Ian McNamara , commonly known as "Macca", is an Australian radio presenter, singer-songwriter and producer, best known for hosting the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's long running radio program '' Australia All Over'' on the

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

network.

Early life

McNamara grew up in the southern Sydney suburb of Oatley. He attended Oatley West Public School. McNamara graduated from 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 ...

with a Bachelor of Economics degree before working as a jackaroo. In 1973 he played the guitar with

Col Joye Colin Frederick Jacobsen (13 April 1937) better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian pioneer rock singer-songwriter, musician and entrepreneur with a career spanning almost sixty-seven years, starting from the late 50s. Joye was ...

and the Joy Boys.

Career

McNamara first joined the ABC in 1974, in the industrial relations department, but moved to the rural department two years later as a rural reporter. He then spent 12 months in television, working on ''

A Big Country ''A Big Country'' (1968 - 1991) was an Australian television documentary series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The series' purpose was to document life in rural Australia for the information of Australian city ...

'' and ''Countrywide'', before returning to rural radio in 1980 as a reporter and, eventually, the presenter of ''Australia All Over''. In 1984, he was appointed executive producer of the current affairs program ''City Extra'' (a 2BL current affairs show), but late in 1985 he returned to the Regional Radio Unit as executive producer of programs including ''Morning Extra'', ''Australia All Over'' and ''Resources''. Musically, his CD compilations include ''Australia All Over: Volumes 1, 2 & 3'' (1987; 1988; 1989), ''Over The Top With Macca'' (1991), ''Macca Tracks'' (1993), ''Macca On Air'' (1996), ''Macca by Request'' (two issues: 2002, 2004), and ''The Last Ten Years'' (2007). As an author, his work publications include ''Australia All Over'' (1992), ''Australia All Over 2'' (1994), ''Macca's Australia: Australia All Over'' (1997), ''On the Road with Macca'' (2003), ''Why I Live Where I Live'' (2005), and ''Australia All Over: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years'' (2007). More recent publications include ''Say G'day: 'Australia All Over' Takes to the Road'' (2010) and ''Australia All Over: Song of the Thong and other Legendary Verses'' (2011). He also co-authored two cookbooks with

Maggie Beer Maggie Beer (born Margaret Anne Ackerman, 19 January 1945) is an Australian chef, food author, restaurateur, and food manufacturer. Beer was one of the judges on '' The Great Australian Bake Off'' alongside Matt Moran until 2022 and is also a ...

and Valli Little in 2006 and 2008.

Awards

In the

1994 Australia Day Honours The 1994 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1994 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden. The Australia D ...

, McNamara was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) for "service to the presentation and promotion of Australia's non-urban culture, through the radio programme ''Australia All Over''".

References

External links

''Australia All Over'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Ian Australian radio personalities Journalists from Sydney Living people Members of the Order of Australia 1951 births