R. H. Pearce was one of North Queensland's most peripatetic journalists, editors, and newspaper proprietors, working in Rockhampton, Ravenswood, Townsville, Charters Towers, Hughenden, Port Douglas and Cairns. Pearce served as editor for a number of North Queensland newspapers including The Towers Herald and Mining Record (1880-1883), The Cooktown Courier (from 1887), The Hughenden Observer (from 1895), and The Charters Towers Mining Standard (from 1897).
Pearce was also co-proprietor with Thomas Wright of The Northern Standard and Townsville Argus for a few months from December 1877, before launching the short-lived Port Douglas Times and Cook District Advertiser on 9 February 1878. He later moved to Ravenswood where he established The Argus.
Source: James Manion. Paper Power in North Queensland Townsville: The North Queensland Newspaper Company Limited, 1982.