Ern McQuillan

Australian, 1926 - 2018

BiographyErn McQuillan was a renowned press photographer whose formative childhood was based in inner western suburbs of Sydney, primarily Newtown. A promising Rugby League player while a teenager, a sporting injury saw McQuillan take an apprenticeship at the Truth and Sportsman paper as a 'copyboy with a camera'. This was at a time when film was rationed and photographers had to work under great pressure to get that one shot first go and he learnt the difficult task of shooting, developing and delivering the images to his editor in a tight time frame.

In 1944 McQuillan was drafted into the army and assigned to the military history unit as a photographer, working in the Celebes as well as in Sydney, where he took the photograph that was used in the Department of Veterans' Affairs 1945-1995 commemorative campaign, Australia Remembers.

On his return to civilian life, McQuillan resumed work as a press photographer and his lengthy career, which he continued into his 70's, saw him photograph and meet many of the defining figures of the 20th Century. Including Queen Elizabeth II, Richard Nixon and Australian Prime Ministers. His diverse and award winning work featured in The Woman's Weekly, the Sunday Telegraph, Daily Telegraph and the Bulletin. In 1951 he won the first Press Photograph competition.

While McQuillan was never far from the world of sport, particularly horse racing and boxing, he also was adept at aerial photography and capturing moments of local history. His most famous image remains that of Evdokia Petrov during the Petrov spy scandal of 1954.

McQuillan was awarded an OBE for photography in 1998 and passed away in 2018.

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