Hugh McCrae
Hugh Raymond McCrae (1876-1958) was an Australian poet and writer known for his imaginative and often fantastical themes. Born in Hawthorn, Victoria, he was the son of George Gordon McCrae, a notable civil servant and literary figure. McCrae's early education and encouragement from his father led him to pursue a career in writing rather than architecture. His first poem was published in 1896, marking the beginning of his freelance writing journey. He published his first poetry collection, *Satyrs and Sunlight*, in 1909 and later experimented with theater and film.
Despite facing financial challenges throughout his life, McCrae's work included poetry, theater criticism, and illustrations, often featuring mythological creatures such as unicorns and satyrs. His contributions earned him recognition in his time, including an award from the Order of the British Empire in 1953. While contemporary critics may not regard him as a major poet, his early works remain notable for their vivid imagination and depiction of the Australian landscape. McCrae passed away in Wahroonga, New South Wales, leaving behind a legacy that reflects both his artistic vision and the cultural context of early 20th-century Australia.
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Hugh McCrae
Author
- Born: October 4, 1876
- Birthplace: Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
- Died: February 17, 1958
- Place of death: Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia
Biography
Hugh Raymond McCrae was born on October 4, 1876, at Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, the son of George Gordon McCrae, a Scot, and Augusta Helen Brown, who was from Tasmania. George Gordon McCrae was a civil servant and a well-known member of the Melbourne literary scene. His four novels were well known in Australia, and McCrea later wrote a memoir about his father, My Father and My Father’s Friends (1935).
McCrae attended Hawthorne Grammar School, where he excelled at classics. His father encouraged him to writing poetry. McCrae briefly was apprenticed as an architect, but he was far more interested in pursing a writing career. His first poem was published in 1896, and he successfully submitted work to The Champion. From this beginning, he fashioned a living for himself as a freelance writer. He married Anne Adams in May, 1901. The couple moved to Sydney, where McCrae published his first poetry collection, Satyrs and Sunlight: Silvarum Libri, in 1909.
In 1914, McCrae decided to try his luck in the United States, since he was nearly bankrupt in Australia. The gamble did not pay off, although he did find work as a stage actor. When he returned to Australia, he found work in the infant film industry and as a decoder for the Censor’s Office during World War I.
In 1920, McCrae published a limited edition of his book, Columbine. Also that year, his dear friend Norman Lindsay published McCrae’s book Idyllia, an illustrated poetry collection. Indeed, what success McCrae enjoyed during this period was largely due to Lindsay and his family.
McCrae had a difficult time with finances, although in 1926 he began receiving a pension from the Commonwealth Literary fund. He wrote theater criticism, drew illustrations and cartoons, and submitted poems to a variety of magazines and newspapers. In 1931, his book The Mimshi Maiden, an odd combination of fairy tale, fantasy, and violence, was privately published. He also wrote a musical fantasy that was produced in 1933 and later was published with his own illustrations.
McCrae’s work throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s bears little or no evidence of having been composed during wartime. Indeed, his work continued to feature unicorns, satyrs, fauns, and other mythological creatures, and his themes remained devoid of philosophical or psychological import. In spite of this, he was regarded in his day as a highly influential and important Australian poet. In 1953, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. McCrae died on February 17, 1958, at Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia.
Contemporary critics do not consider McCrae to be an important poet. Nonetheless, his early work is of interest because it reveals a fantastical imagination and a realistic, artistic imagining of the Australian landscape.