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landmarks
This chronology is indicative only.
It includes highlights from the more detailed history
of the John Fairfax & Sons group.
Context is provided by the broader communications and
media timeline.
 Founding
Fathers
1828
John Fairfax launches Leamington Spa Courier in
UK, subsequently emigrates to Australia
1831 Ward Stephens, William McGarvie and Frederick Stokes
start The Sydney Herald
1841
John Fairfax and Charles Kemp buy The Sydney Herald
from Frederick Stokes
1842
Sydney Herald becomes The Sydney Morning Herald
(SMH)
1844 Fairfax launches Shipping Gazette
1851
Ebenezer Syme assists publisher of the Westminister
Review
1853 Ebenezer establishes short-lived Diggers Advocate
in Victorian goldfields
1853 SMH becomes first Australian newspaper printed
with steam
1855 Illawarra Mercury founded
1856 John Fairfax & Sons established when partnership
is formed with John and sons James & Charles
1856 Ebenezer and brother David Syme buys The Age
and start The Leader
1860
Ebenezer Syme dies aged 34, David halves price of paper
1868 Syme buys Melbourne Herald
1870 Fairfax's Afternoon Telegraph expires within
year
1872 first Reuters news arrives
at SMH
1876 Newcastle Morning Herald launched by James
Fletcher
1876 David Syme writes Outline of an Industrial Science
1878 David Syme and Ebenezer's heirs for David Syme &
Co
1881 David Syme writes Representative Government in
England
1881
David Syme writes vitalist tract On the Modification
of Organisms
1887 Francis Hannan (1854-1907) opens butcher shop
in Randwick
1899 The Sydney Morning Herald evening edition
established
1908 David Syme dies, company controlled by trust
Next
Generation
1910 The Sun launched as broadsheet
1916
John Fairfax & Sons becomes John Fairfax & Sons
Ltd
1926 Shakespeare founds Canberra Times
1934
Fairfax buys Home and Art in Australia
1934 Norman Hannan establishes family’s first newspaper,
Randwick District News
1935 Australian Associated Press formed
1937 group becomes John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd
1947 The Sun relaunched by Fairfax as tabloid
1948 Syme trust becomes public company
1949
Sunday Herald launched
1950-1970
1951 The Australian Financial Review launched as
weekly
1952 Woman's Day sold to Herald & Weekly Times
1953
Fairfax becomes publisher of Sydney Sun newspaper
1953
Sunday Herald and Sunday Sun merge to form
The Sun-Herald
1956
Fairfax buys Woman's Day and Associated Newspapers
1957 Fairfax-controlled television station ATN 7 goes
live
1958 Hannan buys Double Bay Courier
1960 Fairfax and Packer's
Consolidated Press establish Suburban Publications
1961 Hannans form joint publishing venture with a company
jointly controlled by Packer's
Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) and Fairfax
Suburban Publications, merging five competing papers into
three
1961 Fairfax buys 45% stake in Newcastle Morning Herald
and Newcastle Sun
1966
Fairfax acquires a stake in David Syme & Co
1968 Hannanprint formed; Hannan group acquires first web
offset press
1969 Fairfax acquires South Coast Times, publisher of
Illawarra Mercury
1969 Canberra News launched (closes 1974)
1970-1980
1970 Fairfax buys 25% of The Land
group, subsequently increased. Land later becomes
heart of Rural Press
1971 National Times launched
1972 Fairfax increases stake in David Syme to over 50%
1978
Fairfax acquires full ownership of Newcastle Herald
and Macquarie Broadcasting Holdings radio group
1979 Fairfax buys 14.9% of Herald & Weekly Times.
Murdoch takeover bid unsuccessful
but News subsequently gains control
1981
Business Review Weekly launched as a magazine (previously
an insert in The National Times)
1983 Hannans launch FPC magazine publishing division with
acquisition of leisure and special interest magazines
from Packer's ACP Publishing
1987 Hannans establish Newsagents Direct Distribution
(NDD)
1987 Hannans buy Champion Communications direct marketing
products
Failed
privatisation
1987 Murdoch sells HSV-7 to Fairfax for $320m
1987 Fairfax sells Seven Network
stations to Christopher Skase's Qintex group
1987 Warwick Fairfax Jr launches $2.25 billion privatisation
bid, rest of family sells, new board installed
1987 John B Fairfax and Tim Fairfax emerge with cash and
half of capital of Rural Press and Courier newspapers.
Courier later merges with Hannan family's Independent
Newspapers to form Independent Print Media Group (IPMG)
1987 Fairfaxes take stake in Cambooya Investments
1990
Warwick sacks board to become CEO and chairman
1990
Fairfax put into receivership, ending relationship with
family
1990 Hannanprint acquires Macquarie Print (web offset
printer with 3 plants in NSW, Victoria and SA)
1990 ENT sells 60% of Launcestor
Examiner to Rural Press group and 40% to Harris
& Co (publisher of Burnie Advocate) for $28m
1992
Cambooya floated
1993 Erich Beecher's Text Media establishes Sydney
Weekly (later sold to IPMG). Text Media acquired by
Fairfax in 2003
1995 Hannan acquires all shares in publicly listed Inprint,
with offices in Sydney and plants in Brisbane and Cairns
1996
Hannan acquires all shares in controversial Offset Alpine
Printing, The Pot Still Press and Sinnott Bros
1997 Hannans establish Project Management Group (now PMG
Solutions)
1997 Hannans acquires Craft Printing in Sydney
1998
Independent Print Media Group (IPMG) formed through merger
of Hannan interests and Courier newspapers
and
after
1998 most Rural Press radio interests sold - primarily
to DMG for $88m
1998 Canberra Times acquired from Seven
tv network proprietor Kerry Stokes for $160m
1999 forms Star Broadcasting Network as 50.1% owned joint
venture with Unitel Corporation
2001 Cambooya merges with Milton Corp
2000 Fairfax stake in VisionStream tv advertising sold
to POS Media
2000 Haymarket IPMG Group formed as joint venture between
IPMG and UK publisher and event organiser Haymarket Worldwide
2001 merger of IPMG and PMP forbidden by Australian Competition
& Consumer Commission
2001 Rural buys Bendigo Advertiser and Wimmera
Mail-Times from INL
2003 buys 49.9% of Star Broadcasting Network from
partner Media Corp
2003 sells 50% stake in IPMG to Hannan family interests
for est $200m
2003 buys Tasmanian publisher Harris & Co for
$47.6m
2006 Fairfax acquires Rural
Press in friendly takeover
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