Gottlieb Schuler


Gottlieb Frederick Henry Schuler, who has been referred to authoritatively as G. Frederick H. Schuler or Schüler, was an Australian journalist, editor of The Age for 26 years from 1900.
Schuler was born in Heimerdingen, Württemberg, the son of Jacob Friderich Schüler and his wife Christine Catharine, née Frey, though arguably born at sea.
Around 1860, Schuler came to Australia with his parents and was educated at Sandhurst. After leaving school, he joined the staff of the Bendigo Independent, did much reading, and gained an intimate acquaintance with English, French, and German literature. He later transferred the Bendigo Advertiser, where he specialised as a mining reporter, and soon gained considerable knowledge of the industry. In March 1879, he was given an appointment on the Melbourne newspaper The Age, gaining an intimate acquaintance with Victorian politics.
Schuler became chief of staff in 1890 and prepared much of the material which led to the attack on the management of the railways, and the famous Speight action for libel. He was appointed editor of the Age on 1 January 1900 and held the position continuously for the remainder of his life.
During the 1914–18 war he was vilified by opposition newspapers for his German origins despite protests that he was born at sea.
In 1917, his only son, Lieutenant Phillip Schuler, was killed in action in France. Phillip Schuler had been a war correspondent before enlisting in the First AIF and had published a book on the Gallipoli campaign, Australia in Arms, in 1916.
Schuler died suddenly at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn on 11 December 1926, leaving a widow and two daughters. Belonging as he did to the old school of anonymous journalism, Schuler never became well known but, as chief of staff, he showed great tact and, as editor, had his finger on every department of the paper. It could be said that The Age lost prestige under his editorship, but circumstances in Australia were changing rapidly, so it is unlikely that any newspaper will have the power wielded by The Age under David Syme and Arthur Windsor during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Family

Schuler married S. D. "Dolly" Strahan on 3 October 1888. She was totally blind, and a noted contributor to blindness support organisations.
They had two daughters and one son:
  • Minna Schuler
  • Phillip Frederick Edward Schuler
  • Dorothy Schuler married John Denholm on 28 October 1916.