John Sandes

John Sandes (1863 – 1938) was an Australian journalist and author. The son of the Rev. Samuel D. Sandes, he was born at Cork, Ireland, in 1863. He was educated at King's College London, Trinity College, Stratford-on-Avon, and Oxford University, where he graduated B.A. in 1885.

He came to Melbourne in 1887 and joined the staff of "The Argus", for which he was a capable musical and dramatic critic. He was one of the original three journalists who conducted the "Passing Show" column, a feature of the paper carried on by generations of writers for more than 50 years. A collection of Sandes' verses from this column, 'Rhymes of the Times', was published in 1898, and in 1900 appeared another collection, 'Ballads of Battle'. The latter of these included the poem "With Death's Prophetic Ear" which gave Sandes a popular reputation. In 1903 he became a leader writer and reviewer on the "Sydney Daily Telegraph", and in 1919 represented that paper at the peace conference. He was editor of "The Harbour", a monthly devoted to shipping interests, from 1925 until shortly before his death on November 29 1938. In his own name and under the pseudonym of "Don Delaney", Sandes was the author of several short popular novels, which were published between 1910 and 1917 and are listed in Miller's Australian Literature. In 1897 he married Claire Louise, daughter of Sir Graham Berry, and was survived by two sons. He was an excellent journalist with a special talent for writing occasional verse.

References