Thomas Philip Adlam was born in England and emigrated to Australia. A long-time friend of E. J. Banfield of The Townsville Daily Bulletin, Adlam was to work on The Golden Age in Croydon but was prevented by ill health. During 1891 he became the publisher of The Townsville Evening Star and operated it as sole proprietor until floating The Star Printing and Publishing Company Limited in March 1900. Discouraged by the company's low profits, he returned to Sydney in 1905.
Adlam's date of death is uncertain, however the Jubilee issue of The Townsville Evening Star indicates that he was still alive and living in Sydney in 1939.
Source: James Manion Paper Power in North Queensland Townsville: The North Queensland Newspaper Company, 1982.
