The Kapunda Herald

The Kapunda Herald was a newspaper published in Kapunda, South Australia from 1864 to 1951. From 1864 to 1878 the masthead was subtitled ... and Northern Intelligencer. It was published weekly, except for the period February 1872 to September 1894 when it appeared bi-weekly.

History

The town of Kapunda was founded as a result of nearby copper discoveries in 1842 and many businesses became prosperous servicing the mines. By the time the mines were exhausted, Kapunda was the thriving hub of pastoral and agricultural enterprises, Sidney Kidman and Henry Dutton the foremost, but not the only, protagonists. A nearby marble quarry was another local industry. The town also boasted two iron foundries and engineering workshops.[1]

Around 1860 journalist G(eorge) Massey Allen (c. 1828 – 15 November 1886) founded in Kapunda the Northern Star, the first English-language newspaper in regional South Australia. When that business ran into difficulties James Elliott ( – 22 April 1883), and James Scandrett (25 July 1836 – 8 June 1903) purchased his printing press. In 1864 Charles Hastings Barton (1829–1902), editor and part-owner of the Tanunda Süd-Australische Zeitung, purchased the newspaper, renaming it The Kapunda Herald,[2] though some commentators saw little difference between the two publications.[3] Elliott, whose brother was Joseph Elliott (c. 1833 – 21 May 1883) of the Southern Argus, was first editor and just two months later he and Scandrett were the sole proprietors. Barton was declared insolvent in 1866 and fled to Maryborough, Queensland, leaving many of his supporters considerably out of pocket.[4] Elliott died in 1883 and Scandrett ran the business for the next 20 years.[5]

"Paddy" Glynn P. McMahon Glynn was the highly respected[6] editor from 1883 to 1891, followed by Charles B. O'Reilly, who had long experience with the Register, and became a major shareholder of the company Kapunda Herald Ltd. formed in 1909[7] after the death of Scandrett. Leslie Tilbrook, whose family owned the Northern Argus, joined the Kapunda Herald staff in 1911, and became manager and editor in 1917, and owner in September 1923.

Notable journalists included William David Ponder and William John Sowden Will J. Sowden, who as "A. Pencil" wrote the "Scratchings in the City" column from 1886 to 1899; the Hon. D. J. Gordon MLC, who contributed the "City Scratchings" column as "Timoleon" from 1901 to 1909.[8] There was one more contributor to the "City Scratchings" column: an unknown journalist who from 1912 to 1914 wrote as "The Quill", but had neither the wit of Sowden nor the wisdom of Gordon, and the column was never revived.

Publishing innovations included a lithographed color supplement in the 22 December issue of 1893 which included a calendar and depictions of locations around Kapunda. From 1903 to 1911 a monthly photographic supplement was included, celebrating nearby towns and prominent people. From October 1916 to the end of 1917 the back page, inverted, was in the form of a separate newspaper The Midlands Gazette devoted to the Riverton region ("Circulating in Riverton, Saddleworth, Auburn, Rhynie, Tarlee, Stockport and Hamley Bridge"). This ploy had been used elsewhere, as a trial before committing to launching a new publication. If this were the case it must have failed, as no new paper was forthcoming and the feature dropped towards the end of 1917, and until April 1926 the Herald's banner was subtitled "With which is Incorporated the Midlands Gazette".

With increasing mechanization, rural populations all over Australia shrank and with improved roads and other means of communication the importance of regional newspapers declined as the reach of the capital city newspapers broadened. The Herald had in 1930 shrunk to four pages, and was each year becoming less profitable. The paper shrank from four pages to three then two in March 1948. In 1951 Tilbrook sold the paper and it was merged with the Barossa News to become the Barossa and Light Herald.[1]

Digitization

The Kapunda Herald and Northern Intelligencer Vol I., No. 1 of 29 October 1864 to Vol. XIV, No.1013 of 8 March 1878 and

The Kapunda Herald Vol. XIV, No.1013 of 12 March 1878 to Vol.87 No.5,678 of 25 January 1951 have been digitized from photographic copies by the National Library of Australia and may be accessed using Trove

References

  1. 1 2 "SA Memory: Kapunda Herald". State Library of SA. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Personalities.". Quiz (Adelaide newspaper). XII, (603). South Australia. 21 March 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 6 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Local Intelligence.". The Border Watch. IV, (186). South Australia. 12 November 1864. p. 2. Retrieved 6 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Mr. C. H. Barton". Kapunda Herald And Northern Intelligencer. IX, (567). South Australia. 25 November 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 7 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Personal". The Advertiser. XLV, (13,928). South Australia. 9 June 1903. p. 4. Retrieved 7 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Personal Gossip.". The Critic (Adelaide). South Australia. 16 July 1898. p. 13. Retrieved 7 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ Major shareholders were David James M.P., F. W. Young M.P., W. D. Taylor, and C. B. O'Reilly.
  8. ↑ "The Kapunda Herald Jubilee.". Kapunda Herald. L, (3,778). South Australia. 30 October 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 7 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
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