Early Newspaper Ventures

Hawera Star, Volume L, 10 April 1930, Page 5 (Supplement)

Early Newspaper Ventures

When our family decided to migrate down the coast from Stony iTJivcr in the early days of IS7B it was considered quite a hazardous undertaking, and so it iwas. The distance by the beach road, along the Harriet Beach, where many mountain streams had to be forded to Opunake, then on to Hawera, through unsettled country on the Waimato Plains (for Manaia was not then in existence), and finally passing through iManutahi, Kakaramea and Paten. was eightly miles. We did the rip in three days. The settlers at Ilawera, many of whom were Scots, like our own people, were so kind that they almost persuad’d our folk to stay amongst them and mt; go to Patch. They pointed out hat although Paten was now the more important town, Hawera iwas bound to became an important centre, because of the fine country which surrounded it.

(Old ‘'Star” Days Continued.) • Telegraph Oiiice was also burnt, thus ■ cutting oh all connection by wire from > Hawera. Mr Pafkinscm met me m the • eariy hours ol the morning when' the > arc was practically nnishect, and gave • me orders to wire a message to the , Press Association giving a report ol' the nre, my instructions being to ior- ■ will'd my report to Paten (tne te.egrajih line from Hawera being destroyed), amt to address my envelope to tne i Pa foil postmaster to send tin; wire on k> e ellington. 1 did as .1 was told to do, and alter a very strenuous night 1 and morning i was returning from the railway station alter posting my report. when .Mr Parkinson met rue. “,/i.i you send away the P.A. re* port.-" lie asKed “ i es,” 1 replied.

•jla. e you got our report written r he ~.s.,ed. I looked at Him m amazement. ‘O. r report, Air l ai'Kiuson Why our office was burnt down!” ‘‘Do you think the “Star” is not coming out?” said Mr Parkinson. “Wo’re printing the paper in the old place .in Regent Street. Get round quickly and get your report ready.” Well, I’d like to draw a veil over the proceedings of that day, but I cannot, i was sent out to get the insurances on the destroyed buildings, to get particulars of the lire, to write up the “obituaries” of the two line men who were burnt in the iigmont Hotel (Messrs W. J. Caverliill and Alfred J burner). Put I did if, and the “Star” did not suspend publication. Lt canto out that eveningm much reduced form and printed on multi-colonrtu paper—cream, white, anything that could he

procured. And how was it printed, may he asked : J . Well, there had keen m existence for a term a paper (morning) called the ; ‘Hawera Post” which had gone oft' tiie scene, and the type for the “Star” was “set” in .Regent Street, the in any-coloured copies being grasped by the greedy pnrcnasers at aim C ei„ o clock that evening. A j.ig lent I BRILLIANT CONTRIBUTORS. T!ic “Star” has had many hril.iano (mil rilml ors to its columns. Of these mention mast he made of Mr dames Kenwoiihy (of Paten), who on occasions acted as Editor during Mr Parkinson’s absence, Mr G. A. Marchant, (one-time M.H.It.), Air John Einlay, of Tokaora, Mr T. Lloyd, of Normanby, the late Mr Frank Lawry, M HR. for Parnell (who “wrote-up” the cattle classes .at the Hawera show); the late Mr O. R. Bayley (who • described the entries in the dog classes at the same sliow); Air Jack Scott, whose. articles on farming were splendidly written and widely quoted; Air Joe Chadwick, “Spectator” of the “Auckland Weekly News’’); Mr G. A. Hurley, of Wellington; Mr F. A. Rolling (the wellknown cliessist); and many others whom I cannot call to mind. One, how-

over, to whom i must pay a tribute is the late Mr It. S, Thompson. A tine scholar and a gifted writer, he was responsible for many articles in the “Star” which reflected credit on nmiself and on the paper. The “Star” had always an excellent staff—Mr C. 0. Ekdald, a machinist who thoroughly knew his business; Mr Thomas John George, one of the finest printers (in the strict, sense of the term, and who “set” and practically arranged that excellent production “The Star Almanac”); Mr J. H. Cltwridge, a former foreman of the composing room; and Mr G. S. Watts, the present foreman. All have done yeoman service to the “Star.’ 1 May it sliine for many a year!

(By W. K. Howitt.) Early district history and,reminiscences of the first days of “The Hawera Star’s’’ existence are pleasantly and interestingly touched upon by the writer of the following 1 article who, though now a resident of Auckland, preserves; vivid recollections of bis experiences on {the land in South Taranaki and as an early correspondent of “The Star.” South Taranaki was very fortunate in her settlers; they were of that, sterling character which made them great pioneers. They seemed to possess to the'fullest degree those virtues which have made succeeding generations venerate their, memories and try to emulate their achievements. Hardships met them on every hand, but they took long journeys and endured privations which we know little about to-day.

Although not yet ten years of age, I can remember that night how tears came into mother’s eves as she conversed with her Scotch friends about things in their own native land and other, things pertaining to this new land where all of them were setting such a line example in colonisation. The human element was very real amongst settlers in those far off days and while father could not be induced to change his mind to come and stay in Hawera, some of the finest friends he ever had during forty-two years sojourn in South Taranaki lived in Ilawera. Our family missed by inches being residents in that town instead of Paten, but we always had- the closest association with it, and have watched its growing importance as the decades have flown by. A WELL-KNOWN - JOURNALIST At Patea live were met by Mr James Kenworthy and Mr William. Aitchison. At that time Mr Kenworthy was one of the best known journalists on the

coast. In liis later years he became almost totally deaf. In 1892 he was for a time editor of “The Hawera .Star” and during that period he met with an accident through being kicked by a horse and for some weeks he was confined to his bed, anl it was twhile on the broad of his back that ho still continued to edit the paper and write ihe leading articles. It was an effort of effectual work never surpassed.

Mr Aitchison built the first. Bank of Now Zealand at New Plymouth and later the first Bank of New Zealand in Bedford Street, Patea, before the present building in Eginont Street was put up. Air IV. Colson was the butcher at Patea and legs of mutton were being sold for a shilling. The greatest stir of the day mas when Cobb and Co’s, coach went through. Jack During was the most noted driver, but. sometimes Air Andrew Young himself was the driver. He was the chief owner of the coaches and was a man of great vigour. He stood for the Alayoralty of Wellington more than once, but never succeeded in winning. The coach service was well organised and the fare was sixpence per mile. It served its day and generation well. THE ‘‘PATEA MAIL” When lie went to live at Patea the ‘‘Patea Alail” was the only paper published between Wanganui and New Plymouth. Alex. Black was proprietor of it. Then Joseph Ivess, of newspaper fame, and an aspirant against Sir Harry Atkinson, for the Egmont scat, was in charge of it. Its most brilliant time was perhaps when E. Houghton, a London .journalist,- took it over and produced a (wonderful paper, during the boom years in the district. Formerly the paper had only been published once ‘ a week, but Houghton issued it three times, and a big forward move was made. When a libel action was brought, against him in the district court with •lodge 1 lard i-a si le as .judge, he conducted his defence with much ability, with a court crowded with settlers. He

Hawera and Patea as Rivals

“Star’s” Growth in South Taranaki

won golden opinions for liis oratorial ability, just as at amateur theatricals ho. <won fame as an. actor well above the average. It was during his term in the editorial chair that arrangements were made with a mounted eon rier at Normanby to ride to Patea along very bad roads in the winter time, and after the paper was printed • —about three o’clock —he would leave for home again with his saddle bags filled with newspapers, which he deliv-

erod all along the road right' to Hormanbv, this task taking him into the greater part of next day. The same method of delivery was adopted on both sides of Patea, as far as Waitotara, a distance of 17 miles. The well edited paper was the mouthpiece of the people over a wide and important tract of country and was >'a considerable force in consolidating public opinion. There was considerable rivalry between Patea' and Hawera at this'time, although Patea more than held its own on account of haviug all the Government Departments centred there —a condition of things which lasted till about 188 ! 6, a year or two after the railway went through. THE BIRTH OF “THE STAR” It is not hard to remember when the Ilawena. paper came to light in ISSO. The growing importance of the -country around Hawera, through' the opening of the Waimate Plains, and of the growth of the town itself made it imperative that Hawera hove a local paper of its own. The Patea paper at the time was Urging with all its force that Patea should become a borough and this very fact was an auspicious opening for.the Hawera paper, which soon commenced to .play upon the patriotic feelings of the townsmen by urging that Hawera. should do. the same thing. It was a master stroke in checkmating the circulation of the outside paper, and soon the delivery of the Patea paper by special courier to Normanby was discontinued and a delivery as far as Manutahi substituted. The loss of circulation at the Hawera end was eventually made up to some extent by the development of settlement in the new Alton district, or Woodville, as it uvas known by then. Patea became a borough in 1881, with G. P. Sherwood as first Mayor, and Hawera became a borough one year later with Felix ‘McGuire as Mayor. Previously to the rivalry as to which borough would be formed first, there was the fierce battle as to which place,Patea or Hawera, was to have a high school. Local representatives on the Education Board were great fighters in those days and after one of the greatest battles ever .fought on the Board, in which the southern representatives tool: a leading part, notably the Rev. .Tio.lm Ross, of Turakina, who championed the claims of Hawera, a compromise was arrived at by making both schools high schools, and the youth -of >oth districts reaped the benefit-of high icdiool training.

As the years went by Hawera reaped a big advantage in that its population was always growing- and it became more and more a centre, while Patea, after the railway went through, lost half of its population. It had -boomed tremendously in the early eighties -and .at one time ran two papers. This led to divided interest and everything led up to make more secure the importance of the Ilawera paper. What remains in my mind after a long lapse of years is how, from the first the correspondence column ic.f “The Star” was always freely availed of bv the settlors t’o give expression to their feelings, and how by that method public opinion was moulded in the interests of the whole district. Realising the growing importance of Ilawera, many Patea business people started branches there, and it is not hard to recall that the ratriotism of the local paper had a good deal to do with (ho growth of the district. It was after Mr W. A. Parkinson look over the management of the paper that itsm-ade its present- progress and when a second paper started in Hawera, being a little envious of -the way that “The Star” was forging ahead, it could get no hold and it very soon ceased publication. £ CONTRIBUTOR. TO “STAR’S” COLUMNS -Coming down to more recent times, when the lands at Auroa, Awatuna, Riverlea and To Kiri were being more, fully opened up and when once again with the pioneering blood still hot in my veins, my -homo was established at Awatuna just across from the dairy factory, the “Hawera Star” went into every home and was a marvellously well conducted country newspaper. We tvent to- live on the southern slopes of the mountain in 3903, and “The Star” was a four-page paper then, but, within five years it had developed to twice the size. No district at that time was more faithfully served by a newspaper. That I contrijbuted’ to ‘.'‘The Star” for fully a quarter of a century will now be forgotten by many, but 1 have lived long enough to see the paper grow and grow in importance with the development of the district, 'i’ll.it our family wore amongst; the first subscribers and that previous to that utii- parents had pioneered for nearly eighteen years in Taranaki, about sixteen yeans of that time being in Northern Taranaki, shows that our big family must have been pioneers too.

It is, therefore, as a pioneer that I write and niy object is to pay a tribute to a newspaper which has demo much during, fifty years to promote the prosperity of the district, where it has had such a large circulation because its principles were modelled on the finest traits of British journalism, and following this example it was bound to succeed. The “Hawera Star” is what it is to-day because of the high ideals which have ever adorned its pages.