The Otago Daily Times Special Anniversary Edition - 160 Years by Allied Press Ltd

Monday, November 15, 2021

T is a privilege to be the chief executive officer of Allied Press, the publisher of the Otago Daily Times (ODT) as we celebrate 160 years of publishing the ODT. In an environment where more and more services are being centralised, we continue to expand our footprint. We have offices in 12 locations across the South Island and we are continuing to look at opportunities. The ODT continues to be our flagship product and the leading source of news for the lower South Island. Once the print product is combined with our online version (ODT.co. nz) we continue to dominate the local market for news and advertising solutions. The real strength of any organisation is the people. We have been, and continue to be, very lucky in having a dedicated workforce that, through thick and thin, delivers for us and the community we live in. This can be from the reporter staying late due a breaking news story, a customer services representative calling in to assist a subscriber with getting the online version of the ODT on their way home from work, the photographer capturing the critical moment of an incident, a delivery person navigating our streets in all sorts of weather, the sales team delivering a campaign that helps a company be more successful, to the press and maintenance crew staying late when something isn’t quite right with the press. We are fortunate to have a dedicated customer base and an engaged community. We are often patted on the back for great work and holding those in power to account. However, we are also advised if we get something wrong. Finally, I would like to thank you all (staff, advertisers, subscribers, and suppliers) for supporting us for the last 160 years and I look forward to a successful next 160 years. Kind regards. Grant McKenzie

Chief executive officer Allied Press Ltd

Paper long a leader in sector T

HE Otago Daily Times turns 160 today. It is a proud achievement. The Otago Daily Times has been a leader in the newspaper industry in New Zealand throughout its history, but we could not have done it without you, our loyal readers and advertisers. The ODT has worked hard to earn your trust as the truly independent voice of the South, an honest publisher of news gathered on your behalf. We have stood with and for our community during wars and epidemics, through economic recessions and through the deepest global depression. Knowledge is power, and it is our job to empower you. As we reflect on the passage of time, we look to the future with the same spirit of innovation and excellence that has characterised our reporting and connection with our community. Those 160 years cover the greater part of the organised European settlement of Otago, so the accumulated reporting of this title is a dense and detailed history, in the popular sense, of the region. Bearing witness to and reporting daily the times of Otago — the events, issues and concerns of the province and its people — was an

opportunity and a task set by Julius Vogel, later Sir Julius, as the newspaper’s first editor, and publisher William Cutten on November 15, 1861. Following their lead has been a responsibility and a privilege discharged in the intervening years by management and staff — many of them longserving, who have since worked at the newspaper. One hundred and sixty years is a long time in the history of any institution. Such durability does not rest on good luck or fair winds. The Otago Daily Times was established with a clear vision: to provide a comprehensive mix of news and information about the Otago region, to relay news of national events and issues, and to provide coverage of world news as well. It would also, where appropriate, advocate for regional causes, agitate on social matters, and provide intelligent, often bracing, opinions in its editorials on the full range of regional and national endeavours. Publication over 160 years does not account for its growth and success. Allied to the vision of the newspaper, on which it has earned respect and built tradition, are the less tangible, but essential,

Monday, November 15, 2021

Technical innovation, change ongoing BRUCE MUNRO

Crowds gather outside the Otago Daily Times and Otago Witness news of the general election of December 10, 1914.

building in Dunedin awaiting

organisations across New Zealand have been retreating from the regions, the ODT remains committed to providing indepth local coverage. We are locally owned and our newsrooms across Otago and Southland work tirelessly every day to keep our readers informed, and play a crucial role in holding those in power to account. We are the South’s eyes and ears in crucial council meetings, at court hearings, on the sidelines of sporting events and on the frontline of breaking news. We investigate injustice and advocate for the South when the Government turns its back. We have a close relationship with our readers who expect the highest standards of integrity and impartiality. And they also expect we will be there to write the stories, take the photographs and shoot the videos of what is important to them. The ODT’s position as a

trusted news source has been built on an unchanging commitment to quality journalism. But what has changed is the way people access our news — and that is the challenge as we look to the future in an increasingly disrupted industry. More people than ever are reading the ODT but fewer are paying for it. Our free website odt.co.nz has grown rapidly since its launch in 2008. But in the past 10 years the media world has been swept by enormous change. ‘‘Comment is free, but facts are sacred.’’ Never has the sentiment seemed more prescient. The inexorable march of digital technology, of the internet and of social networking phenomena and the burgeoning associated sources of information places a premium on factual reporting. The ODT will continue to use digital media and expand its online presence. But it will do so cognisant of the values that are at the heart of this masthead’s proud history.

attitudes of its personality: integrity, honesty, fairness, innovation, relevance and an occasionally quirky but well honed sense of humour. To these we would add independence. The Otago Daily Times is the last remaining independent daily newspaper in New Zealand and as such is not beholden to values other than those it and its readers and advertisers have come to cherish. In addition to its comprehensive news coverage, the modern ODT publishes a range of opinion and viewpoints from all quarters of the political and philosophical spectrum. It has vibrant feature articles, a strong tradition of opinionated cartoonists, and excellent photography. On occasion it will lead on matters of social import, from disclosures about sweat shops in the Dunedin clothing industry in the 1880s, to the campaign to save neurosurgery in the South. At a time when news

N testing times, the Otago Daily Times continues to innovate around a time tested ethos, those shaping the newspaper’s digital future say. For the past 160 years, New Zealand’s longestrunning daily newspaper has continually evolved, while always keeping its valued readers frontofmind. That will continue, even as the ‘‘paper’’ increasingly becomes a multimedia news company in which text, video and audio all play an ever greater role. ‘‘Our digital future is providing trusted, good quality, local content that informs and engages the public — content that is delivered through whatever technologies and on whatever platforms best serve our readers and viewers,’’ commercial manager Matthew Holdridge says. Embracing technological advances in order to better serve subscribers has been the way the ODT has operated since the beginning — a flat bed, handfed press gave way to double and quadruple cylinder presses, followed by a rotary press. The digital revolution actually began to gather steam four decades ago. In the early 1980s, for example, the ODT introduced the first computerised typesetting machine. That transformation has accelerated this millennium throughout society. During the past two decades, the ODT has offered an eedition (a digital replica of the daily newspaper) in 2004, and launch of the

Paul van Tuel

Matthew Holdridge

paper’s comprehensive breakingnews website, www. odt.co.nz, in 2008, updated in 2016. ‘‘Today, odt.co.nz attracts 400,000 people a month from throughout New Zealand,’’ Mr Holdridge says. ‘‘We are pleased to have grown our combined print and digital audience. ‘‘Nielsen’s latest figures show we are registering about 10 million page views a month on the site.’’ While a lot of breaking news goes online first, the ODT still has a ‘‘print first’’ policy, reserving locally generated news content for newspaper subscribers. For the many readers who love the feel of paper and take pleasure in turning pages of expertly curated news from near and far, there is some reassurance. ‘‘I believe we will still be printing a paper in 10 years’ time,’’ online editor Vaughan Elder says. ‘‘The ability to pick up and hold print means it can cut through the distractions constantly bombarding people when they read news on their phone. ‘‘There is also a certain artistry to the printed page and something definitive about newspapers compared to the

Vaughan Elder

constantly changing nature of news websites.’’ At the same time, however, many changes will occur during the coming decade, driven by what consumers want from their local newspaper. The eedition is about to get a major revamp, systems manager Paul van Tuel says. ‘‘We are improving our remote access infrastructure for staff and introducing software that enables access to our internal systems from any device. ‘‘In other words, we’re making it simpler and quicker to get news from reporters to readers and viewers.’’ The future will be much more interactive, Mr Holdridge says. And online content will become chargeable, he adds. ‘‘For news organisations to survive and to support the number of journalists needed to fill the media's role as the fourth estate, people will have to pay for news,’’

Mr Elder explains. ‘‘Advertising alone will simply not pay for enough journalists. People will pay for news that means something to them, that is not possible to get anywhere else and is entertaining. ‘‘In the context of the Otago Daily Times, this means continuing to cover stories about our community that no one else covers in anywhere near the depth we do. People care about what is happening on their doorstep. ‘‘Our digital future will not be so different from our analogue past when it comes to the role we play in the community — telling stories about local people for local people.’’

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Monday, November 15, 2021

Chief executive officer Allied Press Ltd

Paper long a leader in sector T

Monday, November 15, 2021

Technical innovation, change ongoing BRUCE MUNRO

Crowds gather outside the Otago Daily Times and Otago Witness news of the general election of December 10, 1914.

building in Dunedin awaiting

Paul van Tuel

Matthew Holdridge

Vaughan Elder

Dunedin City Motors & Otago Daily Times

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PLUMBING (2001) LTD

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Monday, November 15, 2021

An advocate for the province

HE Otago Daily Times, the newspaper with the longest history of daily publication in New Zealand, first came off the press on November 15, 1861. It was founded by Julius (later Sir Julius) Vogel, an Englishman of Jewish parentage, who began his journalistic career in Australia in 1856. Otago was in the grip of gold fever when Sir Julius arrived in 1861 and he saw immediate possibilities for a daily paper to serve a population expanding week on week as new gold rushes occurred. He went into partnership with William Cutten, the publisher of the Otago Witness, and began vigorous advocacy for provincial government and South Island selfdetermination, among other issues. The ODT struggled at first but by late 1864 was selling 7000 copies a day, with the weekly Witness managing 7500 copies. From its earliest days the newspaper established an enviable reputation for accuracy, comprehensive coverage of its region and advocacy for regional causes. Rival dailies waxed and waned and most were defunct by the early 1900s, with the exception of a vigorous afternoon daily, The Evening Star, which continued until 1978. Undoubtedly, much credit for the development of the newspaper journalistically and financially must go to Sir George Fenwick, a practical printer, and editor of the Otago Guardian. He joined the Guardian’s owner, G. M. Reed, in a bold move to buy the ODT in 1875. Fenwick became managing director and Reed the editor, but early financial difficulties forced them to seek capital and they formed the Otago Daily Times and Witness Newspapers

In March, South Otago Embroiderers Guild members (from left) Mearle Wilson, Pam Henderson, Anne Richardson and Diane White showed Otago Daily Times publisher Sir Julian Smith and New Zealand Tapestry Trust chairman Hudson Biggs their completed tapestry panel, which highlights the history of the ODT. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH

Sir Julius Vogel Company in 1878. Reed was editor for only a year, and was succeeded by James Ashcroft and R.E.N. Twopenny, before Fenwick took the chair from 1890 to 1909, when he relinquished the editorship to James (later Sir James) Hutchison. Fenwick continued as manager of the company until his death in 1929, having developed the company into a thriving business. Hutchinson was editor for 37 years, a record unlikely ever to be repeated. Through two world wars, the Great Depression, and

innumerable national crises he guided the newspaper on a steady course adhering to a liberal conservatism that marked the newspaper’s editorial line virtually for the whole of the 20th century. He was a writer of distinction, very well informed on matters of the day, and, like Fenwick, was knighted for his services to journalism, in 1936. He retired in March, 1946. Under these and successive editors the Otago Daily Times went from strength to strength. It was owned throughout by the Otago Daily Times and Witness Newspapers Company, until its interests were merged with those of the Evening Star under the holding company, Allied Press Ltd, in May 1975. In 1979, a Dunedin company, Otago Press and Produce Ltd, formed by Sir Julian Smith, a director of Allied Press, and Tom Fraser, of John M. Fraser and Company, staved off other bidders to take ownership of Allied Press Ltd. Then, in March 1986 Sir Julian and his brother

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Nicholas mounted a management buyout and took over the company. The Smiths trace their newspaper heritage back to their greatgreat grandfather, George Bell, an Otago Daily Times subeditor in the 1860s, who bought the Evening Star in 1869 and whose descendants held a controlling interest in it throughout its life. The ODT is the only substantial daily newspaper in New Zealand remaining in private ownership. It has kept its region and the interests and aspirations of the region’s populace as its major focus, although its coverage is broad. Politically and socially, the Otago Daily Times has continued to be liberal in its opinions. But the selected columnists and commentators for its editorial and opinion pages reflect a broad political spectrum. A modern approach to design and typography has been an increasingly important part of its appeal in recent years. The presentation of the content has

also been upgraded considerably with the introduction of several special interest or tabloid sections, among them World Focus, Signal, Friday Sport, The Mix, with its frequent inclusion Resilient; and expansive cookery/culinary spreads, including the quarterly Fresh. This accent on quality presentation and on careful selection of readerfriendly content has helped the ODT to surpass many other newspapers in retaining a loyal readership, and it has earned the newspaper, its writers and designers, many commendations in national and Pacific area newspaper competitions. The newspaper has also built up a large following through its thriving website, odt.co.nz , launched in 2008. The website now regularly exceeds 2.5 million pageviews per week — a more than threefold increase over the last decade. As well as providing the South with a constant flow of reliable news and information, the newspaper and its parent, Allied Press Ltd, contribute substantially to the regional and South Island economy. It is one of the larger employers, with a payroll that includes more than 370 employees, from local reporters and salespeople in many towns in Otago, Canterbury, the West Coast and Southland, to a whole range of editorial, production, advertising, online, IT, HR and executive staff in the major centres. In addition, the all important delivery contingent numbers some 340. Their wages flow into regional retail and commercial coffers and local service providers, as also does the newspaper company's significant expenditure on the purchase of goods and services.

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Cottage site of initial operations T

HE first home of the Otago Daily Times and its forerunner, the Otago Witness, was in Clifton Cottage, which stood a little way back from the line of Princes St south, according to Sir George Fenwick, longtime proprietor and editor of the ODT. There is no doubting his accuracy, as he began his newspaper career there at the age of 13, as an apprentice in the composing room of the Otago Witness, and recalled vividly that he had to stand on a box to reach the frame when type was being composed. He wrote that it was a cottage dwelling of moderate size and was used as the paper’s headquarters ‘‘for a time’’ until a twostorey wooden building was run up on a site later occupied by James Wren and Company. The former Evening Star building, in lower Stuart St, Dunedin, is home to the Otago Daily Times and Allied Press.

PHOTO: ODT FILES

l Continued Page 8

Monday, November 15, 2021

Covertocover reading a JOHN LEWIS

HAT goes around, comes around. John Adam reckons that can be a bit annoying sometimes. Ever since the 96yearold moved into the Redroofs Lifecare facility in Dunedin, the Otago Daily Times subscriber has passed his copy of the daily paper on to other eagle eyed resi

dents — once he has finished reading it from cover to cover, of course. The trouble is, after the paper has been handed around a dozen or so fellow residents, some of them start coming up to him and asking, ‘‘hey, did you hear about so and so’’, to which he just gives a polite and knowing smile in return. But one of the great things about passing the paper around was that it created subjects for residents

to talk about, he said. ‘‘It happens fairly regularly at morning tea time. ‘‘There’s lots of common interests, which is very good in a place like this.’’ Mr Adam said he had been reading the ODT since he was a boy when his parents

Former Taieri farmer John Adam checks out the latest news in the Otago Daily Times.

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Diack must surely be close subscribed, and when he left behind. home, he got his own The 91yearold has been subscription to ‘‘The subscribing since the mid Independent Voice of the 1950s. South’’. ‘‘I was a vociferous reader, It probably makes him one of and have been all my life. the longest living readers/ ‘‘My father was a teacher and subscribers of the we had lots of books lying ODT. around. He said he had ‘‘I’ve stopped reading books been subscribing now because my eyesight’s not to the paper for as good as it was, but I still read more than 70 years. the paper from cover to cover. ‘‘I need to keep up ‘‘I always read the sports with what’s going on news first.’’ around the place. It Not surprisingly, one of the helps to keep my mind sharp. ‘‘I do look forward to I’ve stopped reading books now reading it each day — because my eyesight’s not as good especially the as it was, but I still read the paper hatches, matches and from cover to cover. I always read dispatches [births, the sports news first deaths and Tuppy Diack marriages].’’ Mr Adam said big stories from the past 70 he had appeared in the paper years that has stuck in his mind several times over the years. was the Springbok tour. The first time was in the late The 1981 South African 1950s, not long after he had rugby tour polarised opinions started his farming career and inspired widespread on the Taieri. protests across the country A major flood ripped because of the New Zealand through the area and he government’s stance against was photographed by the apartheid. ODT, towing cars Apartheid made South through the flood Africa an international pariah, waters with his trusty and countries across the globe John Deere tractor. were strongly discouraged In terms of from playing sport with it. longevity of It created a major split in subscription, former opinion in New Zealand as to All Black and John whether politics should be able McGlashan College to influence sport in this way geography teacher Tuppy and whether the Springboks PHOTOS: PETER MCINTOSH should be allowed to tour.

❛

Monday, November 15, 2021

habit of a lifetime Mr Diack said he was glued to the ODT each day at the time of the tour, and during the weeks after when the Springboks continued their unpopular tour to the United States. Another incident widely covered by the ODT which he remembered ‘‘vividly’’ was the ferry Wahine sinking off the coast of Wellington in 1968, which killed 51 people. At the time, there was no such thing as social media or the internet — few people even had television, he said. So information about what had happened and what was going on, was scarce. ‘‘Really, there was just radio and the Otago Daily Times for us. ‘‘All afternoon they kept saying don’t worry, it’s all right, it’s not a problem, everything’s under control. But of course it wasn’t, was it.’’ It was not until the next day that they got the full picture of the disaster, from the ODT, he said. The Erebus disaster in November 1979 also stood out.

Air New Zealand flight TE901 crashed into Mt Erebus during a sightseeing flight to Antarc tica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. ‘‘We knew a couple of people who were on that plane. ‘‘The crash was all that everybody talked about that day.’’ If there is one thing the ODT can safely claim credit for, it is helping to keep people well informed and encouraging them to use their brain — particularly among nonagenarians. Mr Adam showed proof of this when he asked: ‘‘If I’m the longest surviving subscriber to the ODT, does that mean I can get my subscription free from now on?’’

Former All Black Tuppy Diack with his daily dose of information and entertainment.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Cottage site of initial operations > From Page 5 That served the paper well but proved to be too small for the growing newspaper. In August 1878 the Witness reported: ‘‘The rapid growth of the business of the Otago Daily Times and Witness newspapers having rendered the company’s present premises too small for the requirements of the office, the directors have purchased the lease of one of the Drill shed reserve sections, and, in another column tenders are invited for the erection of new and more extensive premises. The new offices will consist of three storeys and a basement floor. They will have frontages to Dowling, High and Macandrew Streets; and when completed will give ample accommodation for carrying on the company’s business.’’ This is now the Commerce Building, which still stands at that street intersection, Macandrew St having been renamed Burlington St. This became the home of the newspaper for 50 years, until May, 1928, when it moved its headquarters ‘‘from the old familiar pile’’ to its ‘‘handsome new premises a stone’s throw further along High Street’’, and published a commemorative booklet to mark the occasion. The new premises were actually the result of partial dismantling and remodelling of previous buildings on the site, including a former motor garage, but Fenwick proclaimed ‘‘To all appearances the structure is a new one, so solid and dignified an aspect does it present to one of the main thoroughfares of

the city. The High Street frontage is particularly compelling, and the best use . . . has been made of it in the external finish of the front elevation. ‘‘Weatherproof and enduring Medusa cement covers the facade, and the ground floor elevation is beautifully finished with red Aberdeen granite and plate glass windows held by bronze bullion sashes. Opening off the first floor is a small but very neat balcony, also finished in Medusa white. A circular verandah abuts the main entrance and bears the company’s superscription in opallight lettering.’’ Considerable extensions and alterations were made to this building to accommodate the burgeoning business of newspaper production and commercial printing and it served well for almost a half a century. Coincidentally, in the same year that the Otago Daily Times shifted north on Lower High St, the Evening Star Company vacated its offices in Bond St and moved into its new building at the corner of Stuart and Cumberland Sts. The plans by Edmund Anscombe had been approved in 1926 and construction was completed by W. H. Naylor. This building, with its attractive facade, was the home of the Evening Star until it ceased publication on November 3, 1979, but by that time, as a result of the merger of the Star and ODT interests, the building had also become the headquarters of the holding company Allied Press Ltd and from June 25, 1977 of the Otago Daily Times.

This Princes St, Dunedin, building, photographed in 1864, was the office of the Otago Daily Times and Witness Company, from 1862 to 1873. PHOTO: ODT FILES

An enlargement from a painting of 19th century Dunedin shows Clifton Cottage, Captain William Cargill's former house in Princes St, which housed the first press used by the ODT. IMAGE: ODT FILES

The interior has undergone many changes since that time, notably those required to cope with computerisation; and new

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The ODT was based in these buildings in Queens Gardens, Dunedin, for most of the 20th century. PHOTO: ODT FILES

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Many highlights ahead with big events on the horizon Dunedin can look forward to an exciting line-up of events as the entertainment and sports industries bounce back from the pandemic. Concerts and sports events have been selling out across Europe and North America recently, due to the catch-up effect of crowds being able to enjoy going out again. Dunedin Venues Management Ltd (DVML) chief executive Terry Davies says that next year New Zealanders will get that chance too. ‘‘Our bookings calendar is looking pretty busy for the second half of 2022,’’ he says. ‘‘The conversations we’re having with music promoters and other content providers at the moment are really bullish. I’m pretty confident that from July next year we’ll not just be getting back to pre-Covid levels of content, it’ll be really strong for quite a few years to come.’’ Covid-19 has certainly been a tough period for venues everywhere, with

large events being an impossibility. DVML has felt that impact, with the cancellation of massive crowd-pullers including the 100th All Blacks vs Springboks test and this month’s Guns ‘n’ Roses show. That’s been disappointing not just for fans, but also for the team who works so hard to bring these events to Dunedin. ‘‘The city relies on these events — it makes a massive difference to small business and to people’s lives,’’ Davies says. ‘‘That ‘Pride of City’ thing is pretty important to us as well — when you have a test match in town, Ed Sheeran coming down, or Pink playing a show here, everybody feels pretty good.’’ As he explains, stadiums around the

world are owned by cities, as they attract people who inject money into local economies. DVML is tasked with achieving that in Dunedin, and Forsyth Barr Stadium has delivered over $300 million in economic impact over the last decade. Dunedin’s hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops have majorly benefitted, with around 70% of tickets sold for major events coming from outside the city. For the five years pre-pandemic, over half a million tickets were sold to concerts at Forsyth Barr Stadium — a number comparable with the biggest stadiums in the world. Forsyth Barr Stadium has become a Dunedin icon since it opened a decade ago, with many highlights — and there are many more to come. ‘‘I can honestly say there’s going to be some big years coming up ahead,’’ Davies says. ‘‘The relationship we have with all those content providers is excellent. We’re right on the map. We’ve built such a reputation, and we’re going to get stronger and stronger over the next few years.’’

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Monday, November 15, 2021

Chronicler of progress

‘‘W

The first issue of the Otago Daily Times, November 15, 1861. PHOTO: ODT FILES to guide future changes. As the first editorial in 1861 indicated, change is part of life, necessary for progress, and recording change is one of the key ingredients of the news. The journalists and columnists whose millions of words have appeared the Otago Daily Times

This photograph is of some of the surviving pioneers, with a few visitors, who in May, 1921, gathered on Gabriel Read, whose gold discovery led to the 1861 Otago goldrush.

the site of the claim worked by PHOTO: OTAGO WITNESS

publication in 1961. For anyone with the time, the pages of past issues make fascinating reading, revealing that human nature does not change; prejudice continues to exist, perhaps with altered targets; dastardly depravity makes the headlines more than heroic goodness. But those same pages record many inspiring and interesting examples of human advancement and achievement and trace the development of our city, our province and our nation. Today, journalists are

devoted to some meetings, beginning with who was present, detailing everything that was said by various speakers and concluding with the resolution adopted. Politicians, who seemed to be able to talk interminably, were afforded complete reports of speeches, which, from today’s perspective, were pretty dry and boring. This kind of reporting was probably only possible because in the very early days journalists were often fast and experienced shorthand writers,

have played a significant role in documenting their ever changing world and in doing so have provided the ‘‘first rough draft’’ of the history of this province, the nation and the world at large. ‘‘To give the news, unvarnished and complete, has been through all vicissitudes the first objective. To inform, in the positive Periclean sense, that men not instructed in public affairs are not only harmless but useless: that has ever been the editorial mainspring,’’ according to the ODT centennial

selective in their coverage of events and meetings, using their judgement of news value to record the items deemed to be of greatest interest to readers. To some extent that has always been so, as papers have always had to work against the pressing constraints of time and available news space. But one could be forgiven for thinking otherwise when reading the detailed, somewhat tedious, ODT reports of meetings and events during the first 50 and more years of its life. Column after column was

capable of taking copious notes, and some were also compositors who could set their editorials or reports in type on their return to the office. There were few headlines in the early days, with news items run on one after the other in columns with such headings as ‘‘Local and Genera’’’ and ‘‘Omnium Gatherum’’— a collection of everything. The latter was used to fill out the last columns of the back page and was usually comprised of quirky items drawn from other newspapers in New Zealand and Australia. When the ability to set type was limited, it was handy to have what they called ‘‘standing matter’’ — material set in down time — in galleys ready to drop into a gap. One has to remember that, apart from word of mouth, or letterwriting, newspapers were the only source of news and information. As a result, the shipping columns with lists of arriving passengers and cargoes, tales of wrecks and missing vessels, horrendous voyages and the launching of new ships were of vital interest. Reporters from rival newspapers would hire rowing boats almost as soon as vessels entered the heads and race to be first aboard. Once they had clambered up the side there would be eager conferences with the captain — and overseas newspapers would change hands, with the reporters racing

back to their offices to extract the latest gems of news from Melbourne, San Francisco, or Home, as the British Isles were known. Mining also loomed large in the scheme of things, with a daily column devoted to activities and returns. At one stage, during the dredging boom

transport was the order of the day. Sermons in the principal Protestant churches were duly recorded each week; Sunday School, YMCA and Salvation Army activities were reported, as were the meetings of the Lodges and Friendly Societies, which were the health

The ODT front page on Thursday, August 9, 1979, reports the mass ive landslip in the Dunedin suburb of Abbotsford. IMAGE: ODT FILES

The September 12, 2001, front page of the ODT’s Special Edition on the World Trade Centre attacks. IMAGE: ODT FILES

of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when speculative investment went viral, there were daily and weekly reports from three stock exchanges operated in Dunedin. Horse sales were given prominence, not surprisingly, as equine

insurance and welfare organisations of the day. Considerable coverage was given to the pros and cons of the thorny question of Prohibition, with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in the van. The Charitable Aid board was

there as a safety net in a fairly minimalist way for abandoned wives and people in poverty, and regularly railed in the ODT against the irresponsibility of husbands who deserted their wives. Orphanages were founded and quickly filled as the churches struggled to cope with genuine orphans, abandoned or illegitimate children. Columnists and leader writers delighted in showing off their classical and literary knowledge, drawing on quotes and excerpts from the Bible or famous writers to make their points, and often couching their efforts in what today would be regarded as somewhat florid or unnecessarily verbose language. On the other hand, some of the writing is very vivid and descriptive, painting word pictures of events and happenings, sometimes in gory detail, at a time when photographs and illustrations were not part of the newspaper. The style of today’s journalism is a far cry from that of those early days; and the presentation of news has changed vastly over 160 years, but the underlying aim of the newspaper to record the aspects of life important to readers in its circulation area carries on today and we are confident it will do so well into the future, whether that news is delivered on paper, or on some other platform.

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HEN, tomorrow, our readers turn to their newspaper they will have no difficulty in apprehending at once the change that is being made. Instead of ‘opening up’ the Daily Times to read the principal news of the day they will find it facing them; for tomorrow this newspaper ‘goes on the front page’.’’ So said the editorial on November 18, 1952, when the ODT was on the eve of making one of the most significant changes in its history. It went on: ‘‘Let us hasten to reassure our readers upon certain matters connected with the move. The Otago Daily Times is not changing its policy, which is to present news and views fairly; it is not going to sensationalise the news, but to display it.’’ That ethos has been kept in mind during the many later improvements in typography, style and layout that have taken place since that first bold move to make the ODT the first morning metropolitan daily in New Zealand to put news on the front page; and it will continue

Monday, November 15, 2021

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Monday, November 15, 2021

Chronicler of progress

‘‘W

This photograph is of some of the surviving pioneers, with a few visitors, who in May, 1921, gathered on Gabriel Read, whose gold discovery led to the 1861 Otago goldrush.

the site of the claim worked by PHOTO: OTAGO WITNESS

The ODT front page on Thursday, August 9, 1979, reports the mass ive landslip in the Dunedin suburb of Abbotsford. IMAGE: ODT FILES

The September 12, 2001, front page of the ODT’s Special Edition on the World Trade Centre attacks. IMAGE: ODT FILES

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Monday, November 15, 2021

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Monday, November 15, 2021

Bruce Munro salutes the men and women, boys and girls, who, for 160 years, have done what it takes to make sure the newspaper gets from the printing press to your place.

Deliveries the last link in chain

OR many Otago Daily Times readers, the real face of the newspaper is the one that delivers a fresh copy to their letterbox each morning. This is the vital last link in a long chain that includes reporters, photographers, sales people, graphic artists, sub editors, proofreaders and printers. All would be in vain without the diligent efforts of those who, late each night, transport hotoff thepress editions of the ODT throughout the lower South Island; the contractors who rise early to distribute bundles of newspapers to stores and drop off points in every city and town; and, the boys and girls, men and women, who ensure those papers reach each subscriber’s house by breakfast time. Getting the newspaper from the printing press to readers’ hands is an adventurous enterprise; a battle against time and weather, often involving unexpected happenings, on the way to successful delivery. So it has been since the beginning. The first edition of the ODT was on November 15, 1861. It was a Friday, a fact which superstitious people regarded as an ill omen. That issue was set up and printed in Clifton Cottage, in Princes St, Dunedin. Two weeks later, it burned to the ground and

Examining an early copy of the historic Sunday edition are (from left) ODT editor Geoff Adams, managing director Sir Julian Smith and circulation manager Warren Godfrey. Below: A 19thcentury photograph of a paper boy. PHOTOS: ODT FILES/OTAGO WITNESS

An ODT delivery truck negotiates snowy conditions near Clarks Junction, State Highway 87, on a return trip to Dunedin from Alexandra, during the 1980s. PHOTO: ODT FILES

Paul and Glenice Kirkwood. temporary premises had to be found while purposebuilt premises were constructed. There were 2750 copies printed of the ODT’s first edition. It was distributed by hand in town, sold over the counter to eager buyers, despatched by Cobb & Co’s coach to the new, inland gold diggings and by packhorse to South Otago and Oamaru. In 1881, the Otago Daily Times and Witness Newspapers Company Ltd, as it was then

officially known — producing the ODT daily and the Otago Witness weekly — decided to take on the rival Morning Herald by reducing the price of the ODT to a penny and increasing the paper’s size. Almost at once, the tide turned towards the ODT. Circulation doubled within a fortnight and trebled in six weeks. Advertising revenue increased. No daily paper ever progresses smoothly. The process of collecting, preparing

and distributing the news involves constant adjustment and adaptability. But as far as was possible in such an environment, the ODT functioned smoothly; a voice for Otago that grew in its circulation and prestige. World War 1 brought many difficulties. Censorship restrictions and shipping problems abounded. The cost of newsprint increased fivefold in four years. In 1917, the price was reluctantly increased from a

penny to a penny ha’penny. In 1961, during the ODT’s centennial year, close to 40,000 papers came off the press each day. That year, 5yearold Glenice Woodrow moved to Lawrence with her family. In 1976, she married Paul Kirkwood, who had moved to Lawrence the previous year. Twentyfour years later, the Kirkwoods were running backpackers’ accommodation in the township when they

replaced Ivan and Sue Erickson as the local ODT agents. For most of the years since, Paul has also made the houseto house deliveries. Readers in Lawrence might be the first to get their news each day. Paul heads out on deliveries at 4.30am. ‘‘I’m an early bird, so it suits me fine,’’ he says. At that time of morning he does not have to contend with other traffic as he hurls papers with a practised hand out of the

car window on to driveways and front lawns. Also, if it has been snowing, he much prefers laying down the first tracks to driving on the compacted, icy lanes forged by multiple other vehicles. Sometimes, when there has been a ‘‘decent dump’’, Paul gets a call saying a subscriber has not received their paper. Most times, this happens on snow days when the paper has more pages and, so, is heavier. ‘‘The paper has sunk into the

snow. When they look again a bit later in the day, when it has thawed, there’s their paper.’’ Not that the snow falls as often or as thick as it used to. ‘‘We used to get five or six dumps a year.’’ But there are always other happenings to keep things interesting. ‘‘I’ve seen a few strange things. Cars parked in hedges, people heading home in their nighties . . . ‘‘I’ve given the odd person a ride home.’’ Five years ago, Glenice gave up her rural delivery mail run. She has increasingly taken over the early morning paper deliveries. ‘‘But I don’t like getting out of bed in the

morning, like Paul does,’’ she admits. Even so, she does get up, because people are depending on her to get their daily news. In 1993, for the first and only time in its history, the ODT published a Sunday newspaper. The occasion was the All Blacks’ comprehensive win over the Wallabies in the Saturday afternoon Bledisloe Cup test match, played at Carisbrook, Dunedin. The 32page special edition featured eight fullcolour pages, including a full front page colour photo of New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick holding aloft the Bledisloe Cup, which the team regained with its 2510 win.

More than 5000 early copies were flown to Wellington and Auckland on Saturday night. No home deliveries were made, but more than 40,000 copies of the paper — available from dairies, supermarkets and garages throughout the South Island — sold out within hours on Sunday morning. One Dunedin dairy sold 730 papers. ‘‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing,’’ thenmanaging director Sir Julian Smith said at the time. ‘‘We could have doubled the print run and probably still sold the lot.’’ That was the year Wayne Soper became the agent, and later the contractor, for ODT deliveries in and around Alexandra in Central Otago. Mr Soper retired in 2019. But he has a wealth of stories that typify the often surprising, sometimes humorous and always varied nature of newspaper delivery. He recalls a new paper boy who received four days of training with the boy he was replacing. On the first morning flying solo, the new boy slept in. The conscientious boy he replaced went to check how things were going and, finding the run not started, collected the papers and began deliveries. When the new boy woke, he quickly went and collected the last bundle of papers (intended for shops) and also began deliveries. Finding newspapers already in letterboxes, he went home with his bundle of papers. Once Mr Soper was alerted to what had happened, he visited the new boy and his parents to sort things out. On leaving, Mr Soper reminded the boy: “Tomorrow, do not take any other bundles of papers, just your bundle.’’

l Continued Page 14

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Monday, November 15, 2021

Bruce Munro salutes the men and women, boys and girls, who, for 160 years, have done what it takes to make sure the newspaper gets from the printing press to your place.

Deliveries the last link in chain

An ODT delivery truck negotiates snowy conditions near Clarks Junction, State Highway 87, on a return trip to Dunedin from Alexandra, during the 1980s. PHOTO: ODT FILES

l Continued Page 14

Otago’s number 1 dealership, serving the Otago community since 1895. Proudly supporting the Otago Daily Times 160th.

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Monday, November 15, 2021

> From Page 13 To which the boy replied: “No need to drop any more papers tomorrow, as I’ve got enough left over from today.’’ One morning, at the start of a run, Mr Soper told a paper boy he had missed a delivery at a particular address the previous day. ‘‘No, I didn’t,’’ the boy replied. ‘‘A customer rang and said you did,’’ Mr Soper said. ‘‘No, I didn’t,’’ came the reply. “When I redelivered I couldn’t find the paper either. You did.’’ ‘‘No, I didn’t.’’ ‘‘Well, did you see where the paper landed?’’ ‘‘Yes,’’the boy said. ‘‘Where?’’ ‘‘On the roof.’’ On another large round, a paper boy kept missing one or two houses most days. Mr Soper’s solution was to offer a $10 weekly bonus. But, he added, $1 of that bonus would be deducted for each house he missed. ‘‘From then on it cost me $10 each week.’’ One morning, near the end of the run, when driving between deliveries, Mr Soper noticed a man walking along the street with a wrapped newspaper under his arm. Wrapped papers were thrown only to residential properties, so Mr Soper assumed the man had stolen the paper from someone else’s front lawn. ‘‘I stopped and sternly asked where he had got the paper.’’ The man’s reply set him straight. He was visiting Alexandra and was collecting his mother’s paper because she was away overnight. The man then introduced himself as the advertising manager for the Southland Times. For several weeks, a business owner reported that on Saturdays they were getting a copy of the Southland Times in their letterbox rather than the expected ODT. The next Saturday, Mr Soper positioned himself down the street and watched the box in question. After a while, a man walking along the street stopped at the letterbox, looked around, took the ODT and then, from under his jacket, replaced it with a copy of the Southland Times. Mr Soper stepped from his hiding place, the man saw him coming and ran off. ‘‘He went down a neighbour’s drive and hid in a hedge. ‘‘Problem solved.’’ Many readers orient their days around the newspaper. Once, in the middle of summer, with the sun still bright in the sky at 9.30pm, Mr Soper got a phone call from a customer asking if the paper was late that day. Mr Soper said no, it was not, and offered to make sure a paper was delivered the next day and give a credit for today’s missing paper. “Can you not redeliver today, please?’’ the person asked. There were no papers left and he was about to go to bed, Mr Soper told the person. ‘‘What time do you think it is?’’, Soper added. ‘‘9.30,’’ was the reply. ‘‘AM or PM?’’, Soper asked. ‘‘AM.’’

An Otago Daily Times truck driver escaped serious injury when this truck rolled down a bank south of Alexandra, on March 22, 2000. PHOTO: ODT FILES

During the 1960s, this ODT delivery truck was doing a nightly circuit from Dunedin to Gore and back via Tapanui, Kelso and Heriot. PHOTO: ODT FILES

Wayne Soper.

‘‘No, it’s PM. You must have gone to bed early and only slept a couple of hours.’’ That was not possible because they always slept all night, the customer said.

PHOTO: SHANNON THOMSON

Almost an hour later, the customer phoned back and told Mr Soper’s wife: “Your husband must be right — the sun has just gone down!” Other readers have rituals in

which the ODT plays an important and enjoyable role. A customer once phoned to say no paper had been delivered. Mr Soper explained that the papers were late and would be delivered as soon as possible. “Well, how am I going to have my bath now?’’ the person replied. Unavoidable delivery delays are rare. When they do occur, something has gone seriously wrong. Snow and flooding has held up delivery, on occasion. One Wednesday, in late March, 2000, a road accident was the cause. That morning, Mr Soper waited two hours for the ODT delivery truck from Dunedin. Eventually, after the delivery boys and girls had gone to school, he heard there had been a truck accident at Gorge Creek, between Roxburgh and Alexandra. About 5.15am, the truck had skidded in loose gravel, rolled

down a bank, spilled its load and came to rest on its wheels. The driver, Robert Kydd, injured his shoulder but managed to climb up the bank and flag down a passing truck driver who took him to get medical help. ‘‘When we found the accident site, the truck was about 70m down the bank,’’ Mr Soper recalls. He and two others then had the task of sorting out the truck’s load of newspapers and vegetables, which by then resembled a welltossed salad. The newspapers had to be carried up the bank by hand. Then Mr Soper’s truck, loaded with the papers, also had difficulty in the slippery conditions and had to be towed out by a fourwheeldrive vehicle. Eventually reaching Alexandra, Mr Soper began delivering all the papers. The job was completed with the help of the young delivery runners after school.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Parallels and new challenges I

T may seem a little unusual to celebrate a 160th anniversary of publication as the Otago Daily Times is doing today, as normally these things occur at 50year intervals, but in these uncertain times surviving and even thriving through every new decade is an achievement worth noting. Exactly 100 years ago, we departed from the 50th anniversary norm to celebrate the diamond jubilee of this, the paper with the longest continuous publication record in the country. The occasion was marked by a special editorial commemorating the occasion — part of which is published in today’s ‘‘100 Years Ago’’ column on the editorial page. Interestingly, the explanation of the ODT's coverage policy and its perceived role in the Otago community aligns with how we see ourselves today, and embodies the main reason why the newspaper has survived the vagaries of the 100 years since that time. To quote: ‘‘Let it be admitted that the Otago Daily Times is frankly elated on this 60th anniversary of its birth: not with a spirit of boastfulness or selfassertion, not as disowning the imperfections incident to all human enterprise, but still with a conscience void of intentional offence, and with a comforting perception of the approval and goodwill of the community. We need hardly say that this friendly disposition on the part of the local public, of which we have had a multitude of proofs, is heartily reciprocated. Even taking the lowest ground, the

The Otago Daily Times cham pioned an enormous public cam paign resulting, in November, 2010, in a pledge by politicians to retain neurosurgery services in the region. PHOTO: ODT FILES

The Otago Daily Times was in its 60th year when, in May, 1920, Edward, Prince of Wales, passed thousands of cheering men, women and children in Princes St, Dunedin, rounding the corner at the Octagon on his way to an official reception. PHOTO: OTAGO WITNESS prosperity of a newspaper must be mainly dependent on the measure of approbation which it secures from the people whom it seeks to serve, and we are glad to think that there are higher grounds of mutual sympathy and understanding. At this hour of Jubilee, as we muse on the recorded past and salute the unknown future, we are keenly conscious that the welfare of the Otago Daily

Times can never be disassociated from the welfare of this city and provincial district.’’ When that was written, in 1921, the country was still reeling from the decimation of its young people during World War 1, and coping with the rehabilitation and resettlement of returnees from the war, while facing growing unemployment. It had also

recently come through a major influenza epidemic and was having to deal with the scourge of tuberculosis. Fastforward to today and there are some parallels, as our country strives to address the huge challenge posed by the Covid19 pandemic and its treatment and economic repercussions. For newspapers, though, a whole raft of new challenges

are also in play. Unlike 1921, when the print sector stood alone as the purveyor of news and vehicle for advertising, in recent years the growth of a host of other outlets on electronic platforms has severely eroded the advertising revenue of the print sector. But it is the proud boast of the Otago Daily Times that it has been more successful than many others in retaining a loyal readership and subscriber base. This has been achieved by ‘‘sticking to its knitting’’ in directing substantial resources into providing a constant flow of accurate and reliable news and in publishing entertaining and informative range of features from town and country, right across its region.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Sensational news or factual report, the aim has always been to be accurate — and first. Here, from the 1961 history of the Otago Daily Times, is a fascinating account, edited by Bruce Munro, of how news gathering happened, and changed, during the paper’s first 100 years.

AY by day the news flows in. The relentless clacking of the teleprinters continues far into the night, until the moment when the sub editor thankfully puts the paper to bed at 2.30am and begins to think of treating himself the same way. From the reporting team come stories of rates going up, ventures going down, ships and fire engines and motor accidents and local body decisions. Interviews and prophecies and forebodings and doubts and optimistic utterances flow in. Specialist reports on rugby and films and racehorses compete for places in the paper with stock market reports and union arguments. The cover of local and national and world events is as complete as money and skill and foresight can make it. But the systematic complexity of modern news gathering bears little relationship to the daily grind when the Otago Daily Times was a brash newcomer in a highly competitive field. The original literary staff of the paper consisted of Mr Julius Vogel, Mr W. H. Harrison (later editor of the Wellington Independent and the Grey River Argus) and Mr E. T. Gillon (afterwards Wellington correspondent of the Daily Times and editor of the Evening Post). The business manager was Mr B. L. Farjeon, later to become an author of note and founder of a famous literary family. Punctually at nine each morning, no matter how late had been their parting the night before, the four men met to discuss the doings of the day. There are no records to indicate who was responsible for the shipping news, the reports of the Legislative

Integrity, accuracy always the aim in news gathering Council or the frequent stories of fires and disasters. But this little team serving New Zealand’s first daily newspaper and catering for 2750 subscribers worked with tremendous zeal and zest. In cutaway jackets, stiff collars and narrow trousers, their “hardhitters” clamped firmly on their heads, they picked their way through the muddy streets, calling on businessmen, recording prices and trends, attending meetings, reporting court cases and eagerly pumping every traveller back from Central Otago. And, before the secondhand flatbed press had its trial run prior to publication of the first copy, arrangements had been made for correspondents in Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch and Southland to send in regular reports. To the normal trials of running a daily paper was added a disaster only two weeks after the first publication. The building in Princes St which housed the newspaper plant was destroyed by fire on Sunday, December 1, 1861. The paper appeared just the same next day. Exactly how this was achieved is uncertain. The proprietor of the Colonist offered facilities, but he was an intensely religious man and refused to have any work done

Syd Minn, a respected ODT journalist, was a familiar sight on his antique bicycle during the first decades of the 20th century. IMAGE: ODT FILES

During its first year of publication, the Otago Daily Times was vociferous in its calls for a fire brigade to be established in burgeoning, wooden Dunedin. IMAGE: ODT FILES

on Sunday. Farjeon used to tell the story of how he and some of the compositors broke into the Colonist building on Sunday afternoon and used the rival paper's metal, plant and paper. The official tale is that the Daily Times staff began work at one minute after midnight in the Colonist office. The truth

probably lies somewhere in between. Temporary premises were found in Stafford St, where Tattersall’s Hotel now stands, but the Otago Daily Times did not take adversity lying down. From its second issue it had pressed for establishment of a fire brigade. Such a vigorous agitation was

maintained that, within a few months, a brigade had been formed and 49 volunteers had offered their services. In the meantime, the daily collection of the news went on. There were occasions when it was easier to obtain the news of the day than the editorial messages, for Vogel was not infrequently confined to his bed with attacks of gout. Harrison or Gillon would then trudge to his home and take down his instructions, or make notes as he dictated his editorial. Sparks flew at times, for all three men were strong personalities, and differences

Would like to congratulate the Otago Daily Times for reaching the milestone of 160 years and consistently producing a high quality daily news read. We applaud their contribution to the Southern community. BJ Ball are proud to be a supplier of paper and board to Allied Press and have appreciated their support over many years

Monday, November 15, 2021

A coach ready to set off for the goldfields, in 1868, similar to the transport E.T. Gillon sometimes used for his regular trips into Central Otago to report on the gold rush. PHOTO: ODT FILES of opinion were by no means rare. The staff was reinforced about this time by the arrival from Melbourne of H.W. Robinson, later a District Judge, to act as subeditor, and Alec Reid, to join the reporting staff. Reid and Farjeon were often at loggerheads, the manager showing a keen desire to exert his influence in the editorial section of the paper and Reid being adamant that he would not be dictated to by a commercial man. The gold rush intensified in 1862 and when in August of that year the Daily Times reported that Hartley and Riley had brought in 87lb weight in gold, excitement in the town was at

fever pitch. The Dunstan rush which followed lured compositors from their frames and even wage increases of 50% (on top of a rate 50% higher than that prevailing in Melbourne) were not enough to keep the operators in the town. During this period of wild public excitement, compositors were earning up to £14 a week — a fabulous sum in those days — especially compared with WH Cutten's £1 a week as editor of the Witness.. Special correspondents were appointed at the diggings, and every possible course was taken to ensure a free flow of news from the goldfields. Gillon made a number of journeys into

Central Otago on horseback and, occasionally, by one of the Cobb and Co coaches which came into use late in 1861. Gillon, by the light of a flickering lantern, sat in a tent and in an impeccable hand wrote out his reports and handed them to Jock Graham, the famous mail carrier, whose scarlet coat and resounding blasts on a horn were well known throughout the province. But Gillon was not free to act as a permanent roving reporter. As a result, some heed had to be taken of the reports of local correspondents who were not always able to distinguish between truth and rumour. The most careful sifting was needed

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in the office, for a false report might have sent hundreds of people racing to peg out claims in areas where their chances of surviving, alone, making fortunes, were decidedly skimpy. One of the early editions of the paper contains a letter from a group of diggers complaining that their newspapers from home rarely reached them and accusing the shipping companies of carelessness. The journalist who handled that particular piece of copy must have chuckled quietly into his beard. News from overseas was scarce and infrequent and the arrival of every ship was an event. Rival reporters Robert would hire rowing McKenzie boats almost as soon as vessels entered the heads and race to be first aboard. Once they had clambered up the side there would be eager conferences with the captain — and newspapers would change hands. The reporters asked no questions about where the papers came from. They simply grabbed them and headed back to their offices at all speed. On at least one occasion, a reporter was the man to organise a rescue expedition. This happened in 1888 when Prof Mainwaring Brown was lost in the wild country between Manapouri and the West Coast. Malcolm Ross, a Daily Times reporter, was at once sent to the scene to organise a search party. Sadly, in spite of the reporter’s having recruited a number of expert mountaineers and climbers, the expedition was unsuccessful. Ross named a mountain lake Mainwaring Lake, called a peak Brown Peak, erected a cairn and a cross and came

sadly home to file his story. In spite of the lively competition between reporters of the various newspapers, a feeling of kinship was always apparent in personal relations between them. Thus, Dunedin’s first Press Club, which was established in 1879 in a suite of rooms in Wain’s Hotel, was a lively and popular institution. Such personalities as Thomas Bracken, G. M. Reed, Monty Brown, David Parry, Michael Donnelly, J. M. Geddis and Silas Spragg were leading lights in the club. Bracken was a remarkable man, Reed was one of the most incisive writers in the country, and Spragg was in those days ‘‘Whang’’ serving an apprenticeship in industrial and court reporting which stood him in good stead later. It was Spragg who probed and explored and eventually wrote in damning phrases the articles which led to the abolition of sweating in Dunedin. A great evil was revealed and eventually obliterated as a result of the enterprising policy of the paper. This was a major upheaval which affected the whole city. But back in 1870 there had been a cause celebre when the Daily Times and the Central Government fell out. On September 29, 1870, the Melbourne steamer arrived with a message from the Melbourne correspondent of the Daily Times about the capitulation of the French at Sedan. The news had reached Melbourne just as the steamer was leaving and the exclusive despatch, carefully sealed, was put aboard as the ship left the quay.

l Continued Page 18

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Monday, November 15, 2021

> From Page 17 In the meantime, it was alleged, the contents had been communicated to the Government, which advised pro Government papers. The Evening Post and the Daily Times both denounced this Government filching but neither paper was arraigned — only G. B. Barton, the editor of the Daily Times. It will be recalled that only two years earlier he had replaced Vogel at the helm of the paper, and there was more than a suggestion of personal and political animus. Known as the ‘‘Telegram Libel Case”, it blew up when Barton was charged with criminal libel. The Government went so far as to hand to the paper’s subeditor, a key witness, a free pardon for anything he might say — a highly unconstitutional attempt to force evidence of the authorship of the article to which the Government objected. Much enlightening evidence was given in the lower court but the Daily Times was unable to achieve the satisfaction it had hoped for because the Government dropped the proceedings before they reached the Supreme Court. While the telegraph service (with all its problems and imperfections) was speeding up the transmission of district and world news, there was only one way to get firsthand reports of

This uncaptioned photograph of the ODT newsroom appeared in the paper's 1961 centenary publication. events in the hinterland. Many a Daily Times reporter was saddle sore in the '60s and '70s. The pity of it is that not one of them seems to have had time to write a book on his experiences. Space does not permit detailed accounts of the activities of reporters who served the Daily Times (and the public) faithfully and well. But it is a fact that many journalists on the staff of this newspaper have commanded the respect and admiration of their readers. Syd Minn on his antique bicycle was a familiar and respected personality whose

opinions carried a great deal of weight; William Hayes was acknowledged the best informed racing writer in the Dominion; ‘‘Whang’’ McKenzie became famous for his football broadcasts and community sings. Before them were such men as Charles Fraser, who was associated with William Fenwick on the Witness. Fenwick, incidentally, was the first ‘‘Dot’’ of ‘‘Dot's Little Folk’’ fame. Arthur Marshall was a sub editor with a photographic memory; Frank Morton was a brilliant reporter, poet and essayist; Ralph Little, a cultured

man, a gifted and lovable colleague, a leader writer of exceptional skill and an artist of note; S. T. Sharpley, an erratic genius; Donald Cameron, a Hansard man who was greatly respected; Charles Manning who sang as well as he wrote; the brothers Arthur and Jack Byrne; and Dean Fitchett, the first ‘‘Civis”, to whose writing the paper owed much of its reputation. Right down the years the Daily Times has been served by able news gatherers, some of them prominently in the public eye, others, diligent journalists who

PHOTO: ODT FILES were hardly recognised except by those who knew them through their work. The news has been gathered in good times and bad, from every nook and cranny of the province. Degrees of efficiency, as in every undertaking, have varied. But determination and integrity have always been the guiding principle, accuracy the unswerving aim. The democratic rights of Otago people have been sustained and protected by the men who have reported, exposed, photographed, investigated, listened and recorded events.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Variety and change are constants for a daily newspaper. But it is still astounding to discover just how much news gathering and production has changed, even during the past four decades. Bruce Munro collects some fascinating stories from a clutch of ‘‘old hands’’.

Ways and means of breaking the news T

HE world was black and white when 17yearold Gerard O’Brien started as a cadet photographer at the Otago Daily Times. It was May, 1983. At the time, press photographers mixed all their own filmprocessing chemicals as well as developing and printing their photos by hand in a large, communal darkroom, recalls the now 55yearold photographer, whose much admired images have been illustrating Otago news stories for almost four decades. ‘‘Between four and six each afternoon, the editorial floor would get noisy with the clatter of reporters pounding out stories on mechanical typewriters through a haze of cigarette smoke,’’ Mr O’Brien says. ‘‘The tempo in the darkroom, too, would crank up, as the photographers and the darkroom assistant rushed to get their work through.’’ The shift to using colour photos in the newspaper in the mid1990s meant the introduction of machine processing and the end of chemicalstained clothing. A few years later, the arrival of the Nikon D1 digital camera changed the lives of press photographers around the

ODT photographer Gerard O’Brien on the job in the mid 1980s. PHOTO: ODT FILES

world, including in Dunedin. Darkrooms were ripped out and replaced with the computer work stations that remain ubiquitous today. A story from a New Year’s cricket match in Central Otago 33 years ago is still fresh in Mr O’Brien’s memory as a vivid illustration of how different things once were. ‘‘I was working in Alexandra, covering the Otago cricket team's match against Northern Districts at Molyneux Park — a win that earned them the Shell Cup.’’ Back then, the way to get undeveloped films back to the

Dunedin office was by bus. But that day, the match went late and the bus left without the precious film. Mr O’Brien’s backup plan involved trying to flag down a passing car and begging the occupants to take the package of film to the ODT office in Stuart St, Dunedin. ‘‘I made up a sign saying ‘Package for Dunedin’ and started waving it at the side of the road on the outskirts of Alexandra. ‘‘A hottedup HQ Holden with fat tyres on mag wheels slammed on the brakes and reversed back to me. The front seat passenger, lavishly sunburned and reeking of rum, slurred that he'd take the precious film to Dunedin. ‘‘I explained how important the film was before he snatched the envelope from my hand and took a swig from his bottle.’’ The backseat passengers cheered and the car lay twin strips of smoking rubber as it snaked off. A couple of hours later, Mr O’Brien phoned Ken McLean, the chief subeditor, in Dunedin, to alert him to the imminent arrival of the film — unless the couriers had decided on a pub crawl home. ‘‘Ken got in first and congratulated me on my picture

The Otago 198788 season cricket team celebrates its win against Northern Districts at Molyneux Park in Alexandra, which earned it the Shell Cup, a finale to the career of Warren Lees (right, holding cup) who had captained the team to six season wins. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN

of the trophywinning team. ‘‘The film had been delivered, developed and printed. ‘‘By my calculations, that Holden made the journey from Alexandra to Dunedin in about one hour and 40 minutes.’’ Today, getting words and images from source to page is an almost entirely digital process. But a surprisingly short time ago, it was still a matter of molten metal. Three ODT production staff members who remember those days, and started within months of each other in 1978, are Robert Baxter, Neil Croft and

Wayne Parsons. How much the technology has changed is reflected in their changing roles and job titles. Mr Baxter started as an apprentice photo engraver, Mr Croft as an apprentice typographer and Mr Parsons as a stone hand typographer. ‘‘It was all hot metal and zinc when I started,’’ Mr Baxter, now quality control manager, says. ‘‘Our main job in the photo engraving department was to etch zinc plates for the photographs and logos for the paper.’’ The process involved putting the zinc plates in a nitric acid

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Monday, November 15, 2021

Longterm ODT staff member Wayne Parsons is pictured with his sister on her wedding day, December, 1978. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

After more than four decades working at the Otago Daily Times, staff members (from left) Robert Baxter, Wayne Parsons and Neil Croft have witnessed many changes since the days when they were part of a production process that used the hot metal linotype machines pictured in the background. PHOTO: CHRISTINE O’CONNOR bath. One day, a government workplace inspector came to check health and safety in the photo engraving department, Mr Baxter, who is one of the ODT’s notable characters, recalls with a grin. ‘‘He came over to me with his checklist and asked how I got the acid out of the drum. ‘‘I had already prefilled the hose with water. So, I put one end in the drum, then sucked on the other end and siphoned it in to the bath. ‘‘I said I was only joking, but he didn’t see the funny side of that. ‘‘I did get in trouble with my boss.’’ Awareness of health and safety has greatly improved in New Zealand, Mr Baxter says.

He recalls a fire in the press room — where the newspapers are printed — when someone welding an ink tank accidentally ignited fumes inside. ‘‘It blew the end off the tank, which flew 30m before hitting the end of the building and falling to the floor below.’’ Sprinklers and foam fire extinguishers ensured the fire was quickly out, but the clean up took much longer. Mr Croft, who is now the design hub supervisor, recalls the introduction of computers to the production process. ‘‘When I first started here, half of this floor was filled with linotype machines, headlining machines and others. It was noisy and dirty — a great place to start my apprenticeship.

‘‘It was all hot metal on the second floor but there were two computers on the first floor.’’ After a while, he was trained to use a Compugraphic Advantage — a machine far removed from the computers of today. ‘‘If you wanted to change the fonts on this machine you had to change a strip of film which was wrapped around a drum, or disc. Each film strip contained about half a dozen fonts. ‘‘Once you’d finished typing the advert or adverts, you removed a cassette from the computer, took it into a darkroom and then ran the film through a chemical bath to expose the characters.

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Typographer Neil Croft uses an early ODT computer, a Compugraphic Advantage, in December, 1989. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Cleaning up after the press room fire in February, 1989 are (from left) photo engraver Robbie Baxter, apprentice photo lithographer Craig Cox and photo engraver Merv Hodge. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

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Monday, November 15, 2021

> From Page 21 ‘‘They were then cut up and waxed to make up adverts. This was called pasteup.’’ Mr Parsons’ original job as a stone hand — placing lines of lead type in metal frames — has long gone. He has worked through a succession of job titles and now performs a variety of seconded roles throughout the company. Technological advances also brought social changes, he says. ‘‘It was customary for supper breaks on a Friday night to be taken at one of the three hotels within walking distance, although, on occasion, some ventured further afield to the old City Hotel,’’ Mr Parsons recalls. ‘‘I can remember two of the senior readers at the time would polish off a bottle of red label as a Friday custom.’’ The camaraderie of those times, evidenced and supported by an active social club, is an enduring memory. ‘‘I have had many and varied experiences with the company and have to admit that it has been good to me.’’ Brenda Harwood began her journalism career as a parttime Allied Press advertising feature writer and junior reporter while she was completing a history degree at the University of Otago in the late 1980s. The basics of news gathering and writing have remained the

This 1996 photograph shows Dunedin Star staff (from left) subeditor Gregg Love, journalist Brenda Harwood and managing editor Jeff Whyte. PHOTO: ODT FILES

Brenda Harwood, the chief reporter for The Star, started working as a reporter at Allied Press in 1988.

Gary Newton (20, centre) and John Keast (right) were working for the Ashburton Guardian when they met the Governor General, Sir Arthur Porrit, in late 1972. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Recently retired Allied Press subeditor Gary Newton.

same, but much of how it is done is vastly different, The Star chief reporter says. ‘‘When I first started, the room was full of smoke all day, from people chainsmoking in the office,’’ Ms Harwood says.

During her first couple of years, manual typewriters were used to type up stories on small squares of paper. They were then marked up by the chief subeditor before being input by compositors and made into

plates ready for printing. Electric typewriters, still with squares of paper, came next, followed by computers. ‘‘Finally, we moved on to the Cyber News system, which has totally shifted everything to an online system, from us writing our stories to layout, to subbing, to pagination and so on.’’ Allied Press has grown significantly, adding many new titles, Harwood says. ‘‘Overall though, the job remains the same — working with people to tell their stories. ‘‘No two days are the same. And you gather up lots of snippets of knowledge across a huge range of topics — it's always different and always interesting.’’ Gary Newton recently retired, aged 69, after half a century in the news industry. The rise of digital technology has had a most profound effect on the media and on society, he says. Mr Newton began in journalism in 1970, working for the Ashburton Guardian. He joined the ODT as a sub editor in 1988. The way things used to be are linked in Mr Newton’s mind with recollections of the terrible shootings at Aramoana. On November 13, 1990, 13 people were killed by Aramoana resident David Gray, who himself was shot by police the following day. It was a time before everyone

carried computers, cameras and communication devices — smart phones — in their pockets. ‘‘I was working that day. I remember we got a call to say the fire service was attending a house fire. Then we heard the road was blocked and the fire engine couldn’t get to the house,’’ Mr Newton says. ‘‘Later, we got a tipoff from someone, who was in touch with an Aramoana resident, that a gun was being fired.’’ On the second day, as armed police hunted the shooter, the ODT became the unofficial base for dozens of outoftown journalists. They had been sent to Dunedin to cover events and each needed access to a desk, a phone line and a facsimile machine. The newspaper’s first computer system brought with it a partial change of role for Mr Newton. ‘‘As the only subeditor in those days with any knowledge of computer programming, I was responsible for writing many of the typesetting formats for our original Whirlwind computer system.’’ Computerisation first changed the way newspapers were produced, then, with the rise of social media, it changed the way people got their information. ‘‘The Covid pandemic, and associated lockdowns, have shown both the advantages and pitfalls of social media as a news source.’’

Monday, November 15, 2021

The November 15, 1961, centenary edition of the Otago Daily Times carried the following account of the newspaper’s role in exposing and dismantling sweatshop work conditions in the city, and beyond, in the late 19th century.

LL Dunedin was shocked by revelations in the Daily Times early in 1889 of the existence of the ‘‘sweating’’ evil in the city. Facts and figures were given which proved that some clothing manufacturers were exploiting female workers in the most callous way. The first public statement on the subject was made by the Rev Rutherford Waddell some months earlier. Preaching at St Andrew’s Church on “The Sin of Cheapness”, he told of the plight of wretched seamstresses who toiled 15 and 16 hours a day for an absolute pittance. His sermon was reported in full by the Daily Times, but the minister’s facts and figures were vigorously challenged. A short time afterwards Silas Spragg, who was better known as an able court reporter, was given the assignment of making an independent investigation. He interviewed scores of sweated workers in their homes and the facts and figures he recorded withstood the most critical analysis. When his series of articles

Sir George Fenwick was editor and man aging director of the Otago Daily Times. PHOTO: ODT FILES was published, in January, 1889, the revelations were so staggering as to cause an immediate public agitation. The following June a public meeting received the report of a special committee which had been set up to suggest ways and means of ending the pernicious system. The main suggestion was that there should be formed a union to be called the Tailoresses’ Union of New Zealand. At that

meeting a special vote of thanks was passed to the Daily Times. Several firms had been engaged in sweating, but there was one individual in particular who was responsible for its beginning. Nobody had been bold enough to denounce him by name, but at this public meeting Mr George Fenwick took the plunge and did so. Commented one of the speakers: “Anyone who knew anything of the business

relations of this city, and especially the position held by Mr Fenwick (managing director of the Daily Times) would recognise that this was the bravest thing that had been done in Dunedin for many a year”. The formation of the union was the direct outcome of the agitation led by the Daily Times, but even then there was difficulty in drawing up a working agreement between

the union and the employing firms. Once again friction was reduced by inviting Mr Fenwick to act as arbitrator, a responsibility he gladly assumed. And so a scandal was removed, workers received a just return for their labour, and conditions were greatly improved for a section of the community which had been grossly exploited.

Extra! reaching wider audience F

Testing their knowledge in the recent ODT Extra! current events quiz are (from left) Marina Moraes (9), Eloise Chan (10) and Amelia McCombie (9), of Anderson’s Bay School. PHOTO: CHRISTINE O'CONNOR

OR nearly 20 years, the Otago Daily Times has engaged with young people through its awardwinning Extra! publication. The 16page newspaper, distributed to schools around New Zealand 11 times per year, covers everything from geography and civics to health and the environment. ODT marketing manager Jeff Paterson said when the current

events and social studies resource was first launched, almost every major newspaper had its own Newspapers in Education programme. However, Extra! was now the only one still being published. Last year, Extra! underwent major change when Allied Press teamed with Dunedin digital educator Education Perfect to offer the option of a digital version of the printed content.

This enabled schools to access the material in a manner consistent with modern learning, Mr Paterson said. It also allowed Extra!’s spelling bee and current events quiz, previously held in locations around the lower South Island, to move online, opening the events up to the entire country. The recent current events quiz was contested by more than 800 teams nationwide.

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