Strive to be fair : an unfinished autobiography

Abstract

In his unfinished autobiography Don Whitington looks back wryly and unsentimentally on his family, his youth, and his profession. Born in Victoria of incompatible parents, who separated, he grew up in some hardship, in Tasmania. Poverty - and lack of application - cut his education short and he qualified as a woolclasser in time to lose his job in the Depression. He worked then asa jackaroo, travelling extensively in outback Australia - and finally, with {u00A3}5 in his pocket, he decided to become a journalist, thus unwittingly following in the footsteps of three generations of Whitingtons. The story of his youth is told with a lively humour that laughs at himself and laughs with others. Whitington brought to his profession a sense of justice and compassion, a keen sense of humour and an eye for the ridiculous. One of the longest serving members of the Canberra Press Gallery, he met and mixed with people from all walks of life, with politicians and journalists of all persuasions and abilities. His comments on some of the events and personalities of his times are candid, and pointed. This book is a lively, racy, informed and enjoyable story of a man who graced his profession. Show more