Gladys Edith McKay (20 February 1891 – 30 January 1963) was an Australian writer.[1]
Edith McKay | |
---|---|
Born | Gladys Edith McKay 20 February 1891 |
Died | 30 January 1963 |
Other names | Edith Dithmack |
Known for | writer and nurse at Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service |
Notable work | The House of Winston Blaker (1947) |
Awards | Radio short story award 1949 |
During World War I, McKay volunteered as a nurse and was sent overseas to Gallipoli and Serbia with the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service.[2][3]
McKay is best known for her 1947 novel "The House of Winston Blaker".[4]
"The House of Winston Blaker" received mostly positive reviews nationally and was later adapted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a radio serial.[5][6][7]
McKay was also known for her short stories, written under the name of Edith Dithmack.[1] More than 120 of McKay's short stories were broadcast on ABC Radio in the 1940s.[8]
In 1949, McKay won the ABC's short story competition in 1949 for Faith.[9]
ABC Radio adapted another of McKay's works into a serial format in 1952. Unborn Tomorrow, inspired by the history of Kanaka labour on the Queensland sugarcane fields, was aired from Monday to Friday at 8:45am.[10]
McKay was born in Rockhampton, and worked as a solicitor's clerk in Bundaberg before settling in the Boonah district.[11][9]