The sixth of thirteen children born to Archibald Hector McEachern, miner, and his wife Rebecca Mary, née Tubman, Malcolm McEachern was educated at Albury Public School where he received his first singing lessons. In 1904 his family moved to Sydney where McEachern worked as a salesman and obtained casual singing engagements. In 1916 he married pianist Hazel Hogarth Doyle, who became his accompanist.
During the First World War McEachern toured with the Melba Concert Company; later he often performed with Melba (q.v.), especially in London, as well as with other leading artists.When in England in the early 1920s, McEachern was hailed as one of the finest bass singers of his day and as an outstanding oratorio singer. He appeared with orchestras under Sir Henry Wood and (Sir) John Barbirolli, in Shakespearian productions and in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. He made a number of recordings for the Vocalian and the Aeolian Companies in London, with his ones of Mozart being especially popular.
Early in 1926 he joined Bentley Collingwood Hilliam (1890-1965), a Yorkshire pianist with a flair for composing witty topical songs. As 'Flotsam and Jetsam' they became an enduring light entertainment act. McEachern made his film début in Chu Chin Chow in 1933. A pioneer of both radio and television for the British Broadcasting Corporation, he was often chosen for royal command performances. During the Second World War he engaged in stage and radio work, including a West End revival of Show Boat in 1944.
[Source for most information: Peter Burgis, 'McEachern, Walter Malcolm Neil (1883 - 1945)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press,1986, pp 264-265].
