![William John Sowden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/William_John_Sowden.jpeg)
Sir William John Sowden (26 April 1858 – 10 October 1943) was a journalist in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, who was knighted in 1918.
History
Sowden was born in
Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine ( , non-locally also ) is a small city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest by road from Melbourne and about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the major provincial centre of Be ...
, the son of Thomas Sowden (c. 1832 – 3 May 1888), a miner from
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, and his wife Mary Ann, née Hocking. They spent some years in
Kapunda, South Australia
Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census.
The southern entrance t ...
, 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
Moonta is a town on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. It is one of three towns known as the Copper Coast or "Little Cornwall" for their shared copper mining history.
Description
The tow ...
, another mining town, where William started work with the ''Yorke's Peninsula Advertiser'', then in 1879 transferred to the ''
Port Adelaide News
The ''Port Adelaide News'' was a newspaper published in Port Adelaide, South Australia between 1876 and 1933 with various sub-titles, several breaks in publication and periods of bi-weekly publication.
History
The ''Port Adelaide News'' was foun ...
''
[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, whose feuds with
Ebenezer Ward
Ebenezer Ward (4 September 1837 – 8 October 1917) was an Australian politician and journalist. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1870 to 1880 and from 1881 to 1890, representing Gumeracha (1870–1880), Burra (18 ...
were legendary). In 1881 he started working for the ''
South Australian Register'', and was selected to accompany a group of parliamentarians (
J. Langdon Parsons,
H. E. Bright,
L. L. Furner,
J. H. Bagster), Professor
Ralph Tate
Ralph Tate (11 March 1840 – 20 September 1901) was a British-born botanist and geologist, who was later active in Australia.
Early life
Tate was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, the son of Thomas Turner Tate (1807–1888), a teacher of m ...
and others, to the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
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
''The Kapunda Herald'' was a newspaper published in Kapunda, South Australia from 29 October 1864 to 25 January 1951. From 1864 to 1878 the masthead was subtitled ''"and Northern Intelligencer"''. It was published weekly, except for the period Feb ...
'', much as
C. R. Wilton, as "Autolycus", wrote for 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 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 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
Wattle Day is a day of celebration in Australia on the first day of September each year, which is the official start of the Australian spring. This is the time when many '' Acacia'' species (commonly called wattles in Australia), are in flower. So, ...
*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
The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of native-born white Australians and membership was restricted exclusively to that group.
The A ...
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
Wattle Day is a day of celebration in Australia on the first day of September each year, which is the official start of the Australian spring. This is the time when many '' Acacia'' species (commonly called wattles in Australia), are in flower. So, ...
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 and the Chamber of Commerce
*from 1937 a member of the
Adelaide Club
The Adelaide Club is an exclusive gentlemen's club situated on North Terrace in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. Founded in 1863, the club comprises members of the Adelaide Establishment.
South Australian Club (1838–1843)
An ea ...
.
Sir William, who made several extensive tours abroad, was present in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
for the coronation of King
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...
. He led a press delegation to England, accompanied by Sir
James Fairfax
James Oswald Fairfax (27 March 1933 – 11 January 2017) was an Australian company director, philanthropist, and a member of the Fairfax family, an Australian family prominent in the newspaper publisher industry.
Biography
Fairfax was born in S ...
.
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.
[
]
Family
He married Letitia Grace "Letty" Adams (? – 9 April 1928) of "Corio", Oakleigh, Victoria
Oakleigh is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 14 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Oakleigh recorded a population of 8,442 at the 2021 census.
Once ...
on 28 April 1886; they had two sons.
He married again, to Margaret Ella Suttie of Mosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local gover ...
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