AustLit

Samuel Mee was a compositor and columnist. He started in the printing trade in England as a 14 year old apprentice, and subsequently worked at the London printing firm Manning & Mason, and on newspapers such as the Worcester Journal and the Liverpool Mercury. On arrival in Sydney, Mee initially worked at the Empire, but soon left to try his luck on the gold-fields. He then worked at the Bathurst Free Press, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Armidale Express, and also briefly worked as a station hand on the Darling Downs. He came to Brisbane in ca. 1860 to take up a position with the Courier, and later moved to its stable-mate, the Queenslander, where he remained for some 40 years. In addition to his literary interests, Mee was also a noted Brisbane temperance campaigner.