Printing in Australia: a Timeline of the Early 19th Century

“A Common Wooden Handpress.” Kent Street Printing, https://kentstreetprinting.com.au/history-of-printing-in-australia/.

The first printing press ever brought to Australia arrived along with the first convict ships in 1787. However it was not until
1794 that someone was found to work the press, a convict named George Hughes. In his 5 years working the press
he printed over 200 government notices, playbills, and more as well as the first books ever printed in Australia.
This preceded the establishment of an official publication, and rather he was known as the 'government printer'.

Johnson, Richard and Parish, Anne Downs. An address to the inhabitants of the colonies established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island London: Printed for the author and sold by Mathews..., Deighton..., Trap..., and Goff and Amey, 1794.
Web. 21 March 2023 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-243984325

This title shown above, An Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies of New South Wales and Norfolk Island, was the first
book published in the colonies of Australia. It was shortly followed by The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay
and other accounts from officers, some of which notable for their scientific curiosity (Morrison)

Howe, George. The Sydney Gazette. National Library of Australia, 5 Mar. 1803, https://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/finding-government-gazettes/new-south-wales.

It was not until 1800 the a professional printer arrived in New South Wales. George Howe, a convict sent to Australia
from the West Indies, quickly began operating the printing press for the government and within three years of arriving in
the colonies he had founded their first local publication, the Sydney Gazette (Morrison). Just one of many publications eventually
established, these newspapers would serve to bring together the settlers of Australia and define their culture well into the future.
Howe, printing on the same wooden press that George Hughes used for government notices and playbills, would become
one of the most influential non-governing figures in the colony at the time.

"File:EB1911 Printing - Stanhope Iron
Hand-press.jpg." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 14 Jan 2017, 12:52 UTC. 21 Mar 2023, 09:35 <https://caommons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:EB1911_Printing_-_Stanhope_Iron_Hand-press.jpg&oldid=229682814>.

In 1810, around the time that many other presses began cropping up around Australia, George Howe purchased a new
and more advanced printing press, known as a "Iron Stanhope Press" named after its inventor, Charles Stanhope. By 1819
the colony had grown to 30,000 people, and the content of the Sydney Gazette expanded to include literary titles and
multiple languages such as missionary work in various Pacific Islander languages (Morrison).

The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald, https://www.smh.com.au/todays-newspaper.

George Howe passed away in 1821, leaving a sizable esatate to his family including the editoship of the gazette, which
was passed on to his son Robert Howe. Howe was a very religious man, and besides editing The Sydney Gazette, which saw
major changes under his guidance, he also published Australia's first magazine (Byrnes). In 1827, there were seven
major news publications in the Australian colonies. After the economic depression of the 1840s, only one of these was still
in business. The Sydney Herald is still operating in the modern day, now known as The Sydney Morning Herald.