John Fairbairn (70), journalist and outspoken critic, dies in Cape Town

Regarded as the father of free press in South Africa, John Fairbairn left England and arrived in the Cape in1823. Soon after his arrival he founded a school which he ran for a short while and a literary magazine called the South African Journal. The magazine proved to be the beginning of what would become years of struggle with the authorities for a free press. Fairbairn together with his friend and colleague Thomas Pringle went on to become the editors of The South African Commercial Advertiser. This led to further clashes with authorities as Fairbairn persistently published material that was not approved by authorities. Fairbairn’s efforts paid off when in April 1829 the Cape Colonial government gave an undertaking to guarantee the freedom of the press. Fairbairn died suddenly at the Wynberg, Cape Town home of his son-in-law, advocate F.S. Watermeyer, on 5 October 1864. He was buried in the Somerset Road cemetery. When the cemetery was levelled, around 1922, Fairbairn’s grave, and those of his family, was moved to the Woltemade cemetery at Maitland.