The Fairfax Family

The Fairfax media empire is extensive, their history dating back to 1838 when John Fairfax immigrated to Australia from England. John acquired The Sydney Morning Herald, laying the foundation for what would become Fairfax Media. Throughout many generations, the Fairfax family controlled much of Australian media with their ownership of news outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age in Melbourne, The Australian Financial Review, The Brisbane Times, The Canberra Times, The Newcastle Herald and The Illawarra Mercury, among others.

Australia’s lack of media diversity today is “unusual compared to other liberal democracies” and is historically tied to the Fairfax, Murdoch and Packer dynasties’ domination of the sector. This extreme concentration of power has limited the scope of reporting, resulting in a right-leaning bias in Australian media which has shaped political discourse and led to the closure of many local and regional newspapers.

Grounded in Protestant Christian values, Fairfax news outlets catered to Australia’s urban, educated, and business-oriented readership, many of whom shared a preference for conservative governance. Although Fairfax Media’s Charter of Editorial Independence (signed by the Board of John Fairfax Ltd in 1988) was aimed at reducing partisanship, the company maintained a generally cautious, reform-resistant editorial approach consistent with its legacy as a conservative institution. According to family business archives, Sir Warwick Fairfax had admitted that the family was “strongly anti-socialist”, however, Fairfax Media’s position on political issues turned out to be subject to its business interests. During the 1961 federal election, for instance, Sir Warwick Fairfax reportedly directed his media resources to support the Australian Labor Party due to his dissatisfaction with the Menzies government’s economic policies — specifically the “credit squeeze”, which impacted advertising revenue.

Although the Fairfax family has stepped away from the media landscape, selling their remaining stake in the company in 2011, it remains a powerful dynasty in Australia through generational wealth. The family owns vast property around the country, including prime real estate in the Sydney suburbs of Vaucluse and Manly, as well as rural holdings across central Queensland. The Fairfaxes also invest in private equity and venture capital through their company Marinya Capital.

The Fairfax family’s conservative agenda is evident through its philanthropic entities, such as the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) and the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation (TFFF), which support the arts, education and rural development. They heavily promote conservative Christian values, particularly through programs such as Crusaders.

Various members of the Fairfax family support Camerata — Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Brisbane Festival, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Art Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.