Samuel Watts Osborne (1868 – 7 March 1952) was founder and editor of the ''Advertiser'' of

Port Pirie, South Australia Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...

, brother of

Robert M. Osborne Robert Martin Osborne (c. 1852 – 22 September 1931) was a newspaper editor and proprietor of several newspapers in South Australia, notably the ''Petersburg Times'' in the town now known as Peterborough. History Robert was born at Birdbush, W ...

, founder of the

Petersburg Times Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States * Peterborg, U.S. Vir ...

History

Samuel was born at

Uley Uley is a village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Elcombe and Shadwell and Bencombe, all to the south of the village of Uley, and the hamlet of Crawley to the north. The village is ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, the younger son of Rev. Robert Ivey Osborne, and was educated at a boarding school. He began his journalistic career with the ''Dursley Gazette'' of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, then worked with other newspapers and the publishing firm of

John Bellows John Thomas Bellows (18 January 1831 – 5 May 1902) was a polymath, printer and lexicographer, originally from Cornwall in southwest England. He wrote prolifically. A prominent member of the informal but influential network of Quaker bu ...

. In 1896 he left England to join his brother, who had recently left

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

to establish a printing business in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, sailing in the P. & O. liner RMS ''Ophir''. Sam left Adelaide that same year for Quorn to establish there a newspaper ''The Mercury'' for his brother. He was joined there by his wife and daughter, who had travelled out on a later voyage of the ''Ophir''. The transition from lush green England to the harsh climate of the mid-north of South Australia, which was then in drought, came as a rude shock to the young lady. Two years later the Osborne family was on the move again; this time to Port Pirie, to found the ''Port Pirie Advertiser'' for his brother. Around 1925 Robert Osborne left for Launceston and divested himself of his South Australian assets, and the ''Port Pirie Advertiser'' ceased publication. Sam Osborne joined with William Hancock in producing the ''Wooroora Producer'' in Balaklava and the ''Areas Express'' at

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. He acted as the country correspondent for ''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...

'' then '' The Advertiser''. He also wrote for English newspapers. He had a remarkable memory, and had kept a comprehensive set of records, which he used for his weekly "Personal Reminiscences" column in the ''

Port Pirie Recorder ''The Recorder'' is a newspaper published in Port Pirie, South Australia since 1885. Formed by an amalgamation in 1898, it was also previously known as ''Port Pirie Recorder and North Western Mail'' between 1898 and 1918, and as ''The Recorder' ...

'' from 1920 to October 1950, when he was obliged to discontinue writing – his mind was still clear, but he was no longer able to hold a pen. He died in Port Pirie Hospital and was buried in the local cemetery.

Family

He married Miss Emily Cullimore at Gloucester in April 1892, and their first daughter was born before they left for Australia. They lived at 111 Gertrude street, Port Pirie. Emily Osborne and two daughters survived him: Doris (Mrs. J. Hoar of Port Pirie) and Ivey (Mrs. H. C. Vianello, of

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Samuel W. Australian journalists Australian newspaper proprietors Australian newspaper editors People from Port Pirie 1868 births 1952 deaths People from Uley English emigrants to colonial Australia