Motueka Star

The Motueka Star was preceded by an earlier venture in the Motueka area, the Motueka Herald, which was published from 1884 until around 1889. The Herald was established by Thomas John Metcalfe, a colourful character who had earlier been involved with the Lyell Argus and also the Golden Bay Argus.  

In 1901 the Motueka Star was founded by James Henry Boundy, who had previous experience in the newspaper industry as part-owner of the Marlborough Express from 1879 to 1893. Boundy died in 1904, aged 46, but his widow Elizabeth Ann Boundy and his son Gordon J W Boundy were subsequently involved in the running of the Star.  

In 1938 the Motueka Star was merged with the neighbouring Golden Bay Times into a new Motueka-based daily newspaper, the Star-Times. The Star-Times proclaimed that it was ‘the morning newspaper of Nelson Province’ and aimed to fill the gap in the newspaper market that had been left with the demise of the Nelson morning paper the Colonist in 1920. Significant capital outlay was made on printing machinery and the first issue of the Star-Times on 28 July 1938 was a well presented newspaper, produced under the management of Alister Lumsden Taylor. In May 1939 the Star-Times adopted a new title, the Province. The new publication was short-lived; its last issue appeared on 16 August 1939, with its owners Provincial Newspapers Ltd advising readers and advertisers that they had decided to suspend publication to resolve circulation and advertising difficulties.