The Herald (Melbourne)
Encyclopedia
The Herald was a broadsheet
newspaper
published in Melbourne
, Australia
from 1840 to 1990.
The Port Phillip Herald was first published as a semi-weekly
newspaper on 3 January 1840 from a weatherboard shack in Collins Street
. It was the fourth newspaper to start in Melbourne.
The paper took its name from the region it served. Until its establishment as a separate colony
in 1851, the area now known as Victoria
was a part of New South Wales
and it was generally referred to as the Port Phillip
district.
Preceding it was the short-lived Melbourne Advertiser
which John Pascoe Fawkner
first produced on 1 January 1838 as hand-written editions for 10 weeks and then printed for a further 17 weekly issues, the Port Phillip Gazette
, and The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser. But within eighteen months of its inauguration, Port Phillip Herald
had grown to be the largest circulation
of all Melbourne papers.
It was founded and published by George Cavenagh (1808–1869). He was born in India
, as the youngest son of a Major
. He came to Sydney
in March 1825 where he worked as a magistrates’ clerk and farmer, before eventually taking on the role editor of the Sydney Gazette
in 1836.
Bringing his wife (Jemima Caroline née Smith) and eight children, his staff and machinery to Melbourne, George first produced the Port Phillip Herald as free editions. Later copies were to sell for sixpence
.
for 50 years.
It was edited by William Kerr (1812–1859) who left Cavenagh in 1841 to be editor of the Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser and then on to the Port Phillip Gazette about a decade later.
The editor who followed Kerr at the Port Phillip Herald was Thomas Hamilton Osborne (c1805-1853) who later became proprietor of The Portland Mercury and Port Fairy Register (originally known as The Portland Mercury and Normanby Advertiser) on 10 January 1844.
Edmund "Garryowen" Finn
(1819–1898) worked as the star reporter on the Herald for thirteen years. He arrived in Melbourne on 19 July 1841 and he joined the newspaper's staff in 1845.
Under George Cavenagh's leadership the paper would denounce adversaries, challenge ideas, and employ negative emotive language in an astute invective manner. In the early 1840s this was manifest in dealing with Judge John Walpole Willis
(1793–1877) which resulted in severe fines being imposed on Cavenagh. It was an editorial policy that often involved litigation and Cavenagh was defendant
in the first civil libel case in the colony. He retired in 1853, returned briefly the next year, and then retired permanently in 1855.
, which would not yet be a daily until 18 June 1949, scorned its rival's change of schedule with this report on 2 January 1849:
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
newspaper
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 in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from 1840 to 1990.
The Port Phillip Herald was first published as a semi-weekly
Weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news publication that is published on newsprint once or twice a week.Such newspapers tend to have smaller circulations than daily newspapers, and are usually based in less-populous communities or small, defined areas within large cities; often, they may cover a...
newspaper on 3 January 1840 from a weatherboard shack in Collins Street
Collins Street, Melbourne
Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
. It was the fourth newspaper to start in Melbourne.
The paper took its name from the region it served. Until its establishment as a separate colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
in 1851, the area now known as Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
was a part of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and it was generally referred to as the Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
district.
Preceding it was the short-lived Melbourne Advertiser
Melbourne Advertiser
The Melbourne Advertiser was Melbourne's first newspaper. It was published by John Pascoe Fawkner, a co-founder of Melbourne. The premier edition appeared on 1 January 1838 handwritten in ink by Fawkner himself and displayed at his hotel....
which John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner was an early pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land , to sail to the mainland in his ship, Enterprize...
first produced on 1 January 1838 as hand-written editions for 10 weeks and then printed for a further 17 weekly issues, the Port Phillip Gazette
Port Phillip Gazette
The Port Phillip Gazette was Melbourne's second newspaper. It was first published by Thomas Strode and George Arden in 1838.The first issue of the Port Phillip Gazette, a four page weekly appeared 27 October 1838. From 1 January 1840 it was published bi-weekly. In 1851 it became a daily...
, and The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser. But within eighteen months of its inauguration, Port Phillip Herald
Port Phillip Herald
The Port Phillip Herald was first published as a semi-weekly newspaper on January 3, 1840 from a weatherboard shack in Collins St. It was the fourth newspaper to start in Melbourne.The paper took its name from the region it served...
had grown to be the largest circulation
Newspaper circulation
A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the...
of all Melbourne papers.
It was founded and published by George Cavenagh (1808–1869). He was born in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, as the youngest son of a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He came to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in March 1825 where he worked as a magistrates’ clerk and farmer, before eventually taking on the role editor of the Sydney Gazette
Sydney Gazette
The Sydney Gazette was the first newspaper in Australia. Governor King authorised the publication of what was initially called 'The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1803. Subsequently the first edition was published 5 March...
in 1836.
Bringing his wife (Jemima Caroline née Smith) and eight children, his staff and machinery to Melbourne, George first produced the Port Phillip Herald as free editions. Later copies were to sell for sixpence
British sixpence coin
The sixpence, known colloquially as the tanner, or half-shilling, was a British pre-decimal coin, worth six pence, or 1/40th of a pound sterling....
.
Original staff
The paper opened with the adopted motto "impartial - but not neutral", which was to run under its mastheadMasthead (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...
for 50 years.
It was edited by William Kerr (1812–1859) who left Cavenagh in 1841 to be editor of the Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser and then on to the Port Phillip Gazette about a decade later.
The editor who followed Kerr at the Port Phillip Herald was Thomas Hamilton Osborne (c1805-1853) who later became proprietor of The Portland Mercury and Port Fairy Register (originally known as The Portland Mercury and Normanby Advertiser) on 10 January 1844.
Edmund "Garryowen" Finn
Edmund Finn
Edmund 'Garryowen' Finn was an Australian journalist and author who wrote many colorful descriptions of the life and people in early Melbourne....
(1819–1898) worked as the star reporter on the Herald for thirteen years. He arrived in Melbourne on 19 July 1841 and he joined the newspaper's staff in 1845.
Under George Cavenagh's leadership the paper would denounce adversaries, challenge ideas, and employ negative emotive language in an astute invective manner. In the early 1840s this was manifest in dealing with Judge John Walpole Willis
John Walpole Willis
John Walpole Willis was an English-born judge, and a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.- Early life :...
(1793–1877) which resulted in severe fines being imposed on Cavenagh. It was an editorial policy that often involved litigation and Cavenagh was defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
in the first civil libel case in the colony. He retired in 1853, returned briefly the next year, and then retired permanently in 1855.
Daily
On 1 January 1849, the Port Phillip Herald changed its name to The Melbourne Morning Herald and General Daily Advertiser. It also upped its printing schedule from thrice-weekly to daily. The ArgusThe Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
, which would not yet be a daily until 18 June 1949, scorned its rival's change of schedule with this report on 2 January 1849:
For twenty years from 1854, a succession of owners struggled to keep the newspaper afloat during the goldrush period. This included two years in which it was reduced to a biweekly. The newspaper changed its name several times before settling on The Herald from 8 September 1855 - the name it held for the next 135 years.
In 1869 it developed stability as an evening daily. Through News Ltd (the Australian arm of international media conglomerate News Corp), Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
purchased the company publishing this daily, The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd
The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd
The Herald and Weekly Times Limited is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited, who purchased HWT in 1987.-Newspapers:...
. The newspaper became defunct on 5 October 1990, but its name was merged with its morning sister newspaper The Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial, commonly known as The Sun, was a morning daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne, Australia established in 1922 and closed in 1990.It was part of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd stable of Melbourne newspapers...
on 8 October 1990 to become the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
.
Further reading
- Printers of the streets and lanes of Melbourne by Don Hauser. Nondescript Press. Melbourne 2006
- One Hundred & Fifty Years of News from The Herald by Geoff Gaylard. Southbank Editions. Fishermans Bend 1990