The Times and Northern Advertiser facts for kids
The Times and Northern Advertiser was a newspaper published every week in Peterborough, South Australia. It started in August 1887 and continued until 1970. Its full name was The Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia.
The Newspaper's Beginning
In 1887, Petersburg was a small town. A railway was being built to Broken Hill. People needed to decide if the ore from the mines would go to Port Augusta, Port Pirie, or Port Adelaide. If it went to Port Pirie, the railway would pass through Petersburg.
The town's mayor, W. Thredgold, wanted to make Petersburg more important. He wanted it to be better than its rival town, Terowie. Terowie already had its own newspaper. So, the mayor asked Robert M. Osborne to start a newspaper in Petersburg.
They found an old iron shed to use as the first office. H. P. Colebatch helped Osborne. Colebatch later became a very important person, even a Premier of Western Australia!
The first newspaper came out on August 12, 1887. It was called The Petersburg Times. It had four pages. Barton Pullen helped by being the paper's contact in Orroroo. In 1891, Osborne built a new, proper building for the newspaper.
Changes and Growth
From 1896, James J. "Jim" Bennett was the main editor. After he passed away, Kinso C. H. Ewins took over.
In 1909, Robert M. Osborne sold The Times to W. H. Bennett. W. H. Bennett was the brother of the earlier editor, Jim Bennett. Sadly, the newspaper building burned down in December 1909. It was a big loss for Mr. Bennett. But he kept going and made the newspaper a very successful business.
The newspaper's name changed a few times over the years. It started as The Petersburg Times with the subtitle Orroroo Chronicle and Northern Advertiser. Later, the subtitle changed to Terowie, Yongala, and Northern Advertiser, and then just Northern Advertiser.
In May 1919, the main name changed to The Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia. This happened because the government wanted to change German place names after World War I. The town of Petersburg became Peterborough.
W. H. Bennett also started other newspapers. He bought the Booleroo Magnet and the Orroroo Enterprise. He also took over the Weekly Times in Adelaide. He bought new printing machines. He was very good at connecting with local businesses and sports teams.
When W. H. Bennett died, his sons took over the newspapers. Harry managed the Orroroo papers, and Jack managed the Peterborough ones.
The Final Years
In 1946, The Times joined with another newspaper, the Jamestown Star and Farmer's Journal.
In 1970, The Times merged with three other northern newspapers. They became the Review-Times. But this new newspaper did not last long and soon stopped publishing.
Finding Old Newspapers
The National Library of Australia has made digital copies of many old newspapers. You can find copies of The Petersburg Times (from 1887 to 1919) and The Times and Northern Advertiser (from 1919 to 1950) online. You can look at them using their Trove service.
