Pioneering journalist, mentor Bob Howarth dies
Beloved journalist and mentor Bob Howarth touched lives across the Asia-Pacific, inspiring generations with his wit, kindness, and guidance and leaving a legacy of storytelling and generosity.
Bob Howarth, a journalist, mentor, and storyteller whose career spanned continents and decades, has died at the age of 81 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Those who knew him remember a man with a handlebar moustache whose presence filled the room, whose laugh was infectious, and whose generosity knew no borders.
Born in 1944, Howarth made his mark across Australia and the Asia-Pacific as a newspaper manager who held many senior roles with News Limited, now News Corp, including editorial technology manager in Brisbane during the Y2K transition, and, as he liked to say, was “half of The Australian’s Brisbane bureau in the early days”.
Yet behind the professional accolades was a man who loved a good yarn, a cold beer, and the simple pleasures of life on the coast, which is where he retired to at Kooringal on Moreton Island.
Colleagues recall his quick wit and one of his favourite sayings: “Never let the facts spoil a good story.”
That line perfectly captured Howarth’s approach as a storyteller at heart, yet deeply committed to the integrity of journalism.
He could lift others with his encouragement, as he did for countless young journalists in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and East Timor.
Howarth’s humanitarian spirit was most vividly seen in his work in East Timor.
In 2000, he flew to Dili to help launch The Timor Post, that nation’s first daily newspaper, bringing computers, printers, and guidance to a fledgling team of journalists.
He became a mentor and father figure to Mouzinho Lopes de Araujo, a young trainee from Timor who would go on to become the youngest editor-in-chief in the Asia-Pacific.
“If anything dramatic happens in the Solomons, send me some photos,” Howarth told another protege reporter, and within hours, images captured under his guidance appeared on front pages across News Corp banners.
Despite a life of high-profile work, Howarth returned to live quietly between the Gold Coast and Moreton Island, embracing coastal life without ever leaving his global friends and mentees behind.
Friends remember him as generous, calm under pressure, endlessly curious, a superb storyteller with a hearty laugh and a great person to have a beer with at the Jubilee Hotel.
Former The Courier-Mail journalist Don Gordon-Brown remembered Howarth as “a bloody good journo and a very nice bloke”.
Others in the industry, Lee Duffield, Cratis Hippocrates, and John Cokley all praised his mentorship, professionalism, and generosity, noting his impact on journalism across East Timor, PNG, Queensland, and News Corp, and his personal guidance that shaped careers and inspired colleagues.
Howarth is survived by his partner Diane Collins, and his sisters Cosette Canning and Jill Osborne.
In keeping with his wishes, he donated his body to the Griffith University School of Anatomy. ■ Tributes, stories, and photographs celebrating his life are warmly welcomed
Originally published as Pioneering journalist, mentor Bob Howarth dies
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