Robert Ross Haverfield arrived in Sydney on 1 February 1838 on board the
Perfect. He worked initially as a cattle drover in Victoria, then took up a position as clerk with George Cavenagh of the
Port Phillip Herald and later managed various sheep stations in Victoria. Haverfield took up a claim near Bendigo in 1853 before investing his capital in printing plant. With A. M. Lloyd, he began the
Bendigo Advertiser and Sandhurst Commercial Circular on 9 December 1853. The paper was the first newspaper to be published on the diggings.
Haverfield went on to edit other newspapers including the Courier of the Mines and Bendigo Daily Mail, the McIvor News and Goulburn Advertiser and the Riverine Herald. In 1869, he worked as sub-editor with the Age, but later returned to the Bendigo Advertiser.
The Australian Dictionary of Biography states that Haverfield 'contributed stories, verses and yarns to the Illustrated Australian Magazine usually under the signature of "O.W.N.Y." He sent tales and rhymes to the Leader in 1869 and contributed to the Melbourne Monthly Magazine and Once a Month'.
Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, http://adb.anu.edu.au/ ; Gordon & Gotch, Australasian Newspaper Directory (1888): 35.
