UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18500, 22 February 1930, Page 13 (Supplement)

UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND.

at a meeting on December 3, 1879, the Committee of the Press Association passed a resolution that it was desirable that all members of the New Zealand Press should be admitted to the Association.

United Press Association Formed. Thus was the way paved for bringing to an end the ruinous competitions in telegraphic news. There followed a conference of representatives of the New Zealand Press, which was held at Timaru on December 19, 1879, for the purpose of forming a United Association for conducting the telegraphic business of the Press of the colony. Mr George Fenwick was voted to the chair, and the others were Messrs A. G. Horton, “Herald” (Auckland), H. Brett, “Star” (Auckland), H. Blundell, “Post” (Wellington), Hon. W. Reeves, “Times” and “Star,” (Christchurch), A. G. Fraser, “Morning Herald” (Dunedin), J. W. Jago, “Star” (Dunedin), and H. Belfield, “Herald” (Timaru).

A committee, consisting of Messrs Reeves (Chairman), Fenwick, Horton, Brett, and H. Blundell, was appointed to conduct the affairs of the new Association, and ultimately became the first Board of Directors when the Association was formed into a Joint Stock Company. Up to then they were described as the Board of Management. It became immediately apparent that financial matters required a legal standing with power to enforce payment of subscriptions at law, so as early as February 13, 1880, a resolution was passed in favour of forming a limited joint stock company. There was some delay, the reason for which is now obscure, and it was not till November that the company was registered. The first meeting of Directors was held that month, on the 27th. The first annual meeting was not held till October, 1881, and this accounts for the discrepancy between the 4 ate of actual founding of the Association, and the number of annual meetings.

Mr E. T. Gillon, who had been manager of the New Zealand Press Association, became manager of the United Association, and when he resigned in 1884, Mr G. Humphries succeeded, and

cables had been stopped. In those days cable rates were very heavy, and consequently the messages were mere skeletons, often very difficult to fill in correctly. Money was saved whenever possible and the service kept within moderate bounds. The first year of which there is any record, from October, 1889, to October, 1890, shows that 91,423 words were issued of international news. This computation is not based on the original messages, but on the messages as filled in. and the amount would represent about 75,000 cabled words. There is no record of Australian news till 1891-92, when the total supply, calculated on the present basis, was about 105,000 words of international and 50.000 of Australian. In 1928, by way of comparison, it may be stated that the totals were 780,884 and 205,989. It may be worthy of note that for the financial year 1877-78 the total number of

CHAIRMEN, OP DIRECTORS, 1879 to 1930. 1879—W. Reeves 1897—G. Fenwick 1915—L. Blundell 1880—W. Reeves 1898—H. Brett 1916—P. Selig - 1881—W. Reeves 1899—J. S. Guthrie 1917—F. Pirani 1882—W. Reeves 1900—L. Blundell 1918—G. Carson 1883—W. Reeves 1901—J. L. Wilson P. Selig - 1884—W. Reeves H. Brett 1919—L. Blundell 1885—W. Reeves 1902—H. Brett 1920—G. Fenwick 1886—W. Reeves 1903—G. Fenwick 1921—C. S. Smith 1887—W. Reeves 1904—G. Fenwick 1922—H. Horton 1888—W. Reeves 1905—H. Brett 1923—W. Cecil Leys 1889—W. Reeves 1906—G. Fenwick 1924—P. Selig 1890—W. Reeves' 1907—G. Fenwick 1925—C. S. Smith 1891—W. Reeves 1908—E. W. Knowles 1926—G. Fenwick H. Blundell 1909—G. Fenwick 1927—W. Cecil Leys 1892—H. Blundell 1910—G. Fenwick 1928—A. G. Henderson 1893—G. Fenwick 1911—H. Brett 1929—G. Fenwick 1894—H. Brett 1912—H. Horton A. G. Henderson 1895—J. L. Wilson 1913—H. Brett 1930—E. Abbey Jones 1896—E. W. Knowles 1914 —G. Fenwick