Journalism wasn’t always a part of Ian Dougall’s plan – in fact, the Werribee resident had
originally planned on becoming an attorney.
Instead, an unexpected opportunity changed his life and took him all around the world,
interviewing some of music’s biggest names.
At 18, Ian – who now lives at Werribee’s Glendale aged care home – was awarded a cadetship at Truth newspaper and says his interest was piqued.
“It was an honour because I was only 18 when I got the cadetship and all the reporters
working at Truth were in their 50’s,” he recalled.
“I did a lot of general reporting during my time there, and interviewed all the Prime Ministers
including Gough Whitlam.”
As Truth came to a close, Ian’s editors, who liked his work, moved him
across to the popular TV Week magazine, catapulting him into the glamorous world of
international celebrity.
Ian said his favourite part of the job was interviewing celebrities and travelling the world,
leaving him with a long laundry list of famous names and encounters with the stars.
“I met lots of people like Elton John, Skyhooks, ACDC, John Farnham, INXS, Jimmy Barnes
and John Paul Young,” he said.
“Molly Meldrum was a good friend of mine and I did many interviews with him. I travelled
overseas a lot – that’s how I met Elton John.”
Also on the list of his notable interviewees are Australian politicians including former Victorian
Premiers Sir Rupert James Hamer, who served in the role from 1972 to 1981, and Henry
Bolte.
“I wrote an article about Henry Bolte joking about him using a Government car and he found it
very funny,” Ian remembered.
“But as for my standout memories, meeting and interviewing all of the Aussie bands was
fantastic.”
