Members of the Fairfax Family were prominent as Australian media proprietors, especially in the area of newspaper publishing through the company John Fairfax and Sons (later known as Fairfax Media, although the Fairfax family no longer control the eponymous company). Some members have also been prominent in Australian philanthropy and the arts.
Six generations of the family are descended from Anglo-Celtic immigrants to Australia, patriarch John Fairfax, an English-born journalist, and his wife, Sarah (née Reading). Both were from the Barford area of Warwickshire, and emigrated to the Colony of New South Wales in 1838.
Generational history
First generation
John Fairfax was born in Barford, Warwickshire, the second son of William Fairfax and his wife, Elizabeth née Jesson. In 1817, John Fairfax was apprenticed to William Perry, a bookseller and printer in Warwick. In 1825, Fairfax went to London where he worked as a compositor in a general printing office and on the Morning Chronicle. A year or two later he established himself at Leamington Hastings as a printer, bookseller and stationer. There, on 31 July 1827, he married Sarah Reading, daughter of James and Sarah Reading. He became the printer of the Leamington Spa Courier, and in 1835 he purchased an interest in another paper The Leamington Chronicle and Warwickshire Reporter. He had a book binding business in Leamington. In 1836, Fairfax published a letter criticizing the conduct of a local solicitor, who brought an action against him. Though judgment was given for the defendant, the solicitor appealed. Judgment was again given for Fairfax but the costs of the actions were so heavy that he had to apply to the Insolvency Court. There was sympathy for him, his friends offered assistance but he decided to make a fresh start in a new land, and in May 1838 sailed for the Colony of New South Wales in the Lady Fitzherbert with his wife and three children, his mother and a brother-in-law. After a voyage of about 130 days, they reached Sydney on 26 September 1838; Fairfax had just £5 in his pocket.
Fairfax worked as a compositor for some months then on 1 April 1839 was appointed librarian of the Australian subscription library. The salary was only £100 a year but he had free quarters for his family in pleasant surroundings. He found he was able to get some typesetting, and he also contributed articles to the various Sydney newspapers. What was possibly more important was his contacting through the library the best educated men of Sydney, and he became friendly with some of them. One of these was a member of the staff of the Sydney Herald, Charles Kemp, with whom he joined forces to purchase the Herald for the sum of £10,000.
The paper was bought on terms, friends helped the two men to find the deposit, and on 8 February 1841 they took control as proprietors. It was good combination for each had qualities that supplemented the other's, they worked in harmony for 12 years and firmly established the paper as the leading Australian newspaper of the day. It was given the fuller title of the Sydney Morning Herald in 1842, and in spite of a period of depression both partners by 1853 were in prosperous positions. Kemp then decided to retire. The partnership was dissolved in September 1853 and Charles, John's eldest son, became a partner. In the previous year his father had visited England and seeking out his old creditors repaid every man in full with interest added. Under Fairfax and his sons the paper continually increased in public favour, and the great increase of population in the 1850s added much to its prosperity. It was always conservative; G. B. Barton in his Literature in New South Wales said in 1866 that its Toryism had "increased in a direct ratio to the Radicalism of the constitution, and its prosperity in a direct ratio to its Toryism". But this is an overstatement. The Herald was moved to its present site in 1856, and at that date claimed to have the largest circulation in the "colonial empire". A weekly journal, The Sydney Mail, was established, its first number was published on 7 July 1860, and it continued to appear until 1938.
In 1851 John Fairfax was a foundation director of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, and in the 1860s a director of the Sydney Insurance Co., the New South Wales Marine Insurance Co., the Australian Joint Stock Bank and The Australian Gaslight Co. and a trustee of the Savings Bank of New South Wales. In his latter years, Fairfax served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1874 until his death in 1877, but never took an active part in politics.
Fairfax and his wife, Sarah, née Reading, had four children, Emily, Charles John, James Reading and Edward Ross.
Second generation Of John and Sarah Fairfax's four children, Emily Fairfax, the eldest, born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, married Joseph Grafton Ross and together they had one child, a son, Elsey Fairfax Ross, who studied medicine at University College Hospital, London and practised in London and Brussels before returning to Sydney where he was an honorary physician at St Vincent's Hospital. Aged 39 years, Emily leaped from a horse carriage after her father, John Fairfax fell from the carriage, following the driver dropping the reins. Emily sustained serious damage to her head and died shortly after.
Charles John Fairfax, the eldest son and also born in Leamington Spa, was also subject to a horse accident as he thrown from his horse and killed, aged 35. Prior to his death, Charles was an apprentice in the Herald and became a member of the firm, named John Fairfax and Sons. Charles and his wife, Anne, née Fairfax, had three children, John A. (Jack), Amy Sarah Elizabeth, and Caroline Elizabeth (Carrie). Jack died of typhoid fever, aged 25. Amy and Carrie never married and followed their mother's philanthropic passions, The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children (now based at ) and Boy Scouts NSW.
Aged 18 years, James Reading Fairfax began working for his father and in December 1856 with his elder brother, Charles, became a partner in the firm, John Fairfax and Sons. Following the death of Charles in 1863, James Reading became the principal partner in the development of the Herald. The same year he married Lucy, née Armstrong, and together they had seven children: Mary Elizabeth, Charles Burton, Geoffrey Evan, James Oswald, Harold Walter, (John) Hubert Fraser, and Edward Wilfred. James Reading was prominent in both business and philanthropy. Like his father, James Reading was a director of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, and he was a founder of the Perpetual Trustee Company, and a director of the Bank of New South Wales, the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney and Burns, Philp & Co. Limited. His philanthropic interests were numerous and included Young Men's Christian Association, the Boys' Brigade in Sydney, the Sydney Ragged Schools, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the New South Wales Bush Nursing Association, the Mission to Seamen, Goodenough Royal Naval House and the Volunteer Rifles, the No. 3 Company, Sydney Battalion where he served as captain, the New South Wales Academy of Art, the National Art Gallery of New South Wales, the (Royal) Philharmonic Society of Sydney, the Sydney Amateur Orchestral Society, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Society of New South Wales, the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, the Union Club and the Royal Sydney Golf Club. James Reading Fairfax was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1898 and died in 1919, aged 85 years.
Edward Ross Fairfax, the youngest child of John and Sarah Fairfax, was born in Sydney and like his two brothers entered the family business, was appointed a partner of John Fairfax and Sons, publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sydney Mail. He married Catherine, née Mackenzie. After retiring from the firm, Edward Ross and Catherine lived in England. Edward died in 1915, aged 72 years. His wife died a year later.
Third generation Mary Elizabeth Fairfax, a philanthropist, community worker and spinster, was the eldest child of James Reading Fairfax and Lucy Fairfax. Miss Mary's philanthropic and community interests included The Women's College, University of Sydney, Girl Guides' Association, the Boys' Brigade, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Kindergarten Union, the (Sydney) District Nursing Association, the Bush Book Club, the Australian Comforts Fund, the British (Australian) Red Cross Society, the Victoria League, the Society of Arts and Crafts of New South Wales, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestral Ladies' Committee.
Charles Burton Fairfax, the second eldest child, married Florence Marie, née Frazer, and they had one child, a son, later known as Captain J. Griffyth Fairfax. Charles entered the family business, John Fairfax and Sons, as a partner in 1888 until his retirement 16 years later in 1904. Upon his retirement he lived in London where he died in 1941. His philanthropic and military service interests included the NSW South Wales Lancers, the Queen Victoria Homes and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. His wife, Florence, was granted a divorce, decree nisi, in 1919 on the grounds of misconduct by Charles.
Geoffrey Evan Fairfax was for over forty years a proprietor of John Fairfax and Sons where he became chairman of the listed company, John Fairfax and Sons, Ltd, publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sunday Mail. Educated at Sydney Grammar School and Oxford University, Geoffrey married Anne Madeleine (Lena), a daughter of Francis Hixson, and they had no children. His philanthropic and community interests included the New South Wales Rowing Association, the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, the Sailors' Home, the Navy League, the Boys' Brigade, the Bush Nursing Association, and the Australian Trained Nurses' Association. Upon his death, proceeds of his estate were distributed to his family.
James Oswald Fairfax was born in Sydney and educated at the Sydney Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford and he was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple and admitted to the Colonial Bar in Sydney in 1887. Two years later he became a partner in the family firm, John Fairfax and Sons and in 1892 married Mabel Alice Emmeline, also a daughter of Francis Hixson. They had one child, a son, Warwick Oswald Fairfax. In late 1900 the family purchased Fairwater and made significant renovations in 1910–11. James became a director of the listed company, John Fairfax and Sons Limited in 1916 and a director of the Perpetual Trustee Co., the United Insurance Co. and the AMP Society. His philanthropic interests included the New South Wales branch of the Red Cross Society, the Boys' Brigade and the Sydney Grammar School Old Boys' Union. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in March 1918 in recognition of service as the Chairman of the NSW Red Cross Society, and a Commander of the Order in May of the same year, Fairfax was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order in July 1926 in recognition of service as the Chairman of the Empire Press Union.
Harold Walter Fairfax, also born in Sydney, followed the same path as his elder brother, James, and was educated at the Sydney Grammar School and Balliol College and he was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple and admitted to the Bar of New South Wales in 1893. He married Elsie, née Cape, and they were childless. He purchased a property near and successfully grew wheat and farmed sheep. His philanthropic interests included the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. He died, aged 42 years, from acute tetanus.