''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft * ''Ta ...

newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia.

History

The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir James Joynton Smith, a prominent Sydney figure during World War One, conducting fund-raising and recruitment drives. Its two other founders were theatrical publicist Claude McKay and journalist Clyde Packer, father of Sir Frank Packer and grandfather of media baron

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

. Mainly directed at the male (especially ex-Servicemen) market, it mixed

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages Media bias, biased ...

, satire and controversial opinions with sporting and finance news. It also included short stories, and many cartoons and caricatures as a main feature of its lively format.Blaikie, George ''Remember Smith's Weekly'' Angus & Robertson, London 1967 One of its chief attractions in the 1920s was the ''Unofficial History of the A.I.F.'' feature, whose cartoons and contributions from returned soldiers helped perpetuate the image of the " digger" as an easy-going individual with a healthy disrespect for authority. It also worked hard to ensure that promises made to soldiers during hostilities were not swept aside in peacetime. Of particular concern was men affected by shellshock, a condition which was being minimised by some "experts" as deserving scorn rather than sympathy. Staff cartoonists associated with this feature included the succession of Cecil Hartt, Frank Dunne and Lance Mattinson. From 1922 the ''Smith's Weekly'' offices were at 126-130 Phillip Street. It also had a special Investigation department staffed by journalists with a bent for sleuthing. One of its many exposures is credited with dealing a fatal blow to the New Guard, an incipient fascist movement of the 1930s. One of ''Smith's Weeklys innovations was, in conjunction with

Union Theatres The Combine was the name given to the association between exhibitor Union Theatres and the production and distribution company Australasian Films on 6 January 1913. The Combine had a powerful influence on the Australian film industry of the 1910 ...

Ltd., the first " Miss Australia" beauty contest, selected from winners from each State. Prizes included a trip to America with £500 spending money, a screen test and paid speaking engagements. Winners were: *1926: Beryl Mills of

Geraldton, Western Australia Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

; she married journalist Frank Davison of ''Smith's Weekly'', her escort on the World Tour. *1927: Phyllis von Alwyn of Launceston, Tasmania. The company which promised a motor car as part of the prize never delivered. The winner of the "Miss New South Wales" heat was controversially changed at the last moment. The contest was then quietly dropped, but re-instituted in 1936 with much broader selection criteria, in which beauty was not mentioned. The judging panel was composed entirely of prominent women; the winner was Sheila Martin of Wagga, New South Wales. The prize for "Miss Australia 1937" was a trip to London to attend the coronation of Edward VIII on 12 May 1937 (which instead became the coronation of

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

) followed by a tour of Canada and the United States. ''Smith's Weekly'' staff included notable poet

Kenneth Slessor Kenneth Adolphe Slessor (27 March 190130 June 1971) was an Australian poet, journalist and official war correspondent in World War II. He was one of Australia's leading poets, notable particularly for the absorption of modernist influences int ...

as editor, and cartoonists of the stature of George Finey, Emile Mercier and Stan Cross. It was a launching pad for two generations of outstanding Australian journalists and cartoonists. In the 1930s Dick Randall submitted articles for publication in ''Smith's Weekly'', later becoming finance editor. In 1966, as Sir Richard Randall, he became Secretary to the Treasury, Canberra. Three rare Lovecraftian stories were originally published by the well-known "Witch of the Cross" in Sydney, Rosaleen Norton in ''Smith's Weekly''. They were later reprinted as, ''Three Macabre Tales'' (US: Typographeum Press, 1996).

Decline and closure

On 5 April 1932, Francis Barnby Wilkinson and his girlfriend Dorothy Ruth Denzel, were victims of a callous double murder at Moorebank by William Cyril Moxley. In the issue dated 30 July 1932, ''Smith's Weekly'' published a barrage of ugly allegations against Wilkinson, including attempted extortion and being a police informant. They were quickly proven false, a fact that was seized on by the daily newspapers. ''Smith's Weekly'' never fully recovered from its loss of reputation. Its fortunes revived somewhat during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, once again doggedly supporting the men at the front, but at war's end rising costs and lack of capital (new owners seeing its value as real estate rather than a business) accelerated its decline, and the last issue, dated 28 October 1950, was a tabloid of a mere 24 pages.

Noteworthy employees

Editors-in-Chief *Claude McKay 1919–1927 *

Frank Marien Francis Joseph Marien (1890 – 17 July 1936), born in Sydney, Australia, of Irish and Italian parents (his father was born "Marianni"), was an editor of ''Smith's Weekly''.Blaikie, George ''Remember Smith's Weekly'' Angus & Robertson, London 1 ...

1928–1936 *Harry Cox 1938–1939 *

June–September 1939 *Claude McKay 1939–1950 Editors *Reg Moses 1930–1935 *Kenneth Slessor 1935–1939 *George Goddard 1939–1947 *Edgar Holt 1947–1950 Artists * Stan Cross – employed from March 1919, the second artist employed by ''Smith's Weekly''.'Smith's' Gigantic Easter Egg: History of 'Smith's' Art Supremacy
''Smith's Weekly'' (Sydney), 20 April 1935, page 21. * Les Dixon * George Donaldson *Lance ('Driff') Driffield * Frank Dunne *John Endean * George Finey *

Charles Hallett Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

* Cec Hartt – employed from the first edition in March 1919 to his death in 1930; the first artist employed by ''Smith's Weekly''. * Mollie Horseman *

Eric Jolliffe Eric Ernest Jolliffe (31 January 190716 November 2001)Tony Stephens, "A talent drawn from the bush", '' The Sydney Morning Herald'', 27 November 2001, p. 44. was an Australian cartoonist and illustrator. Early life Born in Portsmouth, England ...

* Joe Jonsson *Alex King *Joseph Lynch *Lance Mattinson * Emile Mercier * Syd Miller *

Norm Mitchell Norm Mitchell (born 30 July 1949) is a former Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 pla ...

Joan Morrison Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multiple ...

*'Petrov' (Geoffrey Claude Turton) * Jim Phillips – Walkley awards 1960, 1962. *

Virgil Reilly Virgil Reilly (29 November 1892 – 23 January 1974), was an Australian cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator. In a long and varied career, he was one of Australia's most famous newspaper and magazine artists and a prolific comic-book il ...

– began to contribute during 1924, probably becoming a staff artist from about January 1925; he left ''Smith's'' in about January 1938 to work for Consolidated Press (publisher of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and ''

The Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by ...

''). * Jim Russell *

Alek Sass Alek is a given name and alternative form of Alec. Notable people with the name include: * Alek Bédard (born 1996), Canadian curler * Alek D. Epstein (born 1975), Russian-Israeli sociologist of culture and politics * Alek Dzhabrailov (1976-2 ...

(born Alexander Phillip Williams; known as Alek or Alec Sass) – employed from March 1919, the third artist employed by ''Smith's Weekly'', and its first art editor. Alek Sass died on 1 December 1922.Alek Sass Dead
''Evening News'' (Sydney), 1 December 1922, page 8. Crime reporters *Vince Kelly, who also wrote: ''Guarded Pearls'' (1948); ''The Shadow – Australia's underworld cop'' (1954) – about Frank Fahy; ''The Bogey Man – the exploits of Sergeant C J Chuck, Australia's most unpopular cop'' (1956); ''Rugged Angel – the amazing career of policewoman Lillian Armfield'' (1961, 1995? ); ''The Shark-arm Case'' (1963, 1975 ); ''The Charge is Murder'' (1965). *Harry Maddison Writers and reporters *

Bartlett Adamson George Ernest “Bartlett” Adamson (22 December 1884 – 4 November 1951) was an Australian journalist, poet, author and political activist. Life and work Adamson was born at Cascade, Ringarooma, Tasmania, Australia, on 22 December 1884 to ...

George Blaikie George Neil Blaikie (5 May 1915 – 12 October 1995) was an Australian author and journalist. Blaikie was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Grammar School and Melbourne University. He joined ''Smith's Weekly'' in December 1931, after his ba ...

1931–1950 *Clem Cleveson * Dorothy Drain (journalist and poet) *Reg Harris (later press secretary to several Federal Ministers) * Bernard Hesling *

Errol Knox Errol may refer to: People with the given name *Errol Barnett (born 1983), anchor and correspondent for CBS News *Errol Barrow (1920–1987), first Prime Minister of Barbados *Errol Brown (1943–2015), British-Jamaican songwriter, lead singer ...

(later Sir Errol of The (Melbourne) Argus) *

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

* Lennie Lower * Ronald McCuaig *Alex MacDonald (previously scriptwriter for "Mo" Roy Rene) *Adam McKay (literary editor) *Reg Moses ("Mo") (satirist) 1920–1935 *John O'Donnell *John Quinn (poet) 1945–1947 *Dick Randall (finance editor) 1930s (later Sir Richard Randall) *Helen Seager * Colin Simpson (author, journalist and traveller) *

*Rupert Tribe (motoring journalist, also wrote short stories) *Gus Walker Sports writers *Jim Donald (boxing) *Tom Foley (racing) *Cliff Graves (racing) Advertising *Ernie Brewer *Hugh Dash (later press secretary to Prime Minister Menzies) *William Gasnier (later father of Rugby League star Reg Gasnier)

Digitisation

''Smith's Weekly'' has been digitised as part of the

Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

References

External links