The Inquirer (Perth)

The Inquirer
TypeWeekly newspaper (every Wednesday)
FormatManuscript
Owner(s)Francis Lochée, William Tanner
EditorFrancis Lochée
Founded5 August 1840
ISSN1838-9767

The Inquirer was a newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia between 5 August 1840 and 27 June 1855, by Francis Lochée.[1] It was a competitor to the Perth Gazette.[2][3][4][5][6]

The Inquirer was established by Francis Lochée and William Tanner, with the first issue published on 5 August 1840.[7][8] Lochée became sole proprietor and editor in June 1843, when Tanner, dissatisfied with its progress, withdrew his support.[7] Lochée retained ownership of the paper until he gained employment with the Western Australian Bank, and sold it to Perth lawyer and journalist Richard West Nash,[9] who also acted as editor, publisher and printer.[10]

In November 1846 Nash was appointed Acting Advocate General, with the stipulation (by Acting Governor F. C. Irwin and Acting Colonial Secretary George Fletcher Moore) that he dissociate himself from the Inquirer, a longtime critic of the Government. He passed control of the paper to its compositor Edmund Stirling, but for the time being retained ownership.[11] Then in May 1847 he sold the operation to Stirling.[12]

Robert John Sholl was editor of The Inquirer from 1849, then left to establish in February 1855, with financial support from George Leake, a new weekly, The Commercial News and Shipping Gazette.[13] In July 1855 The Inquirer merged with The Commercial News and Shipping Gazette to form The Inquirer & Commercial News, which was published between 1855 and 1901.[14]

  1. ^ Lochée, Francis (1960), Francis Lochée papers, 1960s, retrieved 11 March 2014
  2. ^ The Inquirer : a Western Australian Journal of Politics and Literature, 1840, retrieved 11 March 2014
  3. ^ "Inquirer (Perth, WA : 1840 - 1855)". Newspaper Titles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  4. ^ The Inquirer: a Western Australian Journal of Politics and Literature, Francis Lochee, 1840, retrieved 11 March 2014 Trove work no 31024150
  5. ^ The Inquirer: a Western Australian Journal of Politics and Literature, Francis Lochée, 1840, retrieved 11 March 2014 Trove work no 1729236361
  6. ^ Ward, Katie; Erickson, Rica, 1908-; Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies; Australia. Department of Aboriginal Affairs; Dictionary of Western Australians. Aboriginal Volumes Committee; Western Australian College of Advanced Education. Intercultural Studies Centre (1987), Index to the Inquirer newspaper, Perth, Western Australia, 1850-1855, The Intercultural Studies Centre of W.A.C.A.E, retrieved 11 March 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b Tauman, Merab Harris (1967). "Lochée, Francis (1811–1893)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Death of Mr. Francis Lochee, J.P." Perth Gazette. National Library of Australia. 24 November 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Shipping Intelligence". The Inquirer. No. 564. Western Australia. 23 April 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Advertising". The Inquirer. No. 314. Western Australia. 5 August 1846. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Western Australia Eighty Years Ago". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1532. Western Australia. 22 May 1927. p. 41. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ Battye, O.K. (1976). "Stirling, Edmund (1815–1897)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  13. ^ Birman, Wendy (1976). "Sholl, Robert John (1819–1886)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  14. ^ The Inquirer & Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901), Sterling Bros. and Co, 1900, ISSN 1838-9767