John Kiley Mehan was a compositor and newspaper manager. After serving his apprenticeship at The Townsville Herald, Mehan founded The Cairns Chronicle in 1880 with Edward Rhode and D. S. Clarke. When the newspaper went into insolvency he returned to Townsville in 1881 where (under the name J. K. Winniett) he again joined Rhode and Clarke to launch The Townsville Daily Bulletin.
In 1916 Mehan sold his shares in the North Queensland Newspaper Company and moved to Sydney.
Source: James Manion. Paper Power in North Queensland : A History of Journalism in Townsville and Charters Towers. 1982.