Otago Daily Times
Encyclopedia
The Otago Daily Times is a newspaper
published by Allied Press
Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.
's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch
's The Press
, six months older, was a weekly paper for its first few years. The first issue ran to 2750 copies, and was sold for threepence.
The ODT was founded by W.H. Cutten
and Julius (later Sir Julius) Vogel
during the boom following the discovery of gold at the Tuapeka
, the first of the Otago goldrushes. Cutten was the publisher of a weekly newspaper, the Otago Witness
, which was founded in 1851, and the strong political views of co-founder Vogel saw an outlet in the ODT's pages, notably with advocacy for provincial government.
The ODT was originally published from premises in Princes Street, but moved to a new building at the corner of Dowling and Burlington Streets at the foot of Bell Hill in 1879. It stayed here until 1928 when it moved into larger premises on the other side of Burlington Street facing Queen's Gardens, where they stayed until 1977.
From the start, the ODT held a strong position among South Island newspapers. Most of its Dunedin opposition papers were short lived, with only the Evening Star surviving beyond the early 1900s. The Star merged with the ODT in 1975 forming a new company, Allied Press
, and the ODT moved to the Evening Star Building (now the Allied Press Building) in Stuart Street
in June 1977. The Evening Star ceased publication in November 1979 because its readership was declining. As a result the Allied Press, now publishes the ODT and several smaller papers throughout New Zealand, including the Greymouth Star.
On January 5, 1998 the ODT published for the first time on a new Goss International printing press
; on the same day it introduced a new masthead
reading simply "Otago Daily Times", marking Otago
's 150th anniversary year of Pākehā
settlement.
The ODT is regarded as the father-figure of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 43,000 and an estimated readership of 110,000.
and Chief Reporter Silas Spragg, which led to major law reforms.
Sid Scales
was a cartoonist for the ODT for 30 years until his retirement in 1981. Since then Queenstown
artist Garrick Tremain
has been the principal cartoonist. The editor is Murray Kirkness, who took over from long-serving editor Robin Charteris in April 2007.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published by Allied Press
Allied Press
Allied Press is a New Zealand publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the Otago Daily Times, New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper...
Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.
History
Originally styled The Otago Daily Times, the ODT was first published on November 15, 1861. It is New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
's The Press
The Press
The Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is owned by Fairfax Media.- History :The Press was first published on 25 May 1861 from a small cottage in Montreal Street, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in the South Island of New Zealand. The first...
, six months older, was a weekly paper for its first few years. The first issue ran to 2750 copies, and was sold for threepence.
The ODT was founded by W.H. Cutten
William Cutten
William Henry Cutten was a New Zealand politician. He served in the 1st New Zealand Parliament as representative for the Dunedin Country electorate 1853-1855, but resigned before the end of his term. He later served in the 6th Parliament as a representative for Taieri 1878-1879, also resigned. He...
and Julius (later Sir Julius) Vogel
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
during the boom following the discovery of gold at the Tuapeka
Central Otago Gold Rush
The Central Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand...
, the first of the Otago goldrushes. Cutten was the publisher of a weekly newspaper, the Otago Witness
Otago Witness
The Otago Witness was a prominent newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Inaugurated in 1851, three years after the founding of the city, the Witness was originally a four-page fortnightly paper, becoming a...
, which was founded in 1851, and the strong political views of co-founder Vogel saw an outlet in the ODT's pages, notably with advocacy for provincial government.
The ODT was originally published from premises in Princes Street, but moved to a new building at the corner of Dowling and Burlington Streets at the foot of Bell Hill in 1879. It stayed here until 1928 when it moved into larger premises on the other side of Burlington Street facing Queen's Gardens, where they stayed until 1977.
From the start, the ODT held a strong position among South Island newspapers. Most of its Dunedin opposition papers were short lived, with only the Evening Star surviving beyond the early 1900s. The Star merged with the ODT in 1975 forming a new company, Allied Press
Allied Press
Allied Press is a New Zealand publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the Otago Daily Times, New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper...
, and the ODT moved to the Evening Star Building (now the Allied Press Building) in Stuart Street
Stuart Street, Dunedin
Stuart Street is one of the main streets of Dunedin, New Zealand. As with many of Dunedin's streets, it is named after a main street in Edinburgh, Scotland....
in June 1977. The Evening Star ceased publication in November 1979 because its readership was declining. As a result the Allied Press, now publishes the ODT and several smaller papers throughout New Zealand, including the Greymouth Star.
On January 5, 1998 the ODT published for the first time on a new Goss International printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
; on the same day it introduced a new masthead
Masthead (publishing)
The masthead is a list, published in a newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all...
reading simply "Otago Daily Times", marking Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
's 150th anniversary year of Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
settlement.
The ODT is regarded as the father-figure of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 43,000 and an estimated readership of 110,000.
Milestones
- 1861 - November 15: first edition
- 1881 - price dropped to one penny
- 1898 - first linotypeLinotypeThe Mergenthaler Linotype Company is a corporation founded in the United States in 1886 to market the linecaster invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler...
machines installed - 1900 - first photoengravingPhotoengravingPhotoengraving also known as photo-chemical milling is a process of engraving using photographic processing techniques. The full form of photoengraving is photo mechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is...
plant installed - 1949 - first full time cartoonist employed
- 1952 - November: the ODT became the first New Zealand metropolitan paper to print news rather than classified advertisements on the front page
- 1955 - new general printing department inaugurated
- 1956 - wire photographic equipment installed
- 1961 - new enlarged format
- 1966 - first full colour gravure preprinting
- 1978 - October 13 and 20: no edition due to journalists' strike; first fissed days of publication in 117 years
- 1979 - November: Evening Star ceased publication; ODT size increased to compensate
- 1980 - August: three separate editions published for first time, serving Dunedin city, North Otago, and Central/South Otago
- 1981 - july: first computerised publishing
- 1987 - December: change to coloured mastheadNameplate (publishing)In publishing, a nameplate is the title of a newspaper or other periodical in the type style and treatment in which it appears on the front page or cover of the periodical...
- 1988 - November: new typeface and formatting
- 1990 - June: first full-process colour printing
Policies and personages
In its formative years, the ODT was active in many campaigns for social reform, none more important than the exposure of sweat shop working conditions in Dunedin in the 1880s by Editor Sir George FenwickGeorge Fenwick
Sir George Fenwick was a New Zealand newspaper proprietor and editor.Born in Sunderland, England, his family emigrated to Australia in 1852, and subsequently to Otago, New Zealand four years later...
and Chief Reporter Silas Spragg, which led to major law reforms.
Sid Scales
Sid Scales
thumb|57px|A self-portraitSid Scales was a New Zealand cartoonist.He studied at the London Central School of Art and was staff cartoonist at the Otago Daily Times from 1951 until his retirement in 1981....
was a cartoonist for the ODT for 30 years until his retirement in 1981. Since then Queenstown
Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....
artist Garrick Tremain
Garrick Tremain
Garrick Tremain is a New Zealand cartoonist and painter living in Queenstown.He has been a professional painter since 1972 and a cartoonist since 1988...
has been the principal cartoonist. The editor is Murray Kirkness, who took over from long-serving editor Robin Charteris in April 2007.
Editors
- 1861–68 - Sir Julius VogelJulius VogelSir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
- 1868–71 - George Burnett BartonGeorge Burnett BartonGeorge Burnett Barton was an Australian lawyer, journalist and historian.Barton was born in Sydney, the second son of William Barton and elder brother of Sir Edmund Barton. He was educated at William Timothy Cape's school and at the University of Sydney...
- 1871–77 - W D Murison
- 1877–78 - George M Reed
- 1878–83 - J Ashcroft
- 1883–90 - Richard Twopenny
- 1890–1909 - Sir George FenwickGeorge FenwickSir George Fenwick was a New Zealand newspaper proprietor and editor.Born in Sunderland, England, his family emigrated to Australia in 1852, and subsequently to Otago, New Zealand four years later...
- 1909–46 - Sir James Hutchinson
- 1946–61 - John Rowley Moffet
- 1961–76 - E A Aubin
- 1976–88 - Keith Eunson
- 1988–97- Geoff Adams
- 1997–2007 - Robin Charteris
- 2007– - Murray Kirkness
External links
- Otago Daily Times official newspaper website
- Allied Press official website of the publisher
- National Library of New Zealand Online Newspaper Archive
- Early history of the Otago Daily Times from the "Cyclopedia of New Zealand".