MACKAY, James Alexander Kenneth
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Major General |
| Last Unit: | New South Wales Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Wallendbeen, New South Wales, 5 June 1859 |
| Home Town: | Boorowa, Boorowa, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Camden College and Sydney Grammar School |
| Occupation: | Soldier/Politician |
| Died: | Natural causes (sudden), Cootamundra, New South Wales, 16 November 1935, aged 76 years |
| Cemetery: |
Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, New South Wales Cremated |
| Memorials: | Harden Centennary of First Australian Horse, Millers Point South African Memorial, Murrumburrah Boer War Memorial |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lieutenant Colonel, Officer, New South Wales Imperial Bushmen | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul 1901: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Colonel, New South Wales Imperial Bushmen |
Non Warlike Service
| 1 Jan 1920: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Major General |
|---|
Help us honour James Alexander Kenneth Mackay's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"James Alexander Kenneth Mackay (1859-1935), soldier, author and politician, was born on 5 June 1859 at Wallendbeen, New South Wales, son of Scottish-born parents Alexander Mackay, squatter, and his wife Annie, née Mackenzie; Donald George was his brother. He was educated at home and at Camden College and Sydney Grammar School. In his mid-twenties he extended his education by attending H. E. Southey's college at Mittagong. He was a good athlete and an outstanding horseman, well-known in country districts as an amateur jockey. He also rode at Randwick and Rosehill.
In 1885, while at Mittagong, Mackay raised a volunteer cavalry troop called the West Camden Light Horse and was appointed captain in command. Shortly afterwards he returned to the family property to assist his ageing father. He spent his quieter moments writing short stories and ballads. Several were published in newspapers and popular journals before his first book, Stirrup Jingles (1887). Similar publications in Sydney, A Bush Idyll (1888) and Songs of a Sunlit Land (1908), followed. He also wrote the novels, Out-back (London, 1893) and The Yellow Wave (1895), which imagined a Chinese invasion of Australia. On 13 March 1890 he married Mabel Kate White at the Presbyterian manse, North Melbourne.
Mackay was elected as a Protectionist to the Legislative Assembly for Boorowa in 1895; he held the seat for (Sir) Edmund Barton's National Federal Party in 1898. Vice-president of the Executive Council in (Sir) William Lyne's ministry from 15 September 1899, he was nominated to the Legislative Council in October to represent the government. He held the same position under (Sir) John See and Thomas Waddell in 1903-04 and remained in the council until its reconstitution in 1933.
In 1897 the unpaid volunteer component of the New South Wales Military Forces was being revived. Mackay raised the 1st Australian Horse, a regiment of cavalry recruited entirely from country districts, was appointed to command and in 1898 was promoted lieutenant-colonel. A composite squadron from the regiment was sent to the South African War but Mackay was too senior in rank to accompany it. Instead, resigning his portfolio, he was given command of the New South Wales Imperial Bushmen's Contingent which sailed from Sydney in April 1900. The Bushmen were sent to Rhodesia and placed under the command of Sir Frederick Carrington..." - READ MORE LINK (adb.anu.edu.au)
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