William Ernest Fairbridge JP (2 November 1863 – 5 October 1943) was a newspaper publisher and municipal official during the early British occupation of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. A man, "whose indomitable pluck in the face of endless discouragements deserves an honourable place in the history of journalistic enterprise," he published Rhodesia's first newspaper, the '' Mashonaland Herald and Zambesian Times'' in 1891. He also served as the first Mayor of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

in 1897. He subsequently became a leading publishing executive with the Argus group of Newspapers in South Africa.

Early life and career

William Ernest Fairbridge was the son of William Alexander Fairbridge of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

. He was born on 2 November 1863 and was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

in England. In 1890 he was appointed by the Argus Group of newspapers as the company's representative in Rhodesia and duly set out on a six-month journey on a scotch cart drawn by oxen from

Mafeking Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

to Fort Salisbury. Undeterred by the absence of even the most rudimentary printing equipment Fairbridge published the first issue of the ''Mashonaland Herald and Zambesian Times'' on 27 June 1891. The publication was a hand-written news sheet that was reproduced by a

Cyclostyle A monopteros (Ancient Greek: , from the Polytonic: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and , 'wing') is a circular colonnade supporting a roof but without any walls. Unlike a tholos (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have w ...

, or early stenograph, process. Fairbridge had no ink and so had to make it himself. He also had to source paper for each edition as he had brought no supply of his own. He supported the venture by readers' subscriptions which could take the form of a pot of marmalade, a box of candles or an old spade. Although the ''Mashonaland Herald'' was inevitably of variable quality, its success demonstrated the demand for a Rhodesian newspaper. Fairbridge re-launched the ''Mashonaland Herald'' as the ''

Rhodesia Herald ''The Herald'' is a state-owned daily newspaper published in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. History Origins The newspaper's origins date back to the 19th century. Its forerunner was launched on 27 June 1891 by William Fairbridge for the Ar ...

'' in 1892. This was a printed newspaper, and he followed this by founding the '' Bulawayo Chronicle'' in 1894. Both publications remain as the two longest established newspapers in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Municipal and political affairs

Fairbridge served as a JP for Rhodesia and in 1897-98 served as the first mayor of Salisbury upon it being granted municipal status, and incorporated the family motto of ''Discrimine Salus'' in the town's first coat of arms. From his arrival in Rhodesia in 1891 Fairbridge had been politically active. He was not shy of criticising the British administration and had been forced to tone down his views expressed in the ''Mashonaland Herald''. In 1899 he stood in the first Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council election, but, despite having the inevitable editorial support of his own newspapers, he failed in his bid to be elected as a member of the Mashonaland District.

Later career and life

Fairbridge eventually returned to South Africa to become General Manager of the Argus Newspaper Company and Managing Director of the

Cape Argus The ''Cape Argus'' is a daily newspaper co-founded in 1857 by Saul Solomon and published by Sekunjalo in Cape Town, South Africa. It is commonly referred to as ''The Argus''. Although not the first English-language newspaper in South Africa ...

. He retired to Switzerland and died at

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

on 5 October 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbridge, William 1863 births 1943 deaths People educated at Bedford Modern School South African newspaper journalists Newspaper editors Rhodesian politicians Mayors of Harare 19th-century newspaper publishers (people) People from Port Elizabeth People of Southern Rhodesia Cape Colony people