F. W. Ward was an influential journalist and newspaper editor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The son of a Methodist missionary, Ward was ordained a Wesleyan minister and served in various parts of New South Wales before leaving the ministry to become a full-time journalist in 1876. In 1877 Ward edited the Wesleyan Weekly Advocate, which provided an introduction to the Fairfax family newspapers. From 1879-1884 Ward edited the Fairfax weekly The Sydney Mail and also (in 1883-1884) the evening paper The Echo. Ward's period as editor of the The Sydney Mail coincided with a shift in that publication towards a more literary focus: from the early 1880s the weekly Mail became more of a magazine than a newspaper, relying on serials, stories, essays and illustrations, rather than news, to furnish its copy. Ward was known for his encouragement of new literature, and one of his most important acts during his period as editor of The Sydney Mail was to overcome the resistance of Sir James Fairfax to serialise Rolf Boldrewood's Robbery Under Arms.
In 1884, Ward was recruited to the Daily Telegraph, and under his editorship, the paper managed to double the circulation of the Fairfax Sydney Morning Herald by 1888. He resigned in 1890 after a dispute with the paper's board over editorial independence. He went to London and continued working in newspapers, including as a correspondent for The Age. Ward returned to the Australian colonies in 1893, becoming editor of the Brisbane Courier (about 1893), from which position he resigned in 1898 to become the principal leader-writer for the Argus. In 1903 he was reinstated as editor of the Daily Telegraph. He retired from the Telegraph in 1914 and spent two years in England before returning to Australia and editing the Brisbane Telegraph until December 1920. Described as 'outspoken, progressive and of unflagging energy' (ADB), Ward spent his last years at his home in Kirribilli, Sydney.
