NEWS THAT COMES TO YOUR DOOR

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 94, 7 May 1937, Page 48 (Supplement)

NEWS THAT COMES TO YOUR DOOR

How Hastings Has Beeri Served; A Record of Courageous Journalism EVOLUTION OF THE HERALD-TRIBUNE

LIVE, independent Press is an es sential in a community that desires to progress along its own lines. The people of Hastings realised this even before the town was proclaimed a borough; but the establishment of a newspaper on a proiitable basis is not an ■easy undertaking. Either the popula- , tion and territory ava so big that a large capital outlay is required, or the area is so sparsely settled that circulation and revenue are insufficient to eover even a small capital outlay. The latter was the difficulty that confronted the first journalistic effort in Hastings. In September, 1886, the Hastings Star made it first appearance from the Jjob-printing plant of the late Mr. A. A. George. It was a bright little fourpage sheet, with Mr. J. H. Clayton as Oditor, and the paper followed a forthxight policy of roundly condemning thosa things that were standing in the way of the progress of Hastings. Closer settlement of the rich nearby lands was urged, and the paper was a stannch. advocate of the need for Hastings having an identity of its own. The colony was in the depths of the big«depression of the eighties, however, and the paper was unable to mahe sufficient progress to justify its continuance, Ten years later, on April 27, 1896, the first copy of the Hastings Standard was published. After cnuch adversity the StandaTd eventnally flourished, and, winning the support and aflrection of the Hastings people, it can be deseribed as one of the f orebeaTS of the Hawhe 's Bay Herald-Tribune which to-day issue* fhia special nnmber to commemorate the Jubilee of Hastings. The small Hastings sheet was destined to contribute its being to the making of the substan-

tial provincial paper that now eirculates throughout Hawhe 's Bay. The Standard 's first numbers were brought out under the proprietorshop of Messrs. W. D. Arnott and Anthony Cashion, both of Greymouth, in premises on the site where now stands the rear portion of the Carlton Club Hotel Mr. Arnott, who was a son of one oi the proprietors of the Greymouth Argus, was the editor, with Mr. John Arnott as sub-editor. Mr. .Cashion was sporting-writer and compositor, ond Mr. A. L. ("Darby") Ryan mauager and reporter. Mr. George Ven ables, now. of Napier,' was foreman oi the composing room. The machinist was Mr. Robert Catherall. Two of these names were destined to be associated with the ftewspapers of Hastings for many years. Mr. Ryan, who left the Standard and was for a time on the staff of a Napier paper, joined the Hawke's Bay Tribune during the war years. He was a popular figure among the townspeople for many years, and his happy personality and the inlegrity of his journalism made him beloved by his fellow-worhers and all with wliom he had dealings. In the great tragedy of 1931 he was trapped beneath the falling towc* of the Posl OfSce. VThen his body was reeovererl from beneath the fallen brichs a pencil and small pad were in his hands and li. his poehet was "copy" collected oi. his morning ,round. The other member of the staff of the old Standard who has had continpous serviee with Hastings newspapers is

i-Mr.' Robert Catherall, who is to-day on the machine-room staff* of the HeraldTribune. Fifty-one years is his record as a newspaper worlcer. In 1887 he was a runner boy delivering the Hastings Star, and when houses were few and far between little Bob tramped every day over the greater part of the Hastings flats. A year earlier he was a Hawhe 's Bay Herald runner and delivered papers containing reports of the Tarawera eruption. When the rotary press to-day begins to print this Jubilee Number it will be "Bob" Catherall who will turn on the electric current that will bring the motors 'into aetion. The only break in his newspaper serviee was one year with the New Zealand forces in the South African War. Wages Overdue In the early days of the newspapers in Hastings there were no high-speed and labour-saving machines such as those that are used to-day, and the Standard was laboriously printed on an old press turned by hand. Lack of funds was an ever-recurrent difiiculty in those days, and at one time the finances of the firm had been reduced to such a low ebb that the staff was compelled to wait six weeks for wage's. As time went on the loyalty of the workers became overborne by the urgent need for money to pay the butcher and baker. After a meeting the compositors marched to the manager 's Ifctle office and demanded the overdue wages, failing which the next issue of the StandaTd would not appear. Faeed with the crisis, and sadly aware of the empty till, the manager frankly placed his problem before his advertisers and those subscribers who could be reached quickly. The paper 's supporters responded nobly and the crisis was passed. From that time the fortunes of the paper steadilv improved. In 1898 the senior partner of the firm had to retire because of illness, and Mr. Job Vile, of Pahiatua, became the owner. About this time the pubIishing ofiice was sliifted to the corner of Queen and Station streets. Other changes of ownership followed, Mr. William Hart, who had come from Oamaru, eventually becoming the sole proprietor.. Mr. Hart also had a jobprinting business which is to-day conducted under the name Watties, LtdAf tbr managing and editing the Standard for some 12 years, Mr. Hart sold the paper to Messrs. Whitlock and Carncross, the senior partner, Mr. W. C. Whitlock, coming from Stratford, where he had managed %he Egmont Settler and Stratford Post. The new proprietors had to vacate the old building, which had at once time served as a post office, and later as a barber's shop. In midwinter of 1907 a team of bullocks was hitched to the building and it was hauled in one piece to Karamu road, where it was renovated and converted into the two-storied building now occupied by the photographer Mr. Wallace Poll. Meanwhile the composing and printing staff of the paper had taken up temporary quarters in a shack at the rear of the new buildings being erected in. Queen street. On the day of the shift the editorial staff workcd in tKe building as the bullocks dragged it down the street. Three winter months were spent in what was1 little more than a scrim-and-tarpaulin shelter. But the paper nevex missed an issue al-

though the approach to the office was often ankle-deep in mud. Then the firm entered into new premises on the site now occupied by- Watties, Ltd. Coming of Tribune The next milestone in the history of the Hastings newspaper came three years later, when incrcasing circulation and the growing influence of the paper in the community made more plant and larger premises desirable. Help como from an unexpected quarter. The late Mr William Nelson, always a keen and critical observer of men and events, without any previous consultation, telephoned Mr Whitlock and volunteered to give him financial backing. After three or four meetings a new company was formed to incorporate the Standard in a new provincial paper to be known as the Hawke's Bay Tribune. Sufficient capital was subseribed without difficulty, and the new paper 's first number was published on Deeember 12, 1910. Mr William Nelson did not take up any shares in the company, and thus, while he will always be regarded as the father of the Tribune, he did* not at any time have any financial interest in it. His son, Mr George Nelson, however, became a shareholder and was one of those most keenly interested in the new project. It was he who suggested the name Tribune. Mr Reginald Gardiner has Temained chairman of direc.tors of the company since it was formed. Within a short time the firm moved into new and extensive premises at the corner of Karamu road and Queen street. The plant, then considered the last thing in provincial requirements, greatly improved the methods of production, and the paper rapidly grew in circulation and prestige. With his new associates, and with an adequate production plant, the policy followed by Mr Whitlock of fearless comment upon matters of national and provincial importance brought the paper to a high standard in the community. Placing principles above expediency and allowing free expression of contending views, the Tribune served a definite need in a growing and enterprising community.

The War Years In the dark years of the war, when the staffa were depleted by men on active serviee, the older members carried on tirelessly and courageously. There was no radio in those days, and the Tribune 's bulletin board and editorial office maintained a continuous news serviee for the public. Mr Whitlock spent many Sunday evening3 telephoning differpnt ministers of religion hi order that they could convey to their cohgregations important war news that had come to hand. Another member of the editorial staff who gave tireless eervice during this time was Mr G. H. Reid, who still continues to do the greatest part of the editorial writing. His leading articles summarising and analysing the news that came to hand from all fronts made it possible for readers to obtain a comprehensive view of the ebb and flow of tjie war. In April, 1926, the Tribune made another move forward when a three-deck rotary printing machine and the latest sterootyping machinery were installed. The building was enlarged and the linotype battery increased. Progress was steady and staff and circulation' grew. Then came the carthquake. The com.nercial office of the paper was so badly lamaged that the upper storey had :ater lo be removed, and the whole of he machine room was laid in ruins. ."hc greater part of the machinery was • entually salvaged, but in the meanme the public had to be served with ews. Thanks to the co-operation of !r. Perey George, who placed his rinting establishment at the disposal f the Tribune, small daily sheets were sued, giving a brief summary of imortant news and providing the autho:ties with the means for.directing salage and reconstruction work. A temtorary building was soon erected and ome of the plant again brought into peration. On Monday, Fobruary 16, ho Tribune reappeared Li its usuai ' >r.n. , lerald £nd Tribune L'he offer of the Tribune management the proprietors of the Hnwhe'a Bay erald to produce the morning paper. \liich had until tbcn been published in I N'apier, provided the means for the { continuance of a morning paper for the

province. The Herald 'a plant and building had been completely destroyed by fire and earthquake. Subsequently the Herald 's financial difficulties made it desirable for the Tribune to acquire the Herald 's interests. After nearly six years it was found that increasing eoets made it impossible to continue the publication of a morning paper, and the Herald and Tribune wer8 consolidated into the one evening publication, in which form it is now being issued. First published an Napier on September 24, 1857, the Herald this year entered upon its eightieth year of serviee to the people of this province, its aim, as propounded by the founder, being "to advance the true interests of the district." In ats new form it continues, with added strength, to serve ihe same ideal in treading the path of progress with other Hawke's Bay institutions. Toward the end of 1933 Mr W. C. Whitlock, who for more than a quarter of a century had occupied the editorial chair of the successive newspapers of Hastings, decided to retire from active journalism. Although his health was nnlmpaired, he had endured a long period of arduoua work, covering the development of a small local paper into an influential provincial organ, the trying years Of the war when hours were long and the handling of news uerve-straining, a brief period of prosperity, the slump and the earthquake, and then two years rebnilding the organisation of the Herald and the Tribune. Following his retirement He made his home an Tauranga, where hc has a citrus-fruit orchard. He was succeedcd by his son, Mi W. A..- Whitlock, who had worked with his father from 1907, when they first came to Hastings, until 1917 when he

went into camp. After serviee in Erance he returned to Hastings and ncted as news-editor of the Tribune until 1922, when ho went to Christchurch to gain wider journalistic experience. Subsequently he became chief sub-editor of tho Auckland Sun, which he left in 1930 to take up ti similar positxon on the" Wellington DominionStill With Us Many of the staff of the old Herabi remain with the Herald-Tribune. Mr Charles Price gTew to manhood in the serviee of the paper and he looks bacv over sixty years of intimate associatioi with the progress of Hawke's Bay His wide knowledge, excellenf memory. and facile pen have been of considerable valne in the production of this ••ecord issue of the Herald-Tribune. A weteran among journalists, he stil] to day remains a model of journalisti* cnthusiasm and endurance. Four men are to-day on the mechanical staff of the Herald-Tribune who were with the Tribune when it was first published They are Mr S. L. Cox, englneer and overseer, Mr Robert Catherall (men tioned earlier), Mr Hector Cameron Unotype engineer, and Mr Harry Epps linotype operator, who was an appren tice with the old Hastings Standard. The production of a daily newspaper '•:» the work of a team, and the editor of the Herald-Tribune has every reasoito be proud of his- team, which is rici. n youthful catfctlMMm and vetcrar niaturity.