In 1915 George Harrap, son of publisher George G. Harrap and a member of the board, visited Australia and established the Australasian Publishing Company. In 1922 he returned to England, leaving the control of the firm to Stanley L. Bartlett. Harrap senior describes the venture: 'When we [Harrap's] first thought of opening a branch in Australia we were attracted by the idea of a partnership with one or two other publishers, and we eventually concluded an arrangement with Constable & Company of London, and Houghton Mifflin Company. Together we formed a limited company called the Australasian Publishing Company, Limited. My eldest son went out to Sydney to take charge of the combined operations. It is not easy to command success for ventures of the sort in another country where much has to be learned of local customs and conditions, and during the first few years my son had an uphill task. Before this period of experimentation had ended the bonds which joined the three parties to the venture had become loosened, the Company was wound up, and its manager at that date, Stanley L. Bartlett, took over our stock and undertook to represent us as our Agent. During the whole of this Australian association Houghton Mifflin Company played their part with a generosity of spirit that we remember gratefully.' (Some Memories, London: Harrap, 1935, p. 144-145.) In the Australian Writers and Artists' Market (1945), the General Manager (Mr Stanley Bartlett) invited "Australian and New Zealand writers" to submit full-length manuscripts; he boasted of the recent overseas uptake of Gold from the Sea and Prisoner of the Kormoran (146).

In 1924 George G. Harrap himself visited Australia to resolve 'various difficulties' that had developed in the company as a result of the 'branch being separated from the parent tree by thirteen thousand miles of ocean'. He left re-assured of the loyalty and competence of Bartlett and his 'lieutenant' William Goodchild. (Some Memories, London: Harrap, 1935, p. 79-80). He made a second visit in 1933 and his memoirs include comments on the Australian book trade and book pricing.

Harrap had a personal friendship with H. A. Kellow, principal of Rockhampton Grammar School and author of Queensland Poets (1930).