AustLit

George Howe took over from George Hughes as Government Printer in 1802, taking charge of the old wooden hand-press which had come out with the first fleet in 1788. George's son Robert Howe, who helped his father from an early age and eventually succeeded him as Government Printer, later claimed that this old press was worth just £2, and that the Howes initially had to make do with just 20lbs (9 kgs) of aged type. But George Howe was an 'ingenious' man, and somehow made his limited resources serve to produce the colony's first newspaper, The Sydney Gazette, from 1803.

The Gazette served as a medium for the publication of official pronouncements, as well as commercial advertising and miscellaneous information. From 30 August 1807 to 15 May 1808, production of the newspaper was shut down because of Governor William Bligh's dispute with officers of the New South Wales corps, recommencing only after the latter's arrest.

Howe also had private business interests in the colony, opening a stationery shop and circulating library. He also used the government press to publish the first book of poetry produced in Australia, Barron Field's First Fruits of Australian Poetry.