John Sandes

Born in Cork, Ireland, on 26 February 1863, he was educated in England and at Oxford before moving to Australia in 1887. He joined the Melbourne Argus soon after arriving and built a long career as a journalist, critic, and columnist.

He also wrote poetry and fiction, and his verse became especially popular around the time of the Boer War. Later he worked for the Sydney Daily Mail, where he wrote leaders, articles, and reviews, and he published several short novels, sometimes under the pen name "Don Delaney."

In his later years he edited The Harbour, a magazine focused on shipping interests. He died in New South Wales in 1938, remembered as a versatile literary figure whose career linked newspapers, poetry, and popular storytelling in Australian culture.