catalogue record, National Library of Australia Capricornia Queensland: A heritage sketchbook (2001) (Illustrated by Edith Neish, Text by Lorna McDonald)Capricornia Queensland: A heritage sketchbook catalogue record, National Library of Australia Success Through Worthy Service: Anderson's City Printing Works, 1903–2003 (2003)Success Through Worthy Service catalogue record, National Library of Australia Rockhampton's Heritage Walk: Take 10,000 Steps (2005)Rockhampton's Heritage Walk catalogue record, National Library of Australia Tartan over Capricornia: Scottish Immigrants in Central Queensland (2006) (co-authored with Sue Smith)Tartan over Capricornia catalogue record, National Library of Australia Treasures in a Tea Tin (2011)Treasures in a Tea Tin catalogue record, National Library of Australia A Proud Name: Rees R & Sydney Jones (Second Edition) (2014) (co-authored with Robert Macfarlane)A Proud Name catalogue record, National Library of Australia The Moving Mind: The Life of Henry Arthur Kellow, 1881–1935 (Second Edition) (2016)The Moving Mind catalogue record, National Library of Australia
Editor Letters of Australian pioneer family, 1827–1880; The Generation of Gittins and Sarah Bucknall, 1797–1880 (1984) Edited and Introduced by Graeme Bucknall and Lorna McDonaldLetters of Australian pioneer family catalogue record, National Library of Australia Sin, Sweat & Sorrow: The Making of Capricornia Queensland, 1840s–1940s (1993) Edited by Liz Huf, Lorna McDonald and David MyersSin, Sweat & Sorrow catalogue record, National Library of Australia Sin, Sweat & Sorrow: The Making of Capricornia Queensland, 1840s–1940s (Second Edition) (1999) Edited by Liz Huf, Lorna McDonald and David MyersSin, Sweat & Sorrow catalogue record, National Library of Australia
Oral projects Mary Bradford interview (1982)Mary Bradford interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue Sidney Robinson interview (1982)Sidney Robinson interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue Hamish Spence interview (1982)Hamish Spence interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue Mona Collins interview (1982)Mona Collins interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue Tom Collins interview (1983)Tom Collins interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue William Power interview (1985)William Power interview by Lorna McDonald in the Australia 1938 oral history project, National Library of Australia catalogue
Lorna McDonald Collection In 2013, McDonald donated 22 boxes to the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland, consisting of her collection of diaries, research notes, photographs and personal papers which she had accumulated during her research between 1963 and 2013.
Recognition In 1995, McDonald was awarded an Order of Australia medal. In 2007, McDonald was presented with the Royal Historical Society of Queensland's John Douglas Kerr Medal of Distinction. Since her death, McDonald's work in collecting, interpreting, and writing the history of the Central Queensland has been celebrated with the annual Arts Central Queensland Lorna McDonald Essay Prize.Arts Central Queensland website: https://artscqinc.org.au/lorna-mcdonald-essay-competition/?doing_wp_cron=1617925335.3793239593505859375000
Death McDonald died on 25 June 2017.Death notice: McDonald, Dr Lorna Lorraine OAM, Tributes, finda Classifieds, page 32, The Morning Bulletin, 26 June 2017. Accessed 26 June 2017. Rockhampton mayor Margaret Strelow said that the city's councillors were very saddened at hearing the news of McDonald's death, and said the contribution she had made in both preserving and recording the history of Central Queensland will leave a legacy of which McDonald's family should be proud.Tributes flow after respected Rockhampton woman dies, Michelle Gately, The Morning Bulletin, 26 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
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