Career
From 1940 to 1943, during World World War II, McDonald served in the Australian Army with the 1st Motor Brigade, and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant. McDonald, then a bookmaker, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in 1951 for the manslaughter in Burnie of his then de facto wife Marjorie Holgate (also known as Marjorie McDonald). John McDonald was released in April 1956, and then served as a public service clerk in the Public Works Department at Poatina until his death.
