Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Wednesday 12 June 1918, page 4


T PIONEER JOURNAL OF THE DOWNS. Thus the "Darling Downs Gazette" of Monday last: "To-day, the 'Darling Downs Gazette' enters upon the 61st year of publication. It was in May, 1858, when Mr. Arthur Sydney Lyon, the pioneer of Queensland journalism, sold out of the 'North Australian,' since merged into the 'Queensland Times,' and put into practice 'his project of starting a paper on the Darling Downs. On the 10th of June, 1858, the initial publication of the 'Darling Downs Gazette' was issued from the 'Willow Cottage,' Drayton, and was a modest demy-folio of four pages. After two years the paper came into the posses-sion of Mr. W. H.. Byers, who in 1863 removed it to Toowoomba." With reference to the above, Red Gum" writes as follows:- In stating that "Mr. A. S. Lyon, the pioneer of' Queensland Journalism, sold out of the 'North Australian,' since merged into the 'Queensland Times, " the "D.D. Gazette'" deprives itself of the credit of being the second oldest established newspaper in Queensland, the first being the "More-ton Bay Courier" (now the Brisbane "Courier"), printed and published by the proprietor, Arthur Sidney Lyon, on the '20th of June, 1846.'" Nine years later, Mr. A. S. Lyon edited the "North Australlan" (owned by Messrs. E. J. and A. C. Buys), which was published on the 2nd of October, 1855. Three years later 'Mr. A. S. Lyon edited the first, publication of the "Darling Downs Gaz-ette." but as to the "Queensland Times," it merged from the "Ipswich Herald," which saw the light of day a year sub-sequent to the publicntion of the "D.D. Gazette"-namely, on the 4th of July, 1859. Nevertheless, I wish the "Gaz-ette" another 61 years' life and pros-perity,' with kindly regards to "Ben Bolt," with whom I have had the plea-sure of comparing notes. 'Men's Tweed Overcoats, sizes S to 8. 'PrIces, 35/, 40/, 42/, 45/, 50/, 60/. T. Beirne & Co., Ipswich.*