Provincial Newspapers (QLD) Ltd. (PNQ) was a regionally-based newspaper publishing enterprise established in Queensland, Australia on 1 April 1968, lasting for 20 years until it was taken over in 1988 by Australian Provincial Newspapers.
PNQ was created through the amalgamation of six privately owned, regionally-based Queensland newspaper companies which represented multiple generations of family control since 1861. PNQ is recognised as the world's 'oldest continuously owned newspaper proprietorship, stretching over five generations.'
Prior to the formation of the PNQ conglomerate, six Queensland families: the Mannings; Irwins; Dunns; Parkinsons; Stephensons; and Kippens owned several regional newspaper empires, with their combined circulation area stretching from Toowoomba in south-east Queensland to Mackay in central Queensland, spanning the period from 1861 to 1968. The PNQ was an alliance of these established newspaper dynasties designed to expand the families' business interests, limit unhelpful competition and protect locally published newspapers from metropolitan competition and multinational take-overs. At the time of formation, the companies published six dailies and a weekly newspaper. Between 1968 and 1988 the company expanded its publishing activities to include nine daily newspapers in Queensland and four in New South Wales.
The knock-on effect of an Australian government determination that News Limited, through its purchase of the Herald and Weekly Times which in turn owned a significant proportion of PNQ shares, could not control both the major capital city newspaper, The Courier-Mail, plus a majority of country newspapers, meant that PNQ was bought by the Irish media company Haswell Pty Ltd on 26 July 1988, and then onsold on 2 November 1988 to Australian Provincial News and Media Limited Corporation, a subsidiary of APN News & Media Ltd (APN).
History and Family Involvement From 1968 to 1988, PNQ published local, national and international news through a range of daily, weekly and periodic newspapers in regional areas of Queensland aiming to 'keep readers in touch with the world as well as the local community.'Manion, J. (1982). Introduction and Perspectives of the North Queensland Press. In Paper Power in North Queensland: A History of Journalism in Townsville and Charters Tower (pp. 1-10). Townsville: The North Queensland Newspaper Company. Country newspapers operated in a different readership environment to their metropolitan counterparts. PNQ's newspapers focused on the local communities in which their newspapers were distributed. The popularity of its newspapers was reflected in the loyalty of the town-based readership which appreciated the availability of local news reporting, community interest editorials and a strong personal allegiance to a home-grown enterprise.
The Dunn Family The Dunns owned or part-owned newspapers in the Queensland country towns of Maryborough, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Nambour, and Bundaberg. It was the most influential family in the PNQ conglomerate.
Andrew Dunn (Senior) (1854–1934 ) was born on 24 May 1854 at Greenock, Scotland."Kirkpatrick, R. (1981). Dunn, Andrew (1854-1934)." In 1879, Dunn married Kate McIntyre and the couple arrived in Queensland in 1880. They had five sons, one of whom died in infancy. The remaining four later played integral roles in the family's newspaper business. Kate Dunn died in 1889, at the age of 34.
On 18 November 1891, Dunn married his second wife, Jane Cran. Together the couple had four children, two sons and two daughters. The sons of this marriage were also involved in the family newspaper trade. Dunn and his wife worked amicably as a ‘power couple’ and Jane was noted as an '... astute adviser in business affairs.'Kirkpatrick, R. (1984a). Development of A Great Newspaper Chain: The Provincial Story. Journal of the Royal Historical Society Queensland, 12(1), 83-102. Encouraged by the already well-established newspaper dynasties of the time, Dunn had his family trained in newspaper industry practices. Dunn's participation in the community extended beyond his involvement in the newspaper business, and in 1903 and 1914 Dunn served as the mayor of Maryborough.
In 1911, using the profits generated by The Chronicle, the Dunn family expanded their enterprise by acquiring the controlling interest in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin. Dunn employed his children, Andrew Dunn Jr. and Herbert Dunn, in managerial positions within his provincial publications.
The Dunn family soon realised that their provincial newspapers could not survive in a region so close to a metropolitan area, where the newspaper industry was more technologically advanced. This realisation led to their merger of The Warwick Argus with the Irwin family's Examiner & 'Times. This resulted, on 1 February 1919, in Andrew Dunn becoming the '...man who initiated the first chain of major provincial newspapers in Queensland.’ These families also merged the Widebay and Burnett News and the Maryborough Chronicle.
Andrew Dunn's second wife, Jane Dunn, died on 14 August 1930 and he later married the head of the Queensland Country Press Association (QCPA), Ms. Marcella Heller Foote. The couple had no children. Andrew Dunn senior died on 29 April 1934.
Andrew Dunn Jr.
William Herbert Dunn William Herbert Dunn (1883–1961) was born on 11 September 1883 in Toowoomba. Herbert Dunn was known for ‘install[ing] dictaphones to take copy by telephone from the Country Press Association’s news service in Brisbane.' He was managing director of the Toowoomba enterprises from 1922 to 1951 and died on 4 April 1961.
The Irwin family The Irwin family had a long standing involvement in the Warwick press. Three generations of the family were active over 101 years.
Samuel John Irwin (1838-1909) was born in Newtown, Limavady, Ireland. In 1841, the Irwin family emigrated to the United States of America where Samuel Irwin lived for approximately 28 years before arriving by boat in Brisbane on 26 June 1866. Irwin worked for The Queensland Times, Ipswich, before moving to Warwick to assist in launching a rival paper called the Examiner & Times on 15 February 1867. Irwin was a compositor during the early years of the newspaper and later formed a partnership with Richard Appleby Cowton. This partnership lasted until Cowton’s death in 1891 with Cowton taking major responsibility for the paper. Irwin was a competent printer and businessman. However, he spent the majority of his time developing his vineyards, rather than improving his journalistic skills. After Cowton’s death, Irwin appointed Harry Sterne as the editor of the Examiner & Times. In 1899, Irwin bought out the Cowton family’s remaining interest in the publication.
On 23 December 1878, Samuel Irwin married Matilda Jane Boyd at the Presbyterian Church in Toowoomba. They had four sons and two daughters. Three of Irwin’s sons continued in the family business, Samuel Boyd ("S.B. Irwin") (1879–1933), William John Boyd ("W.J.B.") (1885–1958), and James (1887–1966).
On 28 July 1909, Samuel Irwin died, leaving the business to his wife and family. Matilda Irwin became the proprietor, with her eldest son, Samuel, becoming manager and Sterne remaining as the editor. In 1919, the Irwins’ merged the Examiner with the Argus, which had been purchased in 1914 by the Dunns, to form the Warwick Daily News. S.B. Irwin became associate editor, brother William took charge of the printing side and James ran the commercial printing section’. S.B. Irwin later became editor of the Warwick Daily News but resigned in 1926 after he was unable to get his brother's support for paying award wages as the editor. W.J.B. Irwin became the next editor of Warwick Daily News, a position he held until 1945. ‘The Irwins worked with the Dunns till 1936 when they bought back the Dunns’ controlling interest for 7500 pounds.’ W.J.B. Irwin then became the chairman of directors, and held the position until his death on 3 November 1958. James Irwin was then appointed chairman and held this position until his death on 20 October 1966. James’ son, Lyle, then became chairman until his death on 14 February 1972. This was not the last family connection with the company, however, Edwin Hollingworth, husband of Mary Irwin, daughter of W.J.B. Irwin, became the company's business manager on 1 January 1946 and the managing director in 1962. Hollingworth was appointed to the PNQ board in 1962 acting on behalf of the Irwins. His son, Robert Paul, assumed managerial control in 1979. Robert Paul was the third and final chief executive of PNQ and was the fourth generation of Irwins to be involved.
The Manning family The Manning family was active in Gympie, Gladstone, and Mackay.
William Joseph "W.J." Manning (1864–1943) was born in Eden, Twofold Bay, New South Wales. His parents relocated to Brisbane when he was three but soon moved to Gympie following the gold rush. Manning left school two months before his 14th birthday. At the behest of his parents, he reluctantly started a printing apprenticeship at the Gympie Times on 1 April 1878. By the age of 21, Manning had completed his apprenticeship and moved to Brisbane to start work on Figaro, a ‘bright glossy weekly.’ Manning married Charlotte Emma Black in 1888 and in 1889, they were expecting their first child. In the same year, Manning successfully applied for the role of manager for The Observer (Gladstone). After only one year as manager, William Manning purchased the remaining interests from William Peel Mellefont's widow and brother to become proprietor and editor of The Observer (Gladstone). He held this role for over 20 years. W.J.'s son, Henry John ("Jack") Manning, was born in Gladstone on 6 August 1889. Jack's eventual involvement in the newspaper trade was to span 70 years.
W.J. Manning was an influential member of the Gladstone community. He was Mayor in 1897, 1898 and 1901. In 1910, Manning visited Mackay to purchase equipment for the Port Curtis Dairy Factory, just one of the many organisations in which he held the chairman's position. During his time in Mackay, he noticed the office of the Daily Mercury and enquired whether the newspaper was for sale. Manning purchased 2200 shares from A.F. Williams, with Williams resigning on 24 April 1910. Manning took over as managing editor selling the profitable The Observer (Gladstone) to John Henry Kessell. He moved his family to Mackay to run the struggling Daily Mercury. Less than one year after his appointment as managing editor of the Daily Mercury, at a salary of 400 pounds a year, Manning became managing director. In 1917, Manning became the chairman of directors and, by 1924, the Manning family had become proprietors of the publication.
Manning was devoted to the Daily Mercury and the Mackay district, investing all his savings to that end. The news columns in the Daily Mercury were known to be ‘balanced and straightforward’ as Manning would never permit news to be ‘coloured with animosities.’ ‘Despite the editorial, managerial, and proprietorial demands at the Daily Mercury, W.J. Manning maintained a close and active interest in numerous organisations’Kirkpatrick, R. (1984b). Sworn to no master: a history of the provincial press in Queensland to 1930. Toowoomba: Darling Downs Institute Press. alongside local and state politics. In 1918, Manning unsuccessfully stood against the State Member for Mackay, William Forgan Smith.
The Daily Mercury was successful under Manning's control. On 27 July 1932, shareholders agreed to privately register the company and changed its name to Mackay Printing and Publishing Company (Pty.) Ltd. It also bought 50 per cent of Radio 4MK, Mackay's first radio broadcasting service. In 1937, Manning became the director and licensee of the radio station.