Arthur Maning Topp (7 October 1844 – 17 January 1916)
was an Australian journalist who helped to establish the
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
''Review''.
Topp was born in
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, being the eldest son of the late Samuel Topp, who emigrated to Australia in 1858. His maternal great-grandfather was William Blanchard (1749–1836), for 60 years editor and proprietor of the ''York Chronicle'', and uncle of William Blanchard (1769–1835), the well-known comedian of the Covent Garden Theatre. A. M. Topp was elder brother of Samuel St John Topp.
In 1858 Topp, his parents and a brother, Charles, left England for
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, and Arthur Topp completed his education at the
Church of England Grammar School
The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisba ...
, which was just then opened with Dr. John Edward Bromby as Headmaster. Afterwards going into business, he took an active part in establishing the Melbourne ''Review'', of which the first number appeared in January 1876, and for six years was one of the editorial committee. He contributed to this periodical a number of articles, chiefly on political and historical questions. Two of them, "English Institutions and the Irish Race", and "A few more words on the Irish Question", appeared separately in pamphlet form and attracted a good deal of attention. Topp was a member of the Eclectic Association, fellow members
Arthur Patchett Martin
Arthur Patchett Martin (18 February 1851 – 15 February 1902), was an Australian writer and literary critic.
Martin was born in Woolwich, Kent, England, the son of George Martin and his wife Eleanor, ''née'' Hill. The family migrated to Austra ...
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...
and David Mickle were his close friends.
In 1878, in conjunction with Arthur Patchett Martin, he initiated a movement "for the purpose of expressing public appreciation of the services of the Bar of Beaconsfield in the settlement of the Eastern Question." A public meeting was held in the
Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall, often referred to as simply Town Hall, is the administrative seat of the local municipality of the City of Melbourne and the primary offices of the Lord Mayor and city councillors of Melbourne. Located on the northeast co ...
on 29 July 1878, at which a resolution to the above effect was carried with enthusiasm, and speeches were delivered by several prominent public men, including James Francis and
James Service
James Service (27 November 1823 – 12 April 1899), an Australian colonial politician, was the 12th premier of Victoria, Australia.
Biography
Service was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of Robert Service. As a young man James ...
. An illuminated address also was sent to Lord Beaconsfield (
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
). In 1880 Topp joined the literary staff of ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' newspaper, and in 1882 that of the ''Argus'', with which he was connected for a number of years. He has contributed extensively to the columns of this paper and to the ''Australasian''.
On 17 January 1916 Topp died at
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
, survived by his wife Leila Leonora, ''née'' Sanders (they married at South Yarra in 1884) and by his two sons.