Charles Brunsdon Fletcher,the Sydney Morning Herald,Australia,Asia and the Pacific

Abstract

Based on the premise of journalism as a text resulting from intellectual endeavour, this article undertakes a sustained examination of the thought of author and newspaper editor Charles Brunsdon Fletcher (1859–1946) in relation to Asia and the Pacific. It examines three books and lead newspaper editorials published during Fletcher's time as editor of the Brisbane Courier (1898–1903) and the Sydney Morning Herald (1918–37). Fletcher argued that geographic proximity necessitated closer ties between Australia and her neighbours, while the White Australia policy had restricted Australia's potential for economic and population growth – particularly in the tropical north. Such views placed Fletcher among a small but articulate movement of the period, which encouraged greater understanding of Australia's regional neighbours. In identifying such sentiment in newspaper editorials, this research reveals greater diversity in opinion in Australian journalism on migration and race than was previously known.

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