John Fairfax facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Fairfax
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John Fairfax c. 1861
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| Member of Legislative Council of New South Wales | |
| In office 3 November 1874 – 16 June 1877 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 October 1804 Barford, Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 16 June 1877 (aged 72) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Resting place | Rookwood Cemetery |
| Spouse |
Sarah Reading
(m. 1827–1875) |
| Children |
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| Residence | Ginahgulla (Bellevue Hill) |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Development of John Fairfax & Sons media enterprise |
| Board member of |
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John Fairfax (born October 24, 1804 – died June 16, 1877) was an important person in Australian history. He was born in England and became a journalist, a business leader, and a politician. He is best known for starting and growing one of Australia's biggest newspaper companies.
Contents
John Fairfax's Early Life
John Fairfax was born in Barford, Warwickshire, England. His family used to own a lot of land, but they had lost it. His father worked in building and furniture.
When he was 13, John started training with William Perry, a bookseller and printer in Warwick. In 1825, he moved to London and worked as a compositor (someone who sets type for printing). He worked for a general printing office and also for the Morning Chronicle newspaper.
Two years later, John Fairfax started his own printing, bookselling, and stationery business in Leamington Spa. On July 31, 1827, he married Sarah Reading there. He became the printer for the Leamington Spa Courier newspaper. In 1835, he bought a share in another newspaper called The Leamington Chronicle and Warwickshire Reporter. He also had a book binding business. At this time, Leamington was a very popular spa town in the UK.
In 1836, Fairfax published a letter that criticized a local lawyer. The lawyer sued him. Even though the court sided with Fairfax twice, the legal costs were so high that he had to declare himself unable to pay his debts. His friends offered to help, but he decided to start fresh in a new country.
In May 1838, he sailed to the colony of New South Wales in Australia on a ship called the Lady Fitzherbert. He traveled with his wife, their three children, his mother, and his brother-in-law. After about 130 days, they arrived in Sydney on September 26, 1838. John Fairfax had only £5 in his pocket.
Building a Business in Australia
When he first arrived in Australia, Fairfax worked as a compositor. On April 1, 1839, he became the librarian for the Australian subscription library. His salary was only £100 a year, but he got free housing for his family. He also found extra work doing typesetting and wrote articles for Sydney newspapers.
Being a librarian helped him meet many educated people in Sydney, and he became friends with some of them. One of these friends was Charles Kemp, who worked for Sydney Herald newspaper. Together, they decided to buy the Herald for £10,000.
They bought the newspaper on credit, and friends helped them pay the first deposit. On February 8, 1841, John Fairfax and Charles Kemp officially became the owners. They worked well together because their skills complemented each other. Fairfax and Kemp worked in harmony for 12 years and made the Herald the leading newspaper in Australia.
In 1842, the newspaper was given its full name, the Sydney Morning Herald. Even though Fairfax faced a difficult period, both partners were doing well by 1853. Charles Kemp then decided to retire. Their partnership ended in September 1853, and John's eldest son, Charles, became a partner. The year before, John Fairfax had visited England and paid back all his old creditors, even adding interest.
Under John Fairfax and his sons, the newspaper continued to grow in popularity. The large increase in population in the 1850s also helped its success. The Herald moved to its current location in 1856. At that time, it claimed to have the largest circulation (number of copies sold) in the "colonial empire." A weekly magazine called The Sydney Mail was also started. Its first issue came out on July 7, 1860, and it continued until 1938.
John Fairfax was also involved in other businesses. In 1851, he was a founding director of the Australian Mutual Provident Society. In the 1860s, he was a director of several companies, including the Sydney Insurance Co., the New South Wales Marine Insurance Co., the Australian Joint Stock Bank, and The Australian Gaslight Co.. He was also a trustee of the Savings Bank of New South Wales.
Fairfax's Beliefs and Values
John Fairfax was a very religious man and a member of the Congregational Church at Pitt Street. However, he made sure his newspaper was fair and did not show favoritism towards any religion, even though there were strong religious divisions in Sydney at the time. His home life was typical of the Victorian era, focusing on traditional values.
In the newspaper, he made sure to cover important topics like music, theater, literature, and art. For Fairfax, running a newspaper was a serious responsibility, and he always stayed true to his values.
Later Life and Legacy
On December 26, 1863, Charles Fairfax, John's eldest son and his main helper at the newspaper, died after being thrown from his horse. John Fairfax never fully recovered from this loss, but the newspaper's work continued. In 1865, Fairfax and his wife visited England again to learn about the newest newspaper methods.
In 1874, John Fairfax was appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, which is like a part of the government. However, he never took a very active role in politics.
His wife, Sarah, passed away on August 12, 1875. Soon after, John's own health began to decline. He died at his home, Ginahgulla, in Bellevue Hill, on June 16, 1877. He was buried at the Rookwood Cemetery on June 19, 1877.
Fairfax Family Continues the Business
John Fairfax's second son, Sir James Reading Fairfax (1834–1919), started working at his father's office in 1852 and became a partner in 1856. When his father died, James Fairfax took control of the newspaper, and it continued to do very well. James Fairfax was closely involved with the newspaper for 67 years. Like his father, James was a religious man. For a long time, he was the president of the YMCA and helped with other community services. He died on March 28, 1919, and was buried in the Congregational section of Rookwood cemetery.
Two of James Fairfax's sons, Geoffrey Evan Fairfax (1861–1930) and Sir James Oswald Fairfax (1863–1928), continued the family's newspaper tradition. They both started working at the office on the same day in 1889 and played a big part in running the newspaper. A third son, Charles Burton Fairfax, retired in 1904 and moved to England. His son, Captain J. Griffyth Fairfax, born in 1886, was a member of the House of Commons (part of the British Parliament) for some years. He also published several books of poetry. Warwick Oswald Fairfax, son of Sir James Oswald Fairfax, born in 1901, became the managing director of the company in 1930.
John Fairfax's name lives on today through Fairfax Media. This company was formerly known as John Fairfax Holdings and before that, John Fairfax and Sons. Although the Fairfax family no longer controls the company, John Fairfax's legacy as a newspaper pioneer remains.
