Frank Skeffington Carroll (c. 1837–1887) was a salesman, mapmaker, journalist, editor, and, briefly, politician in the colony of South Australia. Carroll was born in Ireland, the second son of Bernard Carroll of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He emigrated to Australia, perhaps around 1870, and had a chequered career in Victoria and New South Wales. Around 1875, as "Frank O'Reilly" he was a popular society figure in Tasmania, and left that colony owing money to investors in Hiscock & Co.'s "Map of Tasmania", in which he had a stake, and which was never published. In 1876 he was a candidate for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Sturt. He took over as proprietor and editor of ''The Lantern'', a satirical weekly, with

Alfred Clint Alfred Clint (1807–1883) was an English marine painter. Life Clint was the fifth and youngest son by the first marriage of George Clint, A.R.A. He was born in Alfred Place, Bedford Square, London, on 22 March 1807. He acquired the technic ...

, scenic artist of the Theatre Royal, his cartoonist. He published an atlas of South Australia late in this same year (see Bibliography below). He was elected to one of three seats for the district of

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in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

in April 1878, despite public accusations that he had spent time in

Pentridge prison HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison that was first established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997. Pentridge was often referred to as the "Bluestone College", " ...

, which he strenuously denied. It turned out the accusations were " straw men" set up by himself or a friend: he had not used the alias "O'Sullivan" in New Zealand, and had not been sent to Pentridge, but he had called himself "O'Reilly" in Tasmania, and had been sent to

Melbourne Gaol The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildin ...

. After the ''

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'' revealed that Carroll had been sentenced to two years' in

Darlinghurst Gaol The Darlinghurst Gaol is a former Australian prison located in Darlinghurst, New South Wales. The site is bordered by Darlinghurst Road, Burton and Forbes streets, with entrances on Forbes and Burton Streets. The heritage-listed building, predom ...

for uttering a valueless cheque, citing the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' of 22 August 1871, Carroll was forced to resign his seat in May 1878. He was tried by Judge Boucaut and jury for malicious libel in ''The Lantern'' of 23 August 1879 against James Hurst and the Mutual Trade Protection Association. Carroll defended himself without distinction, was found guilty and sentenced to six months' jail and a fine of £500. Duncan Moodie, editor of ''

The Portonian ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', another Adelaide satirical paper, described Carroll as having "a hide like a rhinoceros" and producing "an effete and harmless paper". Carroll made various attempts to improve ''The Lantern'': in 1881 he and partner John Roche enlarged it to tabloid format, included serious articles by F. H. Linklater and Henry Cargill, and dropped the cartoons. Roche died at the end of 1881 and publication lapsed for six months before reappearing in its old format. In July 1882 Carroll was charged with republishing an article from ''Pasquin'' without permission. Carroll sold the paper to Charles F. Stansbury, who with Charles A. Murphy in 1884 took over and absorbed

Adelaide Punch ''Adelaide Punch'' (1878–1884) was a short-lived humorous and satirical magazine published in Adelaide, South Australia. Like ''Melbourne Punch'', it was modelled on '' Punch'' of London. History ''Adelaide Punch'' had its origin in ''The R ...

. In 1890 The Lantern was taken over by

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. He died in Melbourne.

Family

He married Emma Hogarth, née Homburg, (c. 1844 – ) of Adelaide on 28 April 1877.

Bibliography

*Carroll, F. S. The New counties, hundreds and district atlas of South Australia and Northern Territory : together with map of South Australia, indicating roads, distances, relative position of counties, etc., etc. Published E. S. Wigg 1876. Available as facsimile and microfiche editions: * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Frank Skeffington Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian newspaper editors 1837 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians Australian cartographers 19th-century cartographers