HISTORY OF THE AUCKLAND PRESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11712, 23 July 1901, Page 6

HISTORY OF THE AUCKLAND PRESS.

Dr. Hocken, so well known for Ms researches into the early history of New Zealand, , read before the Otago Institute on July 9 a paper on " The Beginning of Literature in New Zealand." From that paper we quote some portions referring to the Auckland press: —

On July 10, 1841, at the usual old price of Is per copy, the first of Auckland's numerous newspapers appeared, the New Zealand Herald and ■• Auckland Gazette, which has the distinction of being the third in order of New Zealand; journals. - Like its fellows in the further north, its career was short and stormy, though at first seeming to ; possess the requisites of longer life and prosperity, and its promoters ought surely to have gained experience enough to, avoid . the rocks which had already caused so much disaster. Quite an extensive plant of printing material was brought down from Sydney, as well as a' staff of pressmen for working it, amongst whom are names well :' known; in early history. Mr. John Williamson, for instance," the first Superintendent .of Auckland, and editor "of the New Zealander; Mr. Wilson, of the New Zealand Herald, and others. The whole was the property, of a company called; the Auckland -Printing Company, under the management ■ of ~'.'. another ■ well-' known nameJ. C. Moore.; The newspaper, however, with which we are concerned was a branch or part of the business, and its affairs were entrusted to four gentlemen, also well known—Major Richmond, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Montefiore, and Mr. William Mason, the latter of whom was : well known to us as the first Mayor of Dunedin and member of the firm of Mason and Wales,';" architects. These gentlemen ' assisted the editor' (Mr. Corbett), Mr. Montefiore, however, doing by far most of the - writing; ; but they knew nothing of newspapers,-and failed to recognise how largely their success depended on advertisements. Moreover, the paper rather represented the views and desires of a Government clique $han the needs of the public, and thus, receiving "no sympathy, it soon showed signs of failure. They then procured from Sydney the services of Dr. Martin, a medical man of considerable literary ability, forcible utterance, and powerful frame. Dr. Martin wrote with an iron pen, and laid about him with such flail-like agility that before two months had elapsed he was threatened with two :or three actions for libel. Matters culminated -when one day Mr. Fitzgerald, a Government official, Registrar of Lands" and the Supreme Court, entered the office and seized from the printer, under threat and pains'and penalties, some of the editor's manuscripts. Dr. Martin was furious, and, failing to secure the return of his property, challenged Mr. Fitzgerald ; to. fight a duel. This the latter refused, and Dr.. Martin thereupon ; posted him in various parts "of the ; town as a blackguard ' and coward. The further details of, this sanguinary business I do not here pursue, but,; before its termination: it became a very pretty "quarrel indeed, involving riot only the officers of the garrison, but also such peaceable citizens as the late Dr. Shortland, so well known as the author, of; various old works connected with New 'Zealand history, v and the present ■-' Dr. John Logan Campbell, now Mayor of Auckland. The trustees of the paper :grew, penitent, finding : too late - that they had indeedreplaced King Log: by King ,Stork. Whilst they insisted that the paper should in the meantime be reduced to a mere advertisement sheet, supplemented with newspaper clippings, their fighting editor insisted that the appearance of his articles was more than ever ■ desirable; ';■ and :' so ', . ■• amidst •,; this wild i tumult/V Auckland's first paper ended in April, 1842, after ten months' "existence. Upon its ruins, and .in a week's ■' time, ) was erected the Auckland Standard—the second paperand issued presumably in- the interests of the Government, as might be ■ expected., Yet, .curious to say, it was not wholly so, for Government in those days was not of the responsible type, and many of its supporters were \ half-hearted, ■ swaying the balance according to personal interest. Besides, Governor, Hobson was not entirely' popular. -Thoughvstrictly honourable ' and of high integrity, his manner was often overbearing and passionate, and had much 0 the quarterdeck character; the same may be said of his chief officials—Lieutenant Shortland and Mr. Coates. The Standard was edited by Mr. William Swainson, who had recently arrived at Auckland under appointment of Attorney-General by the British Govemnment. . The prevailing fatality of early extinction befel it too, and on the 28th of August, 1842, after but four months' struggle, the Standard also departed mournfully, deploring its own exit and the gloom which seemed gathering over the whole community. "Now appeared— the sth of September, 1842— surely was—or after the publication of its first few numbers was the most extraordinary-looking paper ever printed. This was the , Auckland Times owned and edited by Mr. Henry Falwasser', formerly a storekeeper or merchant in Sydney, whose.sister married the Rev." J.; F. Churton, the first Auckland clergyman. At first it was printed by the';• accommodating Mr. John Moore, on the type the Government had so recently purchased; but whether any suspicion, arose as to Mr Falwasser's ability to pay for the printing/or as to the doubtful odour of his articles, it is = certain that Lieutenant Willoughbv Shortland,then ' the Acting-Governor, "speedily stepped in, and, somewhere about the tenth number, stopped the press. -, But Mr. Falwasser was a man of ingenuity and resource. From any quarter he gathered a miscellaneI ous assortment of old type, such as is mostly used for printing billheads and rough jobs, and, with the aid of a mangle and coarse paper, triumphantly produced these weekly specimens, now regarded as such a curiosity. His original motto had been " Veluti In speculum ' ; now he changed it to " Tempora mutantur— non mutantur in Mis." His imprint was : "Auckland. Printed (in a mangle) and published by Henry Falwasser, sole editor and proprietor." On the j 7th of November, 1843, it reappeared in legitimate form and in : its new Sydney dress once a week, and continued in its former hearty and independent style until the l?th of January, 1846, when its 159 th number was issued. A weekJater Henry Falser

died, and with him ceased bis journal .»,,,'' with all its vicissitudes, almost tauJuT* " duration the united age of its oreLS■* The last of this class oi old Auckl-nrl" 1 ' i papers was the Auckland Chronicle £&*' Zealand Colonist, :■ which put ; forth : *** number on the Bth of November law ■■**' shortly afterwards ceased, but. wheni v ** not been able to discover. Its second * Ipearance, however, was on the 12tf> «J >> member, 1842, and in September, itorT commenced its second volume ' i, '• '* printed by the usual John MooreTr,!? nterests of the Government, and wa*\i \oubly obnoxious to the Mangle J,-? Seeringly spoke of it as "that adminfa"'- fc tung called the Chronicle-bah" t "* l fern* the Chronicle dubbed ■ its rival "-n" Od Lady of the Mangle," and adverti ' "lor Sale, a Mangle.—Apply to t£Ss prutor of the Auckland Times." The :v " tie endearments were continuous i a »V it must be allowed that the Mangle won»!? honours. Mr. Jihn Kitchen—"which s where he came from," as Mr. Falwosser *". —was editor of the Chronicle, and had « ' viously been on the United Service fW'' ! The Southern Cross in its first number »"' very bitter with it, and indulged on toe W casion in one of those newspaper amen,..". which were then so common. One of'•? bitter references was:—"For sale or hire" about a fortnight! ! a defunct GovernnlJ engine used foi stifling the will of the Jr pie; rather shaky, having lately stuck fit in the swamp in Queen-street. . . '?*.' been well greased lately, its head turnip with marvellous facility in any direction Apply at the Chronicle Office."' I have Co say a few words regarding the Southern Cross and the hew. Zealander, and will them can close the reference to tie earl Auckland papers. Both were of, or i ; assumed, a very different and ■ supS character from their predecessors, of wh o » so little can be said beyond a mere catalog ' '■ mg, and both form a link connecting tV indent with the modern newspaper Iters lure. Dr. Martin, it will be remembered' terminated the existence of the old Herald 4 nuch against his will, in April, 1842,- Wfle » .tie plant was sold to the Government- R» §j vias, as we have seen, highly ] indignant with '■■ tie weak-kneed proprietors of that journal aid his first act was to bring an action ajainst them or breach of his engagement as their editor. This he .won, and £640 wis awarded him.;v:' He further relieved fill '.' wojnded feelings by writing a little pan,, phefc or letter—now extremely rare-ad-dressed to Lord Stanley, then the Principal Seq-etary of State for the Colonies, entity "Nbw Zealand in 1842, or the Effected* Bad Government on a Good Country »• This pamphlet, of 33pp. 8vo;, may, I think be considered the first pamphletprintedin New Zealand. No longer restrained by & terfersnee with the freedom of the pre« or Newspaper Acts, or charge of libel, h» here Vrites to his heart's content, and in" his vigorous style. His next step « u to secu:e type and press, and on the 22nd of April, 1843, appeared the Southern Croat, ! New Zealand Guardian, and Auckland' Thames, and Bay of Islands Advertiser,' 1 .' j The ! motto chosen was "Luceo non TJfo'3 j but, - as We can well fancy, it would have been better " Luceo et Uro. The proprietor was Mr. William Brown, of the well-known firm of Brown and Campbell, a gentleman of weath, attainments, and true citizenship] The old shinty in which it was printed wai in Shortlani Crescent, where I saw it about twelve years; ago., on the point of removal. Dr. Campbell gave me at the same tiraj much inform.fion regarding the hisjtprr of the papa- 1 . In 1884 .Dr. Martin \ and Mr. Brown visited the Horns country— former ' never to refcuni —leaving the charge of the paper in Dr, 'Campbell's hands, Mi. Terry editing it. at a considerable loss, however. . Dr. Campbell accordingly decided to stop publication in April of 1845, and it was not resumed until July, 1847, upon Mr. Brown's return. •Is May, 1862, it became a daily paper, and shortly after?it,was sold by Mr. Brown,to Mr. (afterwards Sir Julius) Vogel and hi* company, and was again sold in 1876 to Sir. Horton, being soon afterwards amalgamated with the New Zealand Hekaxd, 1 -belonging to Messrs. Wilson and HorW ; 1 who still own and conduct it, one of the !e?,d- ' ing and best journals in the colony. During j Mr. Brown's proprietorship the paper new 1 paid—-from first to last he lost £10,000 in it—and it was always making enemies; nor,v j was it conducted, says DV. Campbell, on j commercial principles. " A final word may ha I said of Dr. ■ Martin. He went Home a dis- j appointed man, and there remained until i* I received the appointment of stipendiaif j magistrate in British Guiana He died near j Berbice on the 10th of September, 1848, [ The New Zealander was fcrtunat' in; starl- j ing just after the temporary cessation of the • Southern Cross, and on the 7th June, 184-5 It belonged to Mr. Williamson, so well known; in early New Zealand politics. He was sims joined in' partnership by Mr. W. G. Wilson, ; and the two composed a firm long and well ! known as the printers of nearly every publication that issued from the Auckland press, Amongst its editors and contributors wet* ■ j many, men of note in New Zealand, such as; Dr. Bennett (afterwards Registrar-General); the Rev. T. S. Forsaith (of " white shirt ministry" fame), Dr. Giles (afterwards editor of the Southern Monthly Magazine),; lis. ] (now ■ Sir ' John) Gorst, and many olhfrs j The New Zealander had. the distinction of starting on : the ■; 3rd ,of April, 1865, as ')te ' 1 first morning penny paper. A year later, i. " 1866, it ceased publication. These two papers, comprising as they do more than i period of 20 years each, and, dealing with- I the great transition period of New Zealand j history, are laden with interest. Time for-' bids me (just now to prolong this sketch of Auckland papers, and of even referring hj name to several others which, though of les) note, are yet old. ■;