William Augustine O’Carroll
1831 — 1885
William Augustine O’Carroll (7‑54‑9)
Born 1831 at the family bakery in Patrick Street, Cork, O’Carroll was the son of a cargo ship’s Captain. He was a ‘Young Irelander’ in 1848 and joined the Fenians in 1858. He contributed to the Irish People, a Nationalist journal and became its editor. After the failure of the ‘St Patrick Plot’ of 1861, he fled Ireland with a price on his head.
The family emigrated to Brisbane in 1862 on the Chatsworth. He became editor of The Guardian and the Moreton Bay Courier from 1869 to 1883. He also established the Colonist, a newspaper which ran from 1871—1872. He left for work one Friday morning in 1885, suffering bronchial symptoms which resulted in his death the following morning.
A hard worker, he liked to be well away from his work at home at Three Mile Scrub between Newmarket and Ashgrove. At 2am he would mount his old grey mare at the back of the Queen Street office and quietly plod home. His son Thomas was a reporter on The Courier, and another son David Joseph was a journalist.
His funeral cortege consisted of 62 vehicles with over 500 persons attending the graveside including colleagues from the Courier and Observer as well as Queensland literary staff and members of the Johnsonian Club of which he was a foundation member. The service was performed by Rev. Fr. James Benedict Breen, and his comrades erected a plaque to his memory on the back of his monument which read,
In Memoriam, from some press comrades who have been permitted to join in this tribute to the memory of the one they loved.