Journalist John Allan worked as a copy-boy on the Melbourne Herald in 1942 before joining the Royal Australian Navy in 1944 for two years. After leaving the Navy he became a cadet reporter for the Bendigo Advertiser followed by working in newspapers in Launceston, Tasmania; Adelaide, South Australia; and Perth, Western Australia. Allan joined the Canberra Times in 1964 becoming the paper's editor from 1968 until December 1972. After three years in London, United Kingdom, as editor-manager of the Fairfax London bureau Allan was appointed editor-in-chief of the Newcastle Herald in Newcastle, New South Wales, in January 1976. He retired in February 1987.
Sources; Jack Waterford, 'Former Editor Had Pride in His Role at 'My Sort of Newspaper'', The Canberra Times (9 November 2012): 10; 'Tributes to Former Herald Editor, 87', Newcastle Herald (8 November 2012).
