Writing under the pseudonym John Raxon, W. J. MacDonald published a volume of short stories, Exactly as it Goes (1916). The publisher's note that appeared in this work described the author as 'the Australian P. G. Wodehouse or W. W. Jacobs - a genuine humorist'. But MacDonald was also a writer of poetry which was frequently inspired by the Australian landscape and, in the case of the selection Wake! Australians Brave! [1916?], a sense of patriotism. A number of his poems, such as 'Where the Wattle Grows', were given musical settings.
