Edward Meryon Webb was educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide, then spent six years in the bush in Western Australia before returning to Adelaide where he began his career as a journalist. He was on the staff of the Adelaide Critic, the Hobart Daily Post and the Adelaide Herald. He took charge of the Independent Cable Association (Vancouver) in 1912, then settled in Melbourne and worked for the Age from 1915 to1927, during which time he wrote a weekly column on broadcast music under the pseudonym 'Ariel'. In 1927 he joined the staff of the Herald. For many years he toured Victoria, writing articles about the outback. After his retirement he edited the women's magazine New Idea for several years.