Charles Patrick Smith (3 October 1877 – 5 August 1963) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor. He had long associations with '' The Argus'' (of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

) and ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' (of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

). Smith was born in

Dundas, Ontario : ''For the county in eastern Ontario see Dundas County, Ontario. For the upper tier county, see United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.'' Dundas is a community and town in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is nicknamed the ''Valley Town' ...

, Canada, to Mary Elizabeth (née Rosselle) and Thomas Smith. His family emigrated to Australia when he was a child, settling in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Smith attended Wesley College,

, leaving school at the age of 17 to work as a proofreader for a sporting journal. He later began working for '' The Argus'' as a compositor, also occasionally writing for '' The Herald'' and '' The Bulletin''. Smith joined the reporting staff of ''The Argus'' in 1911, and became known for his political reporting. In August 1914, he was with Prime Minister

Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...

when he was notified of the outbreak of war, while he had earlier covered General Hamilton's inspection of the Australian forces. In December 1914, Smith was attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade as a war correspondent. He covered training in Egypt and then portions of the Gallipoli Campaign, with his reports focusing on the experiences of front-line soldiers. Smith was later posted to the Balkan Theatre. In 1916, he was made chief of the literary staff of ''The Argus''. He was appointed assistant general manager in 1921, and the same year accompanied Prime Minister

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

to the 1921 Imperial Conference in London. Smith moved to

in 1927, becoming managing editor of West Australian Newspapers Ltd. (the parent company of ''

'') in place of Sir

Alfred Langler Sir Alfred Langler (5 May 1865 – 26 March 1928) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor. He had a long association with ''The West Australian'', serving as editor from 1916 to 1927. Langler was born in Ipplepen, Devon, England, to Su ...

. He was promoted to managing director in 1931, serving in that position until his retirement in 1951. Smith died in Perth in 1963, aged 85. A grandson, Vincent Smith, was also a journalist.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles 1877 births 1963 deaths Australian newspaper editors Australian political journalists Australian war correspondents Canadian emigrants to Australia Journalists from Melbourne People from Dundas, Ontario War correspondents of World War I People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) The Argus (Melbourne) people