Morecroft, who anchored ABC television news for many years, met Mackay while on holiday in Far North Queensland. She was working on a scuba-diving boat and he helped carry equipment up the beach. "I could see she had a fine, sparking mind and shared my passion for the natural environment," Morecroft recalled in the profile. "When I helped her carry the equipment up the beach, I realised how strong she was; it was very heavy."
The couple began exchanging letters, agreeing to write only with fountain pens. Morecroft visited her in England in late 1990 and, after returning to Australia, they maintained the rule of handwritten correspondence. In 1992, Mackay moved to Sydney to live with him.
"One Valentine's Day, I gave her a sledgehammer, which she wielded with glee and huge impact," Morecroft said in the article, describing his admiration for her physicality and practical skills.
The profile, first published four years ago, has been re-run following Morecroft's death this week. No further details about the circumstances of his death have been released.
Morecroft left his television career to pursue landscape photography and, with Mackay, operated a wildlife sanctuary and bed-and-breakfast on the New South Wales south coast.