He became the President of the QCPA (Queensland Country Press Association) in 1928 and held this position for two years. In 1936, he became involved with the Australian Provincial Daily Press, serving over 40 years on the body's central board. Manning served on several other community organisations and, in 1953, was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1956, Manning's wife died, and two years later he remarried the widow Edith Agnes Lynch née Clarkson . In 1958, he retired to Buderim, Queensland and died 10 October 1978. Manning supported the proposed merger of the Manning, Dunn and Irwin family interests in regional papers as he saw that this merger would ‘prevent predatory metropolitan companies from buying up country newspapers one by one.’ In 1968, Provincial Newspapers (QLD) Ltd was formed. The Parkinsons, Stephensons and Kippens Three other families had notable connections to PNQ: the Stephensons, Parkinsons, and Kippens. These families controlled the Ipswich-based The Queensland Times at the time of the merger which created PNQ. These families had ties to the newspaper industry lasting more than a century. In 1861, Hugh Parkinson (1828-1909 ) and two fellow workers employed at the North Australian, Ipswich, had the opportunity to purchase a rival paper, The Ipswich Herald. On 8 October 1861, they took control of the newly named The Queensland Times. Parkinson had previously been foreman printer on the North Australian but became the senior partner at The Queensland Times. 'The Parkinsons maintained direct representation in the partnership from 1861 till the PNQ merger and direct employment links till 1976.' Alfred John Stephenson (1846–1914) had experience as a composing room employee. However at The Queensland Times he became its managing director, a position he held for more than 45 years. Alfred Stephenson was an influential member of the Ipswich community. He was the mayor of Ipswich in 1907. Following in his father's footsteps, Alfred Tully Stephenson (1872–1938) ) worked in the newspaper industry and was mayor of Ipswich in: 1912, 1914, 1921–1929, and 1933–1938. A further two generations of Stephensons worked at The Queensland Times. Their representation, which began in 1861, ended in 1975 when Gregory Stephenson resigned as editor. The Kippen family had commercial ties to The Queensland Times from 1862–1980. Their family representation ended when Norol Devon Kippen (1915–n.d.) retired as deputy editor. Success of PNQ The Dunn, Manning and Irwin family dynasties were critical to