''The Transcontinental'' is a weekly newspaper published in

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

which dates from October 1914. Formerly owned by Rural Press and

Australian Community Media Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the '' Canberra Times'', '' Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' an ...

, since 2022 it has been owned by the

Star News Group Star News Group is a media company based in Pakenham, Victoria, in Australia. Star publishes many community newspapers in the Melbourne area and other parts of Victoria. It also has publications in Queensland and South Australia. Star also publi ...

History

''The Transcontinental'' was founded by James Clarence Barclay (1873–before 1929), editor, who with his wife Agnes Fleming Barclay, née Johnstone (1877–1946), were owners and operators of the ''North Western Star'' (or ''North Western Star and Frome Journal'') published in Wilmington from 1912 to at least 1916. Agnes Barclay, and perhaps James Barclay, moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, where their daughter Dulcie Elma Barclay was crowned "Miss Queensland" by

Smith's Weekly ''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia. History The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir ...

in 1926. In 1929, at age 20, she took her own life after being abandoned by her boyfriend. Mrs Barclay was later involved in the death of a man from caustic soda burns received at her home on Hope Street,

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 14,292 people. Geography South Brisbane is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the nor ...

. The newspaper was first published on 7 November 1914, and subtitled "''The Only Federal Newspaper in the Commonwealth.''", reflecting the view that the paper will "work for the development of the north, and for amelioration of the conditions of the workers." From Vol. 1, No.3, the proprietor was John Ernest Edwards (died 1955), previously on the literary staff of '' The Advertiser'' and editor was Maurice Henry Hill (died 1957).

Lindsay Riches Lindsay Gordon Riches, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (18 February 1904 – 7 June 1972) was a South Australian politician. He was a Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch), Labor Party member of the South Austra ...

was editor from 1927. Another newspaper, the ''North Western Star and Frome Journal'' (30 August 1912 – 27 July 1917), a sister publication in Wilmington with mirrored content and also run by Barclay, was stopped and replaced by the main publication. In 1945, the newspaper took control of the ''Quorn Mercury'' (3 May 1895 – 11 October 1956), and after 1956, it continued by replacing the Quorn column in ''The Transcontinental''. In 2007, the paper, acquired earlier by

Rural Press Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the '' Canberra Times'', '' Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' and ...

, was among the stable of publications in a merger between Rural Press and John Fairfax & Sons. Papers from Rural Press were then published under the Fairfax Regional Media brand, which later became

. In December 2022 it was sold to the

Distribution

Like other SA Today publications, the newspaper is available locally in print and by subscription online.

Digitisation

The

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

has digitised photographic copies of most issues of ''The Transcontinental'' from 7 November 1914 (Vol. 1 No.3) to 8 June 1951, which may be accessed via

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

References

External links

Transcontinental website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Transcontinental, The Newspapers established in 1914 Newspapers published in South Australia Weekly newspapers published in Australia 1914 establishments in Australia