'An editor regrets': R. G. Campbell's Australian Journal, 1926–1955

Abstract

[Extract]: Despite having been published continuously from 1865–1961, the Australian Journal is mainly regarded by literary historians as a nineteenth-century periodical. By concentrating on nineteenth-century authors such as Marcus Clarke, Charles Harpur, Ada Cambridge and “Rolf ” Boldrewood, the brief entry in the Oxford Companion to Australian Literature mentions nothing beyond 1875. Vane Lindesay’s The Way We Were: Australian Popular Magazines 1856 to 1967 gives the magazine a few short pages, as do Frank Greenop’s passing references in his History of Magazine Publishing in Australia, pushing further into the twentieth century, but with little detail. R. G. Campbell’s The First Ninety Years: The Printing House of Massina Melbourne 1859 to 1949 provides the fullest account to date with an accomplished history of the printer and publisher of the Australian Journal, and more than passing references to the magazine that ran off its presses. But Campbell’s story ends before the final decade of the magazine’s production. To date, a comprehensive account of the twentieth-century Australian Journal has not been assembled