Craig Rob Roy McGregor (12 October 1933 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian journalist, essayist, academic, cultural observer and critic.

Life and career

McGregor grew up in Jamberoo and then

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, before his family moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. There he was awarded a scholarship to attend Cranbrook School, but he left at 16 to work at the ''

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

''. He completed a degree at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

through night classes. He wrote books on Australian society, politics and popular culture, as well as two novels and a collection of short stories. He also wrote the script for a section of the 1973 film ''

Libido In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...

'' and co-wrote the 1976 rock opera ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

''. He won two

Walkley Awards The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...

for his journalism: in 1977 for Best Newspaper Feature Story, and in 1986 for Best Feature in a Newspaper or Magazine. He met and interviewed

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

during his 1966 tour of Australia, and later edited the book ''Bob Dylan: A retrospective''. He has his own entry in ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. McGregor was Emeritus Professor of Visual Communication at the

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a technical institution can be traced back t ...

, where he taught between 1988 and 2000. He died on 22 January 2022, at the age of 88.

Books

* ''Profile of Australia'' (1966) * ''The High Country'' (1967) * ''People, Politics and Pop'' (1968) * ''To Sydney with Love'' (1968) * ''In the Making: Australian Art and Artists'' (1969) * ''Don't Talk to Me about Love'' (a novel, 1973) * ''Bob Dylan: A retrospective'' (editor) (1972) * ''Life in Australia'' (editor) (1972) * ''Up Against the Wall, America'' (1973) * ''The Great Barrier Reef'' (1974) * ''The See-through Revolver'' (a novel, 1977) * ''The History of Surfing'' (1983) * ''Soundtrack for the Eighties'' (1983) * ''Time of Testing: The Bob Hawke Victory'' (1983) * ''Pop Goes the Culture'' (1984) * ''Real Lies'' (short stories, 1987) * ''Headliners'' (1990) * ''Class in Australia'' (1997) * ''Australian Son: Inside Mark Latham'' (2004) * ''Left Hand Drive: A Social and Political Memoir'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Craig 1933 births 2022 deaths Australian journalists Australian essayists Australian male writers Australian male essayists People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney The Sydney Morning Herald people Journalists from New South Wales