Synnott
The Synnott family were prominent members of the Katanning Community in the middle of last century. Inglis Synnott took over the Great Southern Herald from his father-in-law, Joseph Francis Cullen.
After serving in Papua New Guinea during World War Two his son, Francis Inglis (Bill) Synnott, took over from his father as sole owner after his father’s retirement. He eventually retired to Coffs Harbour in New South Wales.
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INGLIS SYNNOTT
INGLIS SYNNOTT, b. 29 Nov 1877, Alexandra, Victoria, Australia
DOROTHY ELAINE CULLEN, b. 1891, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Married:
1 Mar 1917 – Beverley, Western Australia
Children:
Francis Inglis Synnott, b. 1918, d. 14 Feb 1997, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Margaret Synnott, b. 4 Dec 1918, Katanning, Western Australia, d. 1918, Katanning, Western Australia
David Ballantyne Synnott, b. 9 Mar 1926, Katanning, Western Australia
Inglis Synnott relinquished his farming interests to take control of the Great Southern Herald from his father-in-law, Joseph Francis Cullen . There followed a thirty-year period of consolidation during which new factory premises were constructed in Austral Terrace, the opposition paper the Southern Districts Advocate was absorbed, and the coverage of the paper extended in a spread from Pingrup to Muradup and south to Tambellup.
Inglis Synnott had a clearly perceived obligation to the town of his adoption and worked ceaselessly for its improvement, often unknown to the recipients of his support. Typical of his nature was his personal payment of the nurse’s wages during the difficult period of establishment of the Infant Health Centre. He was a man of broad vision, moulded by experience which stretched from the gentle nurture of an education under a private tutor in his native Ireland to the rough and tumble life of a horse breaker at Blackboy Camp after enlisting for the First World War.
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FRANCIS INGLIS SYNNOTT OAM
After service overseas [2] during the Second World War, Francis Inglis (Bill) Synnott, returned to take up the reins of management of the Great Southern Herald. Keeping pace with the accelerating commercial activity of the post-war years, the factory on the old site was extended three times in an endeavour to accommodate increased plant and operations. Finally, lack of space necessitated the construction of new premises on the current site at the corner of Clive and Conroy Streets. At the time, it was the first purpose-built factory for the industry in country WA and it incorporated a number of state-of-the-art design features.
Bill continued the family tradition of community service and was active on a great many local organizations including the Katanning Agricultural, Pastoral and Horticultural Society of which he was one of the very few non-farmer presidents.
The naming of Synnott Avenue remains as a reminder of the service given to the town on the Katanning Roads Board by, firstly, Inglis Synnott who represented the Central Ward for twenty-three years and then by Bill Synnott who resigned after ten years’ service as member, vice-chairman and chairman as he felt he could do more for the community as an editor unimpeded by Board membership.
Bill was an executive member of the Country Press Association of Western Australia from its re-formation in 1947 and was elected a Life Member in 1974. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1985, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to the PRINT industry. He was the recipient of the Coronation Medal and also the Silver Jubilee Medal in recognition of his services to the community.
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OBITUARY
BILL SYNNOTT OAM
Sydney Morning Herald
13 March 1997
Francis “Bill” Synnott, who died in Coffs Harbour on February 14, 1997, aged 79, after a long battle with emphysema, represented the second generation of his family to control the newspaper the Great Southern Herald In Katanning, Western Australia.
His father, Inglis, had relinquished his farming interests in 1917 to take over the paper following the death of its founder, Francis Cullen, who came from a well-known Sydney family.
Synnott, in turn, moved in as managing editor four years after World War II ended, in which he had seen active service in Papua New Guinea. In 1955 he became sole owner. As proprietor and editor of the local newspaper, Synnott was active in the Country Press Association of WA. He represented the association on the federal management committee at various times. And when he merged the paper with interests associated with the late Robert Holmes A Court in Albany he was elected a life member. From 1974 until his retirement in 1988, he was the association’s executive director.
Synnott founded Country Press Advertising in Perth to co-ordinate advertising for all WA country newspapers. For 20 years he was on the committee of the Printing and Allied Trades Employers Association and a member of the ABC State Advisory Committee. In 1985 he was awarded an OAM for services to the newspaper industry.
Synnott continued a tradition of family service in the Katanning district. He was prominent in many local organisations as well as being successively a member, vice-chairman and chairman of the Katanning Roads Board. His services to community affairs were recognised by the award of the Coronation Medal and the Silver Jubilee Medal. A street in the town was named after him, Synnott and his second wife, Esme, moved to Coffs Harbour in 1988. She died not long after the move. He is survived by a son Dr. I. H. “Howe” Synnott, of Armidale, NSW.
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