JACK MCKINNEY (1891–1966) was born in Numurkah, Victoria, in 1891. After serving in Europe and North Africa during the Great War he lived in Queensland, where he turned to writing. His works include the popular radio serial The Noonans, the prize-winning novel Crucible (which drew on his wartime experiences), short stories for the Australian newspaper, the plays The Well and Down in that Poor Country, and the philosophical work The Structure of Modern Thought. A probing and innovative writer, he lived on Mount Tamborine in southern Queensland with his wife, the poet Judith Wright, until his death in 1966.