Sir William John Sowden (26 April 1858 – 10 October 1943) was a journalist in South Australia, who was knighted in 1918.

History

Sowden was born in Castlemaine, Victoria, the son of Thomas Sowden (c. 1832 – 3 May 1888), a miner from Cornwall, and his wife Mary Ann, née Hocking. They spent some years in Kapunda, South Australia, where vast quantities of copper ore were being extracted, but by 1867 had returned to Castlemaine where he completed his schooling and started in the newspaper trade. In 1874 they moved to Moonta, South Australia, another mining town, where William started work with the ''Yorke's Peninsula Advertiser'', then in 1879 transferred to the '' Port Adelaide News''Carl Bridge
'Sowden, Sir William John (1858–1943)'
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 17 February 2015 (both owned by

E. H. Derrington Edwin Henry Derrington (1 July 1830 – 14 October 1899) was a journalist and politician in colonial South Australia. Derrington was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, the first son and fourth child of Edwin Derrington, a Dissenting mi ...

, whose feuds with Ebenezer Ward were legendary). In 1881 he started working for the ''

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and f ...

'', and was selected to accompany a group of parliamentarians (

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H. E. Bright Hon. Henry Edward Bright (30 June 1819 – 18 February 1904) was a member of the South Australian Colonial Parliament. A son, Henry Edward Bright jr. (1843–1917), was a mayor of Gawler, South Australia. Early life Bright was born in London o ...

, L. L. Furner,

J. H. Bagster Josiah Howell Bagster (19 February 1847 – 17 October 1893) was a land agent and politician in the British colony of South Australia. He was generally referred to by his full name or as Josiah H. Bagster or J. H. Bagster, perhaps to differentia ...

), Professor Ralph Tate and others, to the Northern Territory on the ''Menmuir'' (Captain Ellis) as a representative of the ''Register''. On his return he was given a position on the reporting staff and became chief leader writer in 1892. From 1897 to 1899 he was acting editor, subsequently editor, remaining in that position until his retirement in September 1922. Reference to ''Port Adelaide Advertiser'' is an error. He became part-owner of the ''Register'' in 1899. He wrote, as "A. Pencil", a regular satirical column as city correspondent for the '' Kapunda Herald'', much as

C. R. Wilton Charles Richard Wilton (25 May 1855 – 8 March 1927) was a journalist in the State of South Australia, a longtime literary editor of ''The Advertiser'' and authored, under the pen name of "Autolycus", a long-running weekly column in ''The Courie ...

, as "Autolycus", wrote for the ''

Mount Barker Courier ''The Courier'' is a weekly newspaper published in Mount Barker, South Australia. For much of its existence its full title was ''The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser'', later shortened to ''The Mount Barker Courier''. ...

''. He also wrote, as "A. Scribbler", a regular column "Echoes from the Smoking Room" for the ''Register''. He retired around 1925 to "Castlemaine", the house designed by architect

Henry Ernest Fuller Henry Ernest Fuller (13 August 1867 – 18 February 1962), generally known as H. E. Fuller, was an architect, artist and art critic in South Australia. History Fuller was born in Adelaide, a son of Henry Robert Fuller (1825–1905), mayor of Ade ...

in Victor Harbor, where he died.

Recognition

He was knighted in 1918.

Bibliography

In addition to his journalistic work, Sir William wrote numerous books: * * *

Other interests

Sir William was: *from 1908 president of the Board of Governors of the Public Library, Art Gallery and Museum. His interference with the hanging of works in the Art Gallery prompted the curator

Henri Van Raalte Henri Benedictus van Raalte (11 February 1881 – 4 November 1929), known as H. van Raalte, was an Australian artist and printmaker. Early life and training Van Raalte was born in Lambeth, London in 1881 to a Dutch father, Joel van Raalte, a ...

in 1926 to resign (and to die from a self-inflicted gunshot wound a few years later). *actively associated with the South Australian Institute for 17 years *founder and first president of the SA branch of the Wattle Day League *the first president of the South Australian Soldiers' Fund, the Returned Soldiers' Association and the Cheer-Up Society. He was for 19 years president of Violet Memory Day (originally Violet Day), an initiative of the "Cheer-Ups" *president of the South Australian board of the Australian Natives' Association for five years. Founded short-lived Wattle Blossom Day in 1890. *active in the Scout movement; during the absence of the State Governor from Adelaide, he was Acting Chief Scout for South Australia *first Federal president of the Australian Wattle Day League and State president of the League's South Australian Branch *founder of the Royal Society of St. George, and for a time president *founder of four Masonic lodges, and Master of three *active supporter of The Overseas League, the Prisoners' Aid Society, the Sick Poor Fund, the Christmas Cheer Fund *member of the

Geographical Society This is a list of geographical societies International * EUGEO-Association of Geographical Societies in Europe * European Geography Association * EUROGEO-European Association of Geographers *Gamma Theta Upsilon *International Geographical Union *W ...

and the Chamber of Commerce *from 1937 a member of the Adelaide Club. Sir William, who made several extensive tours abroad, was present in Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King George VI. He led a press delegation to England, accompanied by Sir James Fairfax. In 1918 he visited the battlefields of Europe as guest of the Imperial Government. His forthright manner and outgoing personality won for him many admirers, He never stood for public office. but also many enemies, among them

Sir Samuel Way Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet, (11 April 1836 – 8 January 1916) was an English-Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916. Background Way was born in Po ...

Family

He married Letitia Grace "Letty" Adams (? – 9 April 1928) of "Corio", Oakleigh, Victoria on 28 April 1886; they had two sons. He married again, to Margaret Ella Suttie of Mosman, New South Wales on 2 April 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowden, William John Australian newspaper editors Australian newspaper proprietors 19th-century Australian journalists 19th-century Australian male writers 1858 births 1943 deaths Adelaide Club 19th-century male writers People from Castlemaine, Victoria Australian male journalists