In 1906 Jim Darwen was born on the premises of The Bowen Independent, a newspaper owned and edited by his father, William Henry Darwen (q.v.). From age 14 he worked at the newspaper as a compositor. On his father's death in 1931 he succeeded as editor and proprietor, a position that he retained until 1950 when he handed editorial responsibility to his brother, Henry Darwen (q.v.). Jim Darwen also served as alderman of the Bowen Town Council.