William John Sowden

Sir William John Sowden (26 April 1858 – 10 October 1943) was a journalist in South Australia, who was knighted in 1918.

History Sowden was born in Castlemaine, Victoria, the son of Thomas Sowden (c. 1832 – 3 May 1888), a miner from Cornwall, and his wife Mary Ann, née Hocking. They spent some years in Kapunda, South Australia, where vast quantities of copper ore were being extracted, but by 1867 had returned to Castlemaine. There, he completed his schooling and started in the newspaper trade. In 1874 they moved to Moonta, South Australia, another mining town, where William started work with the Yorke's Peninsula Advertiser. In 1879, he transferred to the Port Adelaide News. Both papers were owned by E. H. Derrington, who was known for his feuds with Ebenezer Ward. In 1881 he started working for the South Australian Register, and was selected to accompany a group of parliamentarians (J. Langdon Parsons, H. E. Bright, L. L. Furner, J. H. Bagster), as well as Professor Ralph Tate and others, to the Northern Territory on the Menmuir (Captain Ellis) as a representative of the Register. On his return, he was given a position on the reporting staff and became chief writer in 1892. From 1897 to 1899 he was acting editor, becoming an editor and part-owner of the Register and holding that position until his retirement in September 1922.

He wrote, as "A. Pencil", a regular satirical column as city correspondent for the Kapunda Herald, much as C. R. Wilton, as "Autolycus", wrote for the Mount Barker Courier. He also wrote, as "A. Scribbler", a regular column "Echoes from the Smoking Room" for the Register.

He retired around 1925 to Castlemaine, the house designed by architect Henry Ernest Fuller in Victor Harbor, where he died.

Recognition He was knighted in 1918.