Burrangong Argus

Last updated

The Burrangong Argus was an Australian newspaper based in Young, New South Wales, published twice-weekly from 1865 to 1913. [1] [2] It was, at the time of its closure, the oldest newspaper in Young. [3] It sold at 6d per copy, then 3d per copy and finally 1d per copy, as it attempted to compete with later rivals the Young Chronicle and Young Witness . [4]

It was first published on 22 October 1864 by John Bird Stormer. James George Clevier was editor for the first three months, after which Stormer assumed the role himself. It replaced an earlier newspaper, The Star, which had folded some time beforehand. Stormer would reportedly deliver the newspaper himself around the mining diggings, which had only been renamed from Lambing Flat to Young the year before after the fallout of the infamous Lambing Flat riots. [5] [6] [7] [4]

At the end of 1869, Stormer sold the newspaper to one of his contributors, Benjamin John Bennett, and moved to Gulgong, where he founded the Gulgong Argus. [2] [8] [9] There was fierce competition between the Argus and its later rival the Burrangong Chronicle. [10] [4] Bennett Sr was reported to decline to take a part in public movements so as not to interfere with his independence as a journalist. [11]

Bennett Sr died in January 1891, and his widow Anne Josephine Bennett inherited his interest, with the newspaper being managed by their son, Benjamin Holland Bennett. [12] [13] [14] [15] The newspaper took on a less conservative tone under Bennett Jr, who unlike his father was a Labor supporter. [16] Chris Watson, the first Labor Prime Minister of Australia, reputedly credited the support of the Argus for significantly assisting his first election to parliament. [7] The Young Chronicle described the newspaper's politics as having been "independent at the start; then it favoured the Liberal side, and finally...took up the cudgels here on behalf of Labor". [4]

Bennett Jr acquired his mother's interest in the newspaper in 1911. [13] He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 1912, with F. H. Hopwood assuming the editorship in his absence. The Argus ceased publication in February 1913, with the newspaper's assets sold to the Young Newspaper Company, owners of the Young Witness. [17] [18] [4] The new owners reportedly stated it had been decided that "the wiser course will be to damp down the fires, so to speak, of [the Argus] altogether". [19] The last issue was printed on 8 February 1913. [20]

The Freeman's Journal described the Argus following its closure as "the only authentic record existing" of the earlier periods of the town's history. It wrote that "its path has been an undeviating one of pure unalloyed honesty", and suggested that if it had been less so it might have experienced more success. [7] The Australian Town and Country Journal wrote that it "contributed largely towards the advancement of Young and the district around". [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Young is a town in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and the largest town in the Hilltops Region. The "Lambing Flat" Post Office opened on 1 March 1861 and was renamed "Young" in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Holroyd</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The City of Holroyd was a local government area in the western suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First proclaimed in July 1872 as the "Municipal District of Prospect and Sherwood", it became the "Municipality of Prospect and Sherwood" from 1906 and in 1927 it was renamed the "Municipality of Holroyd" after Arthur Holroyd, the first mayor. From 1 January 1991, city status was granted, becoming the Holroyd City Council. The administrative centre of the City was located in the suburb of Merrylands, located approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the Sydney central business district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Auburn</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Auburn City Council was a local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to its 2016 merger, the council area was located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of the Sydney central business district and had a culturally diverse population. Notable features in the area included the Gallipoli Mosque, located in the suburb of Auburn. The suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, the site of the main venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics, was located in the council area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wombat, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Wombat is a town in South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Olympic Highway, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-west of the regional centre of Young. It is in the local government area of Hilltops Council.

John George Gough, was one of the founders of the New South Wales Labour Party, initially the Labour Electoral League, the first political Labour movement in Australia. He was also one of Labour's five-member leadership group when the party first made its appearance in the New South Wales parliament in 1891. Representing Young, he was first elected in 1889 to the parliament's lower house as a member of the Protectionist Party, which produced Australia's first two prime ministers, Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin. From 1891 to 1894 he represented Labour. Proud that his mother was Australian-born, he was a strong nationalist and republican. John Gough's maternal grandmother was half-aboriginal. He is the only one of Labor's founding fathers who has been found to have had aboriginal ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Bennett (politician)</span> Australian politician

Benjamin Holland Bennett was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1912 to 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Grimm</span> Politician, farmer and stock and station agent in New South Wales, Australia

Arthur Hetherington Grimm was a politician, farmer and stock and station agent in New South Wales, Australia.

<i>The Young Witness</i> Newspaper in NSW, Australia

The Young Witness is a newspaper published in Young, New South Wales, Australia. It has previously been published under the names Daily Witness and South West News Pictorial.

<i>Gulgong Guardian</i>

The Gulgong Guardian was an English language newspaper published in Gulgong, New South Wales, Australia from 1871 to 1873.

Thomas Frederic De Courcy Browne was an Irish-born Australian politician and journalist.

Bribbaree is a small village in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia spanning the boundary of Weddin Shire and Hilltops Council.

Margaret Turner Clarke was an Australian nurse and philanthropist. She was a pioneer within nursing in Australia. A student of the Florence Nightingale School for Nurses, she was the founder of the Visiting Relief Society in 1865, and a co-founder of the pioneer nursing education Home and Training School for Nurses in Sydney (1882).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Lidcombe</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Lidcombe was a local government area in the Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as the Borough of Rookwood on 8 December 1891 and was renamed to the Municipality of Lidcombe, a portmanteau of two mayor's names, in order to differentiate itself from the expanding necropolis, from 15 October 1913. It included the modern suburbs of Rookwood, Lidcombe, Homebush Bay, Berala and parts of Newington, Silverwater, Homebush West and Regents Park. From 1 January 1949, the council was amalgamated into the Municipality of Auburn, with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948.

The Municipality of Dundas was a local government area in the North-western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Initially proclaimed as the "Borough of Dundas" on 23 March 1889, the southern part of the municipality seceded in June 1891 as the Municipal District of Ermington and Rydalmere. From 1891, the municipality included the modern suburbs of Dundas, Dundas Valley and parts of Ermington, Epping, Eastwood, Melrose Park, Oatlands and Carlingford. From 1 January 1949, the council was amalgamated into the City of Parramatta, with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluecap (bushranger)</span> Australian bushranger

Bluecap was an Australian bushranger. Born and raised in New South Wales, he began bushranging in 1867, leading a gang responsible for robberies throughout the Riverina region. He suffered from ophthalmia, and earned his alias on account of a piece of cloth he wore to protect his eyes from sunlight. Captured in November 1867, Bluecap was tried and convicted of armed robbery. He was imprisoned in Parramatta Gaol and released in 1874.

Burrangong Shire was a local government area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia.

Mollie McNutt was an Australian poet whose work appeared in many newspapers and who published one book.

The Melbourne Garrick Club was an association of people with interests in the theatre, founded in 1855, and disbanded around 1866 after the death of one of its "leading lights".

References

  1. ↑ "The Burrangong Argus (NSW : 1865 - 1913)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 "History with Brian James: The early newspapers of Young". Young Witness. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  3. ↑ ""Burrangong Argus" Sold". National Advocate . New South Wales, Australia. 10 February 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "PUTTING UP THE SHUTTERS". The Young Chronicle . Vol. LXXIV, no. 5127. New South Wales, Australia. 8 February 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "MEN AND WOMEN". Young Witness . New South Wales, Australia. 9 April 1921. p. 6 (LATEST EDITION). Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "The riots history erased: reckoning with the racism of Lambing Flat". The Guardian. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "PRESS HISTORY OF YOUNG". Freeman's Journal . Vol. LXIII, no. 3862. New South Wales, Australia. 20 February 1913. p. 30. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Local Intelligence". Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser . Vol. XII, no. 1067. New South Wales, Australia. 15 May 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "NOTICES BY CONTEMPORARIES". The Burrangong Argus . New South Wales, Australia. 14 January 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "Sixty Years of Newspaper History Recorded". The Young Chronicle . Vol. 60, no. 44. New South Wales, Australia. 25 May 1934. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "MR. BENNETT'S DEATH". The Burrangong Argus . New South Wales, Australia. 14 January 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Death of Mr. B. J. Bennett". Evening News . No. 7372. New South Wales, Australia. 10 January 1891. p. 6. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  13. 1 2 "Newsy Notes". Cowra Free Press . Vol. 33, no. 1, 776. New South Wales, Australia. 5 July 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Death of an Old Colonist". Glen Innes Examiner . Vol. 55, no. 3590. New South Wales, Australia. 21 January 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "OBITUARY". Young Witness . New South Wales, Australia. 11 January 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "PERSONAL, SOCIAL, RELIGIOUS". Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser . No. 5599. New South Wales, Australia. 13 August 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ "Werriwa Election". The Inverell Times . Vol. 42, no. 5924. New South Wales, Australia. 4 June 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  18. ↑ "NEWSPAPER CEASES PUBLICATION". Goulburn Evening Penny Post . New South Wales, Australia. 6 February 1913. p. 4 (EVENING). Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ "Passed Out". Forbes Times . New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  20. ↑ ""The Argus."". The Burrangong Argus . New South Wales, Australia. 8 February 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  21. ↑ "Ceased to Exist". Australian Town and Country Journal . Vol. LXXXIV, no. 2245. New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1913. p. 16. Retrieved 10 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.