VETERAN JOURNALIST

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18502, 14 September 1934, Page 13

VETERAN JOURNALIST

MR. LOUOHNAN DEAD

LONG* AND VARIED CAREER

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The death has occurred of Mr. Robert A. Loughnan, aged 93 years, a veteran journalist.

The doyen of Wellington journalists, 'the late Mr. Loughnan was .a son of a judge of the Indian Law Courts. Mr. Loughnan yens sent Homo at the age of eight to be educated. He attended Stonyhurst,. the famous Roman Catliolic College in Lancashire, in the great library of which he first acquired his taste for literature, which in later life lie put to such good use. It was as a contributor to the Otago Daily Times that Mr. Loughnan entered journalism, in the ranks of which he has always held a distinguished position. When writing for that paper his work attracted the attention ,of Christchurch newspaper proprietors, with the result that in 1875 he was offered, and accepted, the editorship of the Lyttelton Times, and held tiie position for 14 years. TJiep he went to Wellington, as editor of the Catholic Times, a weekly paper which ran for several years. Next, lie served .under Captain Baldwin s ownership of the New Zealand Tunes, and then followed a period of editorial writing for the Sydney Morning Efrrald. Finally, he served the New Zealand Times in war-time, as a leader-writer and producer of notes upon the campaigns. Mr. Loughnan came out to the colonies as a, young man, having the exciting experience of being wrecked on the coast of Tasmania in a sailing vessel on the way. 110 was engaged in pastoral work in ‘New South Wales until he came to Now Zealand in 1865 as part-owner of tiro Mount Pisa station, Otago Central. Management of the Green Island meatpreserving works filled up his time until he took to journalism. Three years ago Mr. LoUghpan compiled a volume on the life and political career of the late Sir' Joseph Ward, in which Iris knowledge of New Zealand politics for over half a century was demonstrated. ~