Fairfax, John, 1804 – 1877

John Fairfax (1804-1877), newspaper proprietor and parliamentarian, was born at Warwick, England, son of William and Elizabeth Fairfax. Fairfax arrived at Sydney in 1838. He worked as a journalist and in 1841 bought the Sydney Herald in partnership with William Kemp and in 1842 the newspaper became the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1853 Fairfax bough out Kemp's share and brought his sons into the business as partners. He was a nominated member of the NSW Legislative Council (1874-1877).