In 1888 there began a great battle between Windsor’s two newspaper owners – George Louis Asher Davies and John Charles Lucas Fitzpatrick.
George L.A.Davies ( 1834 – 1903 ) was a printer who published “The Australian : Windsor, Richmond and Hawkesbury Advertiser” newspaper from 1871-1889, thirty years before the Federation of Australia. He began “The Australian” first of all in the Doctor’s House in Thompson Square, then he moved his operations to Howe House which he purchased in 1876.
John C.L. Fitzpatrick was born at Moama in 1862 and educated in Windsor when his family moved here in 1869. He began his working life in 1876 when he was 14 as an apprentice to Davies at “The Australian” but he up and left before his tenure was complete and he wandered the country working in various capacities in many different newspapers.
Meanwhile, Davies continued running his paper from Howe House and, according to sources at the time, it was a pretty pugnacious publication, as was Davies himself. He is described as being a boisterous, noisy old gentleman who seemed to quarrel with everybody and who hit whenever he saw a head.
He printed a “Darby Kelly” column each week which shocked the populace as it was full of criticism and lampoons on local celebrities, civil, clerical, political and social. He certainly caused a lot of angst because it is recorded that the wife of a well known Windsor tradesman took a buggy whip to him in the street and used it to some purpose!
Then, in about 1887, Davies’ apprentice, Fitzgerald, came ridin’ into Windsor and with limited funds but a lot of bravado, set up a rival newspaper in 1888 – the “Windsor and Richmond Gazette.” Perhaps he had some unhappy memories associated with his time at “The Australian” and desired some measure of retribution.....who knows?
The stage was set for an all out war and Thompson Square was the battleground.
Davies gave Fitzgerald 6 months to live – journalistically, of course.
The competition was fierce and they called each other everything but gentleman. It was newspapers at 20 paces, fully loaded with every kind of cantankerous adjective available. In July 1889 Davies was charged with using towards Fitzgerald language calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, to wit “Oh, you shut up you ------ Fenian ”- clearly he did not like the Irish. Davies said he did not make use of all the words – he called Fitzpatrick a Fenian hound after the latter had said he was fit for any dirty work; he said he would pull the defendant's nose and got up to do it when the complainant said “If you touch me I’ll plug you.” Such was the vehemence of the altercations between the two combatants...to the great entertainment of the townsfolk.
Davies had the established business but his treatment of his clientele left much to be desired and caused his paper to regress. “Fitz” worked with the courage and the tenacity of 10 men to win the battle of the papers. Davies threw in the towel and left “The Australian” to be run by his son ( a person more amiable than his father ) and founded another paper “The Eastern Suburbs Observer” in Rockdale. Eventually “The Australian” closed it’s doors.
And “Fitz”? He ran the “plucky little Gazette” until 1899, employing “Breaker” Morant for a few years before he left for the Boer War. He entered politics and was a member of the Legislative Council representing Rylstone, Orange and Bathurst. He died in 1932.
George L.A.Davies ( 1834 – 1903 ) was a printer who published “The Australian : Windsor, Richmond and Hawkesbury Advertiser” newspaper from 1871-1889, thirty years before the Federation of Australia. He began “The Australian” first of all in the Doctor’s House in Thompson Square, then he moved his operations to Howe House which he purchased in 1876.
John C.L. Fitzpatrick was born at Moama in 1862 and educated in Windsor when his family moved here in 1869. He began his working life in 1876 when he was 14 as an apprentice to Davies at “The Australian” but he up and left before his tenure was complete and he wandered the country working in various capacities in many different newspapers.
Meanwhile, Davies continued running his paper from Howe House and, according to sources at the time, it was a pretty pugnacious publication, as was Davies himself. He is described as being a boisterous, noisy old gentleman who seemed to quarrel with everybody and who hit whenever he saw a head.
He printed a “Darby Kelly” column each week which shocked the populace as it was full of criticism and lampoons on local celebrities, civil, clerical, political and social. He certainly caused a lot of angst because it is recorded that the wife of a well known Windsor tradesman took a buggy whip to him in the street and used it to some purpose!
Then, in about 1887, Davies’ apprentice, Fitzgerald, came ridin’ into Windsor and with limited funds but a lot of bravado, set up a rival newspaper in 1888 – the “Windsor and Richmond Gazette.” Perhaps he had some unhappy memories associated with his time at “The Australian” and desired some measure of retribution.....who knows?
The stage was set for an all out war and Thompson Square was the battleground.
Davies gave Fitzgerald 6 months to live – journalistically, of course.
The competition was fierce and they called each other everything but gentleman. It was newspapers at 20 paces, fully loaded with every kind of cantankerous adjective available. In July 1889 Davies was charged with using towards Fitzgerald language calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, to wit “Oh, you shut up you ------ Fenian ”- clearly he did not like the Irish. Davies said he did not make use of all the words – he called Fitzpatrick a Fenian hound after the latter had said he was fit for any dirty work; he said he would pull the defendant's nose and got up to do it when the complainant said “If you touch me I’ll plug you.” Such was the vehemence of the altercations between the two combatants...to the great entertainment of the townsfolk.
Davies had the established business but his treatment of his clientele left much to be desired and caused his paper to regress. “Fitz” worked with the courage and the tenacity of 10 men to win the battle of the papers. Davies threw in the towel and left “The Australian” to be run by his son ( a person more amiable than his father ) and founded another paper “The Eastern Suburbs Observer” in Rockdale. Eventually “The Australian” closed it’s doors.
And “Fitz”? He ran the “plucky little Gazette” until 1899, employing “Breaker” Morant for a few years before he left for the Boer War. He entered politics and was a member of the Legislative Council representing Rylstone, Orange and Bathurst. He died in 1932.
