Howe, George (1769-1821), was an Australian printer, editor, and publisher. He produced the first book printed in Australia.
Howe was born in 1769 on the island of St. Kitts in the West Indies, where his father was a government printer. After an apprenticeship in the printing trade, Howe traveled to London in 1790 and worked for several newspapers. However, in 1799, he was charged with shoplifting and transported to Australia to serve seven years in a prison colony. Soon after his arrival in Sydney in 1800, Howe was appointed government printer. In 1802, he printed New South Wales General Standing Orders, the first published book in Australia. Howe also launched the first Australian newspaper, Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, in 1803.
Howe received a full pardon in 1806 and began publishing the New South Wales Pocket Almanack. Lightning almost destroyed his printing office in 1810, but the new governor of the New South Wales colony, Lachlan Macquarie, renewed Howe’s role as government printer and the following year began paying a salary for the position. Howe’s work encouraged education in the colony and ensured residents were able to keep informed. He died on May 11, 1821.
