Richard Ernest Nowell Twopeny

Born in England in 1857, he moved to Australia as a young man and built a varied career as a journalist, editor, and newspaper proprietor. Reliable biographical sources describe him as active in both Australia and New Zealand, and note that he was commonly referred to in print as R. E. N. Twopeny.

He is chiefly remembered as the author of Town Life in Australia (published in 1883), a vivid account of urban life in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. The book drew on his close knowledge of colonial society and helped preserve a sharply observed picture of Australasian life in the late nineteenth century.

Twopeny died in London in 1915. Alongside his journalism, his writing remains of interest for readers curious about Australia and New Zealand in the colonial era, especially the texture of everyday city life as seen by someone who knew the press world from the inside.