Australian poet noted for his classical approach, great technical skill, and academic point of view.

Educated at the University of Sydney, he taught for a while, served with Australian forces in World War II, and then became a senior lecturer at the Australian School of Pacific Administration, editor of Quadrant, a literary journal, and professor of English at the University of Tasmania.

His first volume of poetry, Under Aldebaran (1946), was followed by A Vision of Ceremony (1956); Captain Quiros (1964), a verse narrative of the settlement and Christianization of Australia; Surprises of the Sun (1969); Collected Poems, 1936–70 (1971); Music Late at Night: Poems, 1970–1973 (1976); and A World of Its Own (1977). McAuley's prose works include a volume of literary criticism, The End of Modernity (1959); a critical interpretation of an earlier Australian poet, Christopher Brennan (1973); and A Map of Australian Verse (1975).