The Rev. John West (17 January 1809 – 11 December 1873) emigrated from England to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

in 1838 as a Colonial missionary, and became pastor of an Independent (Congregational) Chapel in Launceston's St. John's Square. He also co-founded ''The Examiner'' newspaper in 1842 and was later editor of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. West was born in England, the son of The Reverend William West and his wife Ann, ''née'' Ball. West emigrated to Van Diemen's Land (later renamed

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) in 1839 where he officiated as an Independent minister at Launceston for sixteen years. West attracted half of the members of the Congregational ministry of Charles Price. West's contribution to Launceston and Australian life was great and varied promoting private and charitable enterprise. With James Aikenhead and J. S. Waddell, West founded ''The Examiner'' newspaper in 1842. He co-founded the London Agency Association to promote colonial interests, an Immigration Society, the Launceston Mechanics' Institute (1842), City Mission, Public Hospital, General Cemetery, and Cornwall Insurance Company in Launceston and the Hobart Town High School. John West was a leader in the movement seeking the abolition of transportation of convicts to the

Australian Colonies The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing pol ...

. Affronted by the social, economic and moral effects of convictism, he promoted Colonial opposition to transportation from his pulpit and editorials in the ''Examiner'' and

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

's ''Colonial Times'', though historian

Babette Smith Babette Alison Smith (2 April 1942 – 22 November 2021) was an Australian colonial historian, mediator and business executive. She wrote books about the convicts transported to Australia. Early life Born 2 April 1942, Babette Alison Smith ...

has exposed West's demagogic rhetoric against convict society. He founded the Launceston Association for the Cessation of Transportation which developed into the first intercolonial political organisation, the

Australasian Anti-Transportation League The Australasian Anti-Transportation League was a body established to oppose penal transportation to Australia.C. H. Currey"Denison, Sir William Thomas (18041871)" ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian ...

, in Melbourne in 1851. For this occasion he collaborated on the design of the League banner, the precursor to the Australian National Flag. The success of united action against Transportation, which was abolished in 1853, led West to expand his interest in representational government through his essays on ''Federation, Union of the Colonies'', (under the pseudonym John Adams) published locally and in ''

'' during 1854. In 1854 the proprietor of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', John Fairfax, invited John West to become its first official editor, and West moved to Sydney from where he guided debate on matters of colonial, national and international importance until his sudden death in

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. W ...

, Sydney, in 1873. His two-volume ''History of Tasmania'', published in 1852, analysed the development of the Colony, the penal system and the condition of the

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

people. Later research disclosed few errors, and West is regarded as one of the founders of Australian historical writing.Green, H.M. (1984), ''A history of Australian Literature pure and applied , Vol I, 1789-1923'', Sydney, Angus & Robertson, p.331. He is honoured by the Examiner-John West Memorial Lecture in Launceston and the John West Medal at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

References

* * John West, ''The History of Tasmania'', 1852 * Patricia Ratcliff, ''The Usefulness of John West'', 2003 * Citation for John West as inaugural Launceston Hall of Fame inductee, Launceston City Council, 2006 * Babette Smith, ''Australia's Birthstain'', 2008

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:West, John 1809 births 1873 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Launceston, Tasmania Writers from Tasmania Australian Congregationalist ministers Australian newspaper editors Historians of Australia The Sydney Morning Herald editors