Major James William Henry Walch (died 1852) and family[a] left England for Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, (later known as Hobart, Tasmania) by the barque Royal Saxon, arriving in November 1842, and was attached to Her Majesty's 54th Regiment.
[1] On 1 January 1846, he and his second son James Henry Brett Walch (died 5 November 1897),[2] took over a bookseller's and stationer's shop established by James Tegg, at the corner of Liverpool and Elizabeth streets.
An associated business, Walch Bros and Birchall, was founded to carry on a similar business in Launceston, Tasmania, later becoming A. W. Birchall and Sons Pty Ltd.[1] In 1859 they published a 64 by 48 inches (1.6 m × 1.2 m) map of Tasmania.
[4] In 1861 they opened a stationery store with bookbinding and account book workshop headed by James Walch in Macquarie Street.
James was succeeded as editor by George D'Emden (died 1940);[5] retired 1938.