# Herbert Low

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'''Herbert Ingram Low''' (c. 1867 – 3 June 1910)<ref name=Worker>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145898419 |title=Herbert Low |newspaper=[The Worker (Wagga)](/source/The_Worker_(Wagga)) |volume=19 |issue=23 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=9 June 1910 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=21 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> was an English-born journalist in Australia.

==History==
Low was born in England, a member of a journalistic family: among his brothers were Walter H. Low, Sir [Sidney J. Low](/source/Sidney_J._Low), Sir [A. Maurice Low](/source/A._Maurice_Low) in America, and Ernest W. Low of Nairobi; Frances Helena Low was a sister,<ref name=Worker/> as was [Barbara Low](/source/Barbara_Low_(psychoanalyst)), the psychoanalyst.
He came out to Victoria in 1889 and first worked for the Melbourne ''[Evening Standard](/source/Evening_Standard_(Melbourne))'' as their representative in Sydney, also did literary work for "[The Star](/source/The_Star_(Sydney))."<ref name=SSun/>

He worked as a journalist with ''[The Age](/source/The_Age)'' for five years and ''[Sydney Morning Herald](/source/Sydney_Morning_Herald)'' for seven; mostly as leader and feature writer. After leaving ''The Age'' he was prominent as a witness in the case of Speight v. Syme, in which the [railways commissioner](/source/Richard_Speight) sued the [newspaper proprietor](/source/David_Syme) for libel.<ref name=Worker/>
His columns for the ''SMH'' include "The Shifting Scene" and "Fugitive Notes", but he was successfully sued by the management of that newspaper.<ref name=Worker/>

He contributed to the short-lived Melbourne weekly ''To-day'', to the labour union journal ''[The Worker](/source/The_Worker_(Wagga))'' and ''[The Newsletter: An Australian Paper for Australian People](/source/The_Newsletter%3A_An_Australian_Paper_for_Australian_People)'', in which he dropped several hints that he was their pseudonymous contributor "The Insect".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102706896 |title=Current Topics |newspaper=[The Newsletter: An Australian Paper for Australian People](/source/The_Newsletter%3A_An_Australian_Paper_for_Australian_People) |volume=9 |issue=10 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=2 December 1905 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102704624 |title=The Insect |newspaper=[The Newsletter: An Australian Paper for Australian People](/source/The_Newsletter%3A_An_Australian_Paper_for_Australian_People) |volume=9 |issue=27 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=24 March 1906 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
He also wrote briefly for the Brisbane ''[Courier-Mail](/source/Courier-Mail)'' but soon returned to Sydney, where he died at [Newtown](/source/Newtown%2C_New_South_Wales) of cancer aged 43<ref name=Worker/> or 44. His remains were interred at [Rookwood Cemetery](/source/Rookwood_Cemetery), where mourners included his brother Ernest Low, [Fred J. Broomfield](/source/Fred_J._Broomfield), [Claude Marquet](/source/Claude_Marquet), Fred Brown, James S. Ryan, W. B. Melville, [Henry Lawson](/source/Henry_Lawson), J. Harland Tucker, and Archie Conningham.<ref name=SSun>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226879113 |title=Death of Herbert Low |newspaper=[The Sunday Sun](/source/Sunday_Herald_Sun) |issue=375 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 June 1910 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In an obituary, Low was credited with fluid, generous writing, but a sensitivity to adverse criticism, when he was prone to fierce retaliation.<ref name=Worker/> [Victor Daley](/source/Victor_Daley) rated him highly and [William Bede Melville](/source/William_Bede_Melville), who found his moods impenetrable, called his obituary of [William Patrick Crick](/source/William_Patrick_Crick)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145757105 |title=William Patrick Crick |newspaper=[The Worker (Wagga)](/source/The_Worker_(Wagga)) |volume=17 |issue=36 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 September 1908 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> the finest and most generous.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145896451 |title=A Few Phases of Herbert Low |newspaper=[The Worker](/source/The_Worker_(Wagga)) |volume=19 |issue=24 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 June 1910 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

== An obituary of sorts ==
*{{cite news |author=Henry Lawson |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107961421 |title=Bohemia Buries Her Dead |newspaper=[The Blue Mountain Echo](/source/The_Blue_Mountain_Echo) |volume=II |issue=69 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 June 1910 |accessdate=27 December 2025 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Herbert}}
Category:1867 births
Category:1910 deaths
Category:English emigrants to Australia
Category:Australian journalists
Category:19th-century Australian journalists
Category:19th-century Australian male journalists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Herbert Low](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Low) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Low?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.