''The Star'' is a

free newspaper Free newspapers are distributed free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. They are published at d ...

published weekly in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Allied Press Allied Press is an independent New Zealand media and publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the ''Otago Daily Times'', New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper. Allied Press has a number of other daily and community news ...

since 1979. It is the successor to ''The Evening Star'', which was the city's daily

evening newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...

from June 1863 to 1979.

History

Bell era

''The Star'' was founded as the ''Evening Star'' in 1863 with the first issue appearing on 1 May 1863. It was founded by G. A. Henningham and Co., edited by George Henningham, and originally printed in Stafford Street, above the

Exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

area of the city. In its first few years the company was bought by William Henningham, the founder's brother. In June 1869, William Henningham ran into financial difficulties and the ''Evening Star'' was sold by liquidators to

George Bell George Bell may refer to: Law and politics * George Joseph Bell (1770–1843), Scottish jurist and legal author * George Alexander Bell (1856–1927), Canadian pioneer and Saskatchewan politician * George Bell (Canadian politician) (1869–1940) ...

, who also ran a small evening paper, the ''Evening Independent''. Bell merged the two newspapers to form firstly the short-lived ''Morning Star'', and then the far more successful ''Evening Star'', which was first published under this title on 14 June 1869. Under Bell's editorship the paper thrived and it soon began to outsell almost all of its rivals. Bell remained editor until 1894. Following Bell's resignation, his family gained control of the ''Evening Star'', which became a limited liability public company that was incorporated on 11 April 1895. The company's shareholders were his son George, his six daughters, Louisa's husband Frank Clapperton and Clara's husbands Charles Smith.

Growth and consolidation

Bell was succeeded by ''Evening Star'' journalist Mark Cohen as editor in 1894. Under Cohen's leadership, the ''Star'' advocated social reform and supported the

New Zealand Liberal Party The New Zealand Liberal Party was the first organised political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. The Liberal strategy was to create a large class of small land-owning farmers who supported Liberal ideals, by buying larg ...

's policies. The ''Evening Star'' flourished under Cohen's leadership and attracted several contributors including

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and social reformer Rutherford Waddell. In 1897, the newspaper adopted linotype type-setting machines. In 1907, the newspaper started a Saturday sports edition called ''Star Sports'', which was published as a tabloid insert. While the ''Evening Star'' was a supporter of the Liberals and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Richard John Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-se ...

, the newspaper decided after the Liberal's defeat in 1912 not to financially support any political party. This policy was reversed when the ''Star'' board of directors voted to donate NZ£50 to the United Party, a predecessor to the modern National Party. In 1928, the ''Evening Star'' moved to a new headquarters at Stuart Street, which later became the headquarters of

. Though the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

hindered the newspaper's plans for expansion, the ''Evening Star'' benefited from the

post-war economic boom In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

in New Zealand. Between 1950 and 1973, the newspaper prospered under the leadership of general manager Vic Cavanagh, a prominent

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

coach. The ''Evening Star'' reached its climax during the 1960s when it had a circulation of more than 30,000. The second-longest lasting of Dunedin's newspapers, ''The Evening Star'' became a rival to Dunedin's morning newspaper the ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'' (ODT).

Allied Press

The ''Evening Star'' readership slowly declined during the period from the 1960s to the 1970s due to competition from commercial radio and television news. 1975, the ''Evening Star'' merged with its rival, the ''Otago Daily Times'', to form a holding company called

. In 1979, Allied Press merged with John M. Fraser and Co Ltd to form a new privately-listed company called Otago Press and Produce Limited (OPP) following takeover attempts by H.W. Smith and Mount Cook Group. By 1979, the ''Evening Star'' circulation had fallen from 30,000 to under 20,000 due to competition from news broadcasters and its morning sister paper. As a result, the newspaper's sport issue ''7 O'clock'' (the successor to the ''Star Sports'') was discontinued in March 1979. By June 1979, the newspaper had become a tabloid. Due to the newspaper's declining revenue, Allied Press' board dissolved the ''Evening Star'', with its last issue being published on 3 November 1979. The ''Evening Star'' was subsequently replaced by a weekly

community paper Community paper is a term used by publishers, advertisers and readers to describe a range of publications that share a common service to their local community and commerce. Their predominant medium being newsprint, often free and published at regul ...

called ''The Star''. Allied Press still publishes the ''Otago Daily Times'' and numerous community and farming papers throughout New Zealand, as well as running Dunedin's local television station, Channel 39. Allied Press also owns the ''Evening Star'' former headquarters at Stuart Street. The company's managing director Julian Smith is a great-great-grandson of George Bell.

References

External links