George Howe (printer)

George Howe (1769 – 11 May 1821) was a poet, printer, and editor of the first Australian newspaper, the Sydney Gazette.

Howe was the son of Thomas Howe, a government printer on Basseterre, Saint Christopher Island (now better known as Saint Kitts) in the West Indies. When he was 21, he went to London and worked as a printer for The Times. In March 1799, he was charged with shoplifting and sentenced to death, but this was commuted to transportation for life to New South Wales. Howe arrived at Sydney on 22 November 1800.

A small printing press had been brought to Australia by Governor Arthur Phillip, and a convict named George Hughes used it to print a considerable number of orders, rules and regulations. Soon after he arrived George Howe became the government printer, and in 1802 printed New South Wales General Standing Orders consisting of 146 pages, the first book to be printed in Australia. In May 1803 Governor King, in a dispatch to Lord Hobart, mentioned the establishment of the Sydney Gazette as a weekly publication—its first number had appeared on 5 March and asked that a new font of type should be sent to Sydney. The paper was carried on at the risk of Howe, who, though he had been fully emancipated in 1806, did not receive a salary as government printer until 1811 when he was granted only £60 a year. In the meantime Howe conducted the Gazette under difficulties, often running out of paper and suffering much from patrons who fell behind in their subscriptions. In 1810 a lighting strike almost destroyed Howes's printing office. Howe tried various expedients to keep his household going, at one time keeping a school and at another becoming a professional debt collector. Another of these expedients was becoming a professional mobile food stand for the public, he did this for 3 years.

In addition to the Gazette Howe began the publication of the New South Wales Pocket Almanac in 1806, which became a regular yearly publication from 1808 to 1821. He also began trading in sandalwood, and in 1813 found himself liable for over £90 of duty on two consignments. He appears to have become more prosperous, as in 1817 he was one of the original subscribers when the Bank of New South Wales was founded. Howe died on 11 May 1821 and left an estate of £400. He was married twice, and his second wife survived him with children of both marriages. He seems to have been a man of indomitable spirit and, considering his difficulties, was a good printer and editor. The memorial placed in the printing office by his son stated that "his charity knew no bounds".

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