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A little about the long,
distinguished history of our newspapers
The Herald is an English
language morning newspaper owned by Avusa Media and published in Port Elizabeth,
South Africa.
The first edition of the
newspaper was published in May, 1846 by Scottish immigrant, John Paterson.
The four page paper cost
one penny and was published on Wednesdays. Paterson said “every means will
be taken to make it the honest and consistent advocate of liberal views...”
That view has been carried
out faithfully over the years, according to the values of the day, and has recorded
local, national and international news from the times of our Frontier Wars until
the birth of democracy in 1994 and beyond.
The Herald's first premises
were in a building in Titterton Lane, between Main and Chapel Streets but after
three weeks the newspaper moved to premises opposite Market Square.
Since then the paper has
moved five times, sometimes through planning, sometimes through fire until finally
it ended up at Newspaper House in Baakens Street.
In the first copyright case
against a newspaper in the Cape Colony, Charles Dickens successfully sued The
Heraldto stop the serial publication of his novel, Great Expectations.
In April/May, 1877, the
newspaper was offered “for sale with plant, machinery, and goodwill,”
but there were no offers.
From January 11, 1878 the
Herald began publication three times a week, exactly one year before the Anglo
- Zulu War began.
The Herald carried reports
of the British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana and their defence at Rorke's
Drift the following day.
At the outbreak of the South
African War, in 1899, many refugees arrived in Port Elizabeth from the Rand and
other areas.
Families were broken up
and the Herald published a free daily enquiry list to assist those seeking lost
friends and family members.
The Herald was a very progressive
newspaper and publication continued throughout the First World War.
At the end of the war, in
1918, a new rotary printing press was obtained and the era of photographic illustrations
progressed favourably.
The years between the wars
saw E H Walton registered as a limited liability public company, and the publication
of an evening edition began.
In April, 1942, new newsprint
regulations were received. Various newspapers, including the Herald, were ordered
to reduce their consumption by 55%.
On May 7, 1945, the Eastern Province Herald celebrated it first centenary. The
Prime Minister, General Jan Smuts, wrote a special message for the occasion.
“The Eastern Province
Herald was established during the formative period of the life of the Eastern
Province, and by forthright championship of the settlers rights and interests,
and by giving wise and far sighted guidance in their affairs, the newspaper made
- and today continues to make - a great contribution to the progress and welfare
of South Africa”.
In June, 1945, Colonel Werdmuller,
the Chief Recruiting Officer, SADF, thanked the Eastern Province Herald for the
co-operation during the five years of war. He said without the Press, South Africa
could never have raised such a large volunteer army.
The Nationalist Party were
elected to power in 1949 and pressure was soon brought to bear on the Press to
tone down their reporting. In 1950 the Internal Security Act was enacted and the
Communist Party of South Africa was outlawed under the Suppression of Communism
Act.
The Herald wrote: “Under
it the Government can stop a journalist from exercising his profession, banish
him, and even suspend the paper if anything published by him seems to be ‘revolutionary’
or even merely calculated to propagate communist ideology.
For the next 50 years, until
the fall of apartheid and beyond, the Herald kept the community informed about
happenings in Port Elizabeth.
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