Early Life and Journalism
O'Sullivan was born in Launceston Tasmania. His father deserted the family when he was a child and he was mainly educated by his mother. He began work at an early age as a printer's devil on the Hobart Mercury. Later he became a reporter; in 1869 he went to Sydney, but soon returned to Hobart and started a paper, the Tribune. This had some success but O'Sullivan sold it in 1873, went to Melbourne, and did journalistic work. He was editor of the St Arnaud Mercury for about three years. In 1878, he moved to Melbourne, married Agnes Ann Firman and started working a the Argus. In 1882, he went to Sydney and for about a year was overseer in the Daily Telegraph office.
O'Sullivan took a prominent part in union circles and became president of the New South Wales Typographical Association and became President of the Trades and Labor Council for six months from March 1883. In 1884, he founded a working man's party the Democratic Alliance and its newspaper the Democrat, but both failed.
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