Lawrence John O'Toole worked on and established a range of New South Wales newspapers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He learnt his trade as a compositor in Wollongong and then moved to Bega to take charge of the Bega Standard. He later moved to Temora, but returned again to Bega and soon established the Candelo and Eden Union which he ran for some years before selling to Walter Wood.
O'Toole worked at farming for a time before once again conducting the Candelo and Eden newspaper. He suffered recurrent ill-health. After relinquishing the Candelo and Eden Union, he rested for a time before setting up the Eden Propellor [sic] (forerunner of the Eden Magnet).
His health gave way again and he finally retired to Sydney where he lived with two of his brothers and a sister.
Source: 'The Late Lawrence O'Toole: Sketch of His Character.' Northern Star, 7 January 1928: 10
