Charles Patrick Smith (3 October 1877 – 5 August 1963) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor. He had long associations with '' The Argus'' (of

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 ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' (of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Background

Smith was born in

Dundas, Ontario Dundas () is a community and urban district in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is nicknamed ''Valley Town'' because of its topographical location at the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment on the we ...

, Canada, to Mary Elizabeth (née Rosselle) and Thomas Smith. His family emigrated to Australia when he was a child, settling in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Smith attended Wesley College,

, leaving school at the age of 17 to work as a proofreader for a sporting journal. He later began working for '' The Argus'' as a compositor, also occasionally writing for '' The Herald'' and '' The Bulletin''. Smith joined the reporting staff of ''The Argus'' in 1911, and became known for his political reporting. In August 1914, he was with Prime Minister

Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the fifth prime minister of Australia from 1908 to 1909, 1910 to 1913 and 1914 to 1915. He held office as the leader of the Australian ...

when he was notified of the outbreak of war, while he had earlier covered General Hamilton's inspection of the Australian forces. In December 1914, Smith was attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade as a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

. He covered training in Egypt and then portions of the Gallipoli Campaign, with his reports focusing on the experiences of front-line soldiers. Smith was later posted to the Balkan Theatre. In 1916, he was made chief of the literary staff of ''The Argus''. He was appointed assistant general manager in 1921, and the same year accompanied Prime Minister

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

to the

1921 Imperial Conference The 1921 Imperial Conference met in London from 20 June to 5 August 1921. It was chaired by British prime minister David Lloyd George. The Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominions met at the 1921 Imperial Conference to determine a ...

in London. Smith moved to

in 1927, becoming managing editor of West Australian Newspapers Ltd. (the parent company of ''

'') in place of Sir Alfred Langler. He was promoted to managing director in 1931, serving in that position until his retirement in 1951. Smith died in Perth in 1963, aged 85. A grandson, Vincent Smith, was also a journalist.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles 1877 births 1963 deaths Australian newspaper editors Australian political journalists Australian war correspondents Canadian emigrants to the British Empire People from the Colony of Victoria Journalists from Melbourne People from Dundas, Ontario War correspondents of World War I People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) The Argus (Melbourne) people