"Available
online 1871-1872
Gold was
discovered at Thames in 1867 and the town itself grew from three goldfield
settlements, Shortland, Tookeys Flat and Grahamstown. By 1868 the population
had grown to 15,000. The first newspaper, the Thames Advertiser and Miners’
News was launched on 11 April 1868 by William Wilkinson (1838-1921) and Claude
Corlett (c.1836-1906). It was soon followed by the Times and Thames Miners’
Advocate, and the Thames Evening Star, both started by William Shaw (?-1876).
Corlett
pulled out of the Thames Advertiser in 1870 and started up the daily Thames
Guardian and Mining Record the following year. The first issue of his new paper
appeared on Saturday 7 October 1871.
The Guardian
folded at the beginning of September 1872, having lasted only 11 months. By
then both gold production and the population of Thames were on the decline. The
plant was sold to the proprietors of the Hawkes Bay Times and Corlett moved on
to the Christchurch Press, which he managed for a number of years.
Although
short-lived, the Guardian offers an insight into the life of the Thames
goldfields shortly after their discovery not otherwise available because hardly
any issues of the earlier newspapers published before 1871 have survived."
Source:
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/thames-guardian-and-mining-record
INTERESTING NEWS:
Take a look at some of the news reported in these editions.
- In December 1871 - they felt a new site for the hospital was required due to insufficient ground space!
- Death notices in all editions. For example on 12 June 1872 there were notices for: Matthew McCrae, George Bull, Percy Herbert, George McGregor, Cecilia Smale, and Charles Mellsop.
- Hotel transfer news: For the Albion, Salutation and Union Hotel. (2 May 1872)
- The paper even has sketches of old shops! The sketch below is of the small shop that was located north of the Wharf Hotel in Brown Street.
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