Digger (Invercargill RSA)

The Digger was the official organ of the Invercargill Returned Soldiers Association (RSA) published between 1920 and 1921.

By its own description, the Digger was a ‘weekly journal of sport, returned soldiers affairs, current events, war memoirs, agriculture, ladies’ columns, passing notes, Sunday reading and stories’ (19 March 1920: 16).

An advocate for returned servicemen, the Digger aimed to ‘put before the public the case of the returned men’ (Southland Times, 24 April 1920: 6) and be representative across the community with no affinity to any political party or religious opinion. Its funds were devoted to assisting the RSA in 'achieving the redress of the legitimate grievances of a solider, his wife, or widow’ (19 March 1920: 8). By December 1920 the Digger had gained an appeal as a general interest publication with a high circulation among civilians of Invercargill and wider Southland.

Published by Southland News Company Limited for the Invercargill RSA, it was originally edited by future district councillor Frederick George Blake until December 1920 when he resigned due to medical reasons. The publication was taken over by a management committee appointed by the RSA, under its secretary L S Graham.

The Digger ended suddenly in early 1921. A quote from the management committee printed in the Waikato Times stated the reason behind its closure was that the Digger ‘cannot be made a financial success’ (Waikato Times, 24 March 1921: 4) and it decided not to renew advertising contracts.