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MACDONALD, ALBERT (1870–1924), telegraphist and overland cyclist, was born on 17 December 1870 at
Clare, South Australia, son of David Macdonald, a tailor, and Christina, nee McPhail. When Albert was quite
young, the family moved to Orroroo, where he attended school and where he commenced work on 4 August 1885
as a messenger with the Post and Telegraph Service (on a salary of 31 Pounds four Shillings). After working as a
junior telegraph operator at Orroroo (1888–89), Melrose (1890–91) and the Central Telegraph Office in Adelaide
(1892–93), he was transferred in March 1893 to the Northern Territory to work as a telegraphist on the Port Darwin
line (on a salary of 100 Pounds).
During his five and half years in the Territory, Macdonald spent about half of his time at the Overland Telegraph
Office in Port Darwin (1893–95 and 1898) and half at the Telegraph Station at Powell’s Creek (1896–97), about
880 kilometres south of Darwin. In Darwin he joined the Literary and Debating Society and was a prominent
athlete, winning a mile race at Palmerston Oval on 14 July 1893 in the time of five minutes, 23 seconds. His main
claim to fame, though, was as a cyclist.
Macdonald put the Northern Territory on the map in 1898 when he became a major figure in the 1890s cross
continental cycling craze. In August 1898, he set out to break the existing record of 60 days for the cycling
journey from Darwin to Adelaide. As recorded in the advertising booklet Albert Macdonald of Orroroo, published
subsequently by the firm that supplied his bicycle, Macdonald corresponded with the Austral Cycle Company of
Little Flinders Street, Melbourne, from February to July 1898 in the hope of obtaining their sponsorship. They gave
their support on the condition that he complete the journey from Darwin to Melbourne in five weeks or less.
Macdonald set himself to establish an ‘unbreakable record’. He was photographed holding his bicycle (a ‘Swift’
No 1 Light Roadster, fitted with Dunlop Roadster tyres) with seventeen other staff of the overland telegraph
service, including the postmaster John Little, in Darwin shortly before he set off on his marathon ride.
Macdonald left Darwin at 6.15 am on Monday 22 August 1898. Knowing the northern part of the route so
well—he claimed to be familiar with the first 1280 kilometres of the 3 136 kilometres—and assisted by a tailwind,
Macdonald reached Adelaide on 19 September after 28 days, 15 hours and 30 minutes on the track. He was the
fourth man to complete the north-south cycling route across the continent, but it was his speed that was most
impressive. On the final leg from Wilmington to Adelaide he covered 301 kilometres in the one day. As he rode
on to Melbourne the newspapers, including the Northern Territory Times and Gazette, reported his progress.
He completed the full journey to Melbourne in 33 days, five hours and 30 minutes, averaging 125 kilometres
a day—much faster than anyone thought possible at the time. This cycling feat earned Macdonald a prominent
place among the overland cyclists who made Australia the world leader in this form of marathon cycling in the
late 1890s.
Macdonald did not return to the Northern Territory after his cycling feat. He took up residence in South Australia,
working as a telegraphist, first in Mount Gambier (April–May 1899) and then for the rest of his life in Adelaide.
In 1915, he became a postal inspector on an annual salary of 310 Pounds. He was active in the South Australian
Post and Telegraph Association. He played a prominent role as its secretary in presenting their submission to the
Royal Commission on Postal Services in 1908, and argued strongly on behalf of members disadvantaged by the
federal take-over of the Post and Telegraph Department in the years after Federation.
Macdonald visited the United States in 1907 and gained ideas for improving the existing vibratory mechanical
transmitters used by telegraphists, many of whom suffered repetitive strain injuries from using these machines.
He subsequently developed and patented a ‘pendograph’, which used a pendulum type vibrator instead of a
horizontal vibrator. His invention was approved for use by the Central Telegraph Office and he sold it for two
Pounds, twelve Shillings and six Pence.
On 18 April 1899, the year after he left the Northern Territory, Macdonald married Lillian Maud Turler, aged 25,
the sister of the Noorlunga postmistress. The marriage was registered as taking place in the district of Morphett
Vale. They had two sons, Trempice and Stewart, and two daughters, Nancy and Betty.
Predeceased by his first wife, Macdonald married Edith Holmes on 24 June 1924 at his home in West Terrace,
Adelaide. By this time, he was the Postal Inspector in the Murray Bridge district. In ill health since February,
he died at his home a few months later on 23 October 1924. The cause of death was certified as ‘cerebral apoplexy’.
An obituary notice in the Adelaide Advertiser on the day of his burial in Magill Cemetery, 25 October 1924,
recorded his ‘sterling services’ as secretary of the Post and Telegraph Association, his membership of the Leopold
Lodge of the Freemasons, and his reputation as ‘an enthusiastic amateur cyclist’.
Austral Cycling Company Melbourne, Albert Macdonald of Orroroo, (nd. but 1898 or 1899); J Fitzpatrick, The Bicycle and the Bush, 1980;
C Leonard, Biographical notes and cuttings on Albert Macdonald, and ‘Port Darwin OT Staff, August 1898’, in Telecommunications Museum,
Adelaide; Adelaide Advertiser, 25 October 1924; Northern Territory Times and Gazette, 6 October, 1893; 29 July, 22 August, 26 August,
23 September, 30 September 1898; 10 February 1899. SA Post and Telegraph Association, ‘Evidence Forwarded to the Royal Commission on
Postal Services’, Adelaide, 1908, in Commerce Pamphlets vol 42, State Library of Victoria.
KEVIN T LIVINGSTON, Vol 1.MACKAY, DONALD GEORGE (1870–1958), explorer, was born at Yass, New South Wales, on 29 June
1870, the son of Alexander Mackay, the owner of Wallendbeen Station near Yass, and his wife Annie Mackay,
nee Mackenzie. Both parents were of Scottish birth. Mackay was educated at Wallendbeen State School and at
the Oaklands School, Mittagong. After a brief engineering apprenticeship, he worked for his father as a jackeroo.
Alexander Mackay died in 1890, leaving Donald Mackay with one third of a very large estate, which provided him
with a substantial private income. Between 1890 and 1899, he travelled extensively throughout the world. He also
prospected for gold in western New South Wales.