Cirrus@Austlit

Though born in Chile, John McGhee lived and was educated in Scotland from the age of five. While taking writing classes with the Workers' Educational Association in Glasgow, he worked in a number of jobs that included accountancy, selling vacuum cleaners and advertising, and for a time he ran his own commercial art business.

After selling earthmoving and construction equipment in Britain, he moved to Sydney in 1949, becoming managing director of Blackwood Hodge (Aust) Pty Ltd, the Australian branch of the British earthmoving equipment manufacturer.