Claude McKay (19 July 1878 – 21 February 1972) was an Australian journalist and publicist of Scottish descent born in Kilmore, Victoria.
He worked on the Kilmore Advertiser as jack-of-all-trades then as a journalist in Seymour, Melbourne, Warrnambool and Bendigo before moving to Brisbane in 1902, where he was deputy music and theatre critic for the Brisbane Courier[1] and then around 1905, he moved to Sydney writing theatre advertisements as well as freelancing for several minor newspapers.
A vigorous patriotic newspaper, unafraid to take sides and loaded with comment, minor features and cartoons, it was an immediate hit with the public.
Although Smith welcomed McKay, the paper's new editor, Frank Marien, and director Frank Packer (Clyde's son) were hostile to his reappearance and he was relegated to controlling its financial affairs from an upper floor of the building.
With the outbreak of World War II its circulation revived briefly, before falling sales forced its closure in 1950.