NEW ZEALAND PRESS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 297, 6 November 1874, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND PRESS.

Judge Chapman, at the opening dinner of the Dunedin Press Club thus alluded to the first press in -the Colony:— .- "Now, of the early history of the colony, and particularly of the newspaper press, though it-may seem strange to you, I may tell you that I knew the Press of this country before the colony existed; and you will see thaVthough it appears like an impossibility r ;yet it is fully borne out by fact 3.- The first scheme of colonisation "was by ■ the Hew Zealand- Company, who proposed-to found the colony of, Wellington. .Now, before, this colony started, a„ newspaper was projected as necessary to the welfare and safeguard of the new-- colony, > and this' was to be edited by a very old friend of mine", Mr. Samuel Eevens; and the-first number of the first newspaper to be established in New Zealand-was published in London on the 6th of, September, 1839, a month before the colonists left London. I think, therefore I am not wrong in saying that I knew the Press of New Zealand when it was only in the womb of. time. .(Applause.) The firsts-batch of colonists started from the river Thames—and I saw them off—in the month of October. The Aurora arrived at her destination on the 25th of June. She was followed by the Oriental on the 31st. of 'January. The third ship, the Duke of Roxburgh, arrived on the 6th of February ; the Bengal Merchant'oa the 27th ; 'and.'the Adelaide, which had the press and 'plant on board, to whieli I have alluded, did not arrive until the 7th of March, in consequence of having put into and stopped at the Cape. On board, -together with the press, types, &c, were an editor and two or three compositors,- and on board this ship Mr. Eevens picked up an intelligent lad, then known as Tom Mackenzie, but now known as Mr. Thomas Mackenzie, , and Tom agreed to- be -his apprentice, xhe Adelaide, with the materials on board for the newspaper, dropped anchor at Port Nicholson on the 7th of March. In addition to the types, presses,-and other material used in the-printing business brought out in this vessel; there was also on board a wooden house, which was built in pieces,"and which only had to be taken out and set up on shore without any difficulty. This had been constructed by Mr. Manning, of Holborn, and was * landed a fortnight or three weeks after the vessel dropped anchor. ,On April 18, just six weeks after the vessel arrived, the second number of the paper was brought out. This, I think was great speed. (Laughter.) This 'N.ew Zealand Gazette,' for so it was called, was continued for four years, _when Mr.. Eevens went into other pursuits,- and entered upon a country life.' He "disposed of the paper to Mr. Mackenzie, who changed the name 'to that of the ' Wellington Independent' which name it continued to bear until this very year, when it;was changed to that of the ' New Zealand Times,' and I think that-Mr. Mackenzie is still connected with it, so that I suppose he is one of the oldest- members of the Press—l mean the practical portion of the Press—in the colony. Al- ' though this was the first newspaper Press in New Zealand, I don't say it was the first printing press, as Bishop Williams had a printing press to print books for the Maories, consisting principally of prayers various religious, extracts and Scriptural .translations, and a little "grammar for i teaching the Maories English. I think of those present would turn up • their " intellectual noses," as Lord Byron .'would say, at such printing ai-was turned : out at this press."