Stephen Hamilton and David Carment

THE NORTHERN TERRITORY PRESS

AbstractThe history of print media in the Northern Tbtitoty is one of parish pumps andmedia moguls, Cold War tensions and human rights crusades. Locally printedand published newspapers have been pivotal to the development of a iorthernTbrritory identity and the cultivation of the krritory's sense of dffirence fromthe rest of Australia. From the earliest newspapers - part news-sheet, partgovernment gazette - to the colourful online edition of the NT News, lfteTerritory hqs been defined by its press and has in turn defined it, in responseto its remoteness and to its increasing non-Indigenous population. This articleprovides a brief overview of the Northern kruitory press, the history of whichremains poorly documented.

The Northern Territory has been surprisingly well served by print media since the firstsuccessful colony was established some 140 years ago. Despite remoteness from themain population centres of Australia and the wider world, and of its communities fromeach other, small and large newspapers have repeatedly sprung up, most fleetingly, somewith greater tenacity. The dominance of a Murdoch paper (the NT News, as it nowstyles itself), perhaps unique among the stable in being left largely to pursue its own(albeit generally conservative) editorial line, has meant that since the mid-twentiethcentury the Territory has had a loud local voice, if one of a tabloid stridency easilymocked by southern critics.

The earliest Northern Territory newspaper was the Moonta Herald, published onboard the ship that brought the South Australian Surveyor-General, George Goyder, tothe Territory in 1869. The first machine-printed newspaper was the we&ly liorthternTerritory Times and Gazette, initially published on 7 November 1873 from a govemmentoffice in Darwin under the editorship of Richard Wells and owned by aionsortiumregistered as The Northern Territory Newspaper and Telegraphic Agency companyLimited. A new editorial office and a press were later established in Mitchell Street(Davis, 2011: l, Lockwood, 1968: l7l-3). The many colourful characters who workedfor the publication included vaiben Solomon, who owned the paper between lgg5and 1889 and represented the Territory in the South Australian parliament. His clearand frequently dramatic editorials reflected his conservative political beliefs. Othereditors included Joseph Skelton, George Mayhew, charles Kirkland, Edward Fosterand Jessie Litchfield. Litchfield overcame strong local objections to a woman beingappointed when she took over in 1930. In a small and often deeply divided town, someeditors were threatened with violence, and copies of the newspaper were torn up andburnt when it expressed views disliked by sections of the community. Kirkland wascontroversially imprisoned in 1913 after being found guilty of contempt of court for

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From 1883, Mayhew and Kirkland published a rival Darwin newspaper, the NorthAttstralian, in which they often provided very different versions of ihe same eventsfrom those of their competitor. In 1889, they bought the Northern krritory Timesand Gazette from Solomon and amalgamated the two newspapers under the latter,smasthead. with thc deparfure of the govemment Gazette ii iszl , the paper,s titlewas abridged to the ltrorthern Territory Times, tnder rvhich it continued publicationuntil closing in June 1932 after being bought out by the Northern Standird (Davis,2011: 1; Kirkpatrick, n.d.: 1, Lockwood, 1968 175_-6; J'lorth Austrctlian,25 May 1gg9).

The Northern Standard first appeared on 19 February I 92 1 , published in Darwin wit-htrade union suppott and partly flnanced by a union ler,y. Publication was transferred tothe North Australian Workers'Union in 1928 following its establishment the previousyear (Brian, 2001: 85-6, 101;NorthAustralian workers Union, n.d.: l). For much ofthe time before world war II, its editor was Don McKinnon (Jamcs, n.d.: t; Lockwood,1968: 179). The 'Moscow Times', as it was known, was very much the voice of theunion movement, and opinions other than its own *"." noi given prominence. Aneditorial in 1946 stated that the paper'does not pretend, as do iost organs of the freepress to be neutral in the battle of life, and to present an unbiased view of curentaffairs' (Northern standard,3l May 1946). After 1946, it often supporled communistpositions. Pro,rinent Darwin journalist Douglas Lockwood u.grLb that by then it'still less reflected the moods of the town', leading to .a lackif confidentc of thetownspeople' (Lockwood, 1968: 180).

The I'{orthern standqrd was the only Territory newspaper between 1932 and 1941 ,e1c_eqt for the brief appearance of the communist Proletarian in 1934.In October 1941,with large numbers of soldiers stationed in Darwin, the weekly Army News commenced.Tlre army had been concemed for some time about the Norihern Stanclard because ofits supposed synpathy for communism. when Darwin was bombed for the first timein February 1942, the lVorthern Standarcl suspended publication until February i946and the Arnty News remained the sole Teritory papei until the war finished (Oavis,n.d.: 1, James, n.d.: 1).

The Sydney public relations finn Eric White Associates stafied the Northern krritoryNews t'tt 1952 as a weekly tabloid to counter-balance the Northern Stanclarcl, which ithad forced out ofbusiness by 1955. Initial efforts by the federal government to counterthe Standard's influence had been shelved it 7942, and revived ii :DqS amid the risinglXlteriu of thc early Cold War. John Coleman was appointed publisher and allocatedf,1000 wofth of shares, with whitington and white (and through them the chifleyLabor govemment) retaining a controlling interest in the paper (Wiitington, 1917: 110j.. Jh. first issue was published on 8 February 1952. After appearinpf as a weekly forits flrst two years, it moved to twice-weckly aftemoon publication, tlel tri-weekiy in1960, and became an afternoon daily (Monday to Friday) in 1964.It published its hrstSaturday edition on 20 April 1968.

In the days following cyclone Tracy on christmas Eve 1974, staff produced aninfomation shcet from a small press in the Darwin Police Station. The fiist four-pagepost-cyclone edition appeared from the repaired press on 31 December 1974, listing tiiedead and injured, and providing advice on evacuation .The lt{orthern Territory Neru thenrecommenced as an afternoon daily, published Monday to Friday, from February 1975.

rn 1911, a new web off-set press was installed, bringing a long overdue rt itt tomodern photo-composition. A Saturday edition was reinlroduced ir July 1979, and

No. 150 -February 2014

EA

the paper reverted to morning publication in 1991, a schedule it has since retained' A

sister papef the Sunday Terrltirian, was launched on 7 October 1984' edited by Gary

Shipway. The N?tr News, as it was renamed in 2010, celebrated its 60th anniversary

orr'a r"t*ury 2012by publishing its first full-colour edition. In March 2013, the NT

News had a weekday circulation.-of 16,508, rising to 25,375 for the Saturday edition

(ABC, August 2013).The first editor was Mac JefFries, who declared the newspaper's intention to 'f'ght for

North Australia' and ,work for the progress and prosperity of everyone in the Northem

Territory, (Northern Territory N,,,, S-February 1942). Jim Bowditch was appointed

editor in 1955. He was to treaa tne newspaper for eighteen years, win a Walkley Award

(1959) and become well known for crusading o' ta-'y issues' from supporting the

burindji people's land claims following their walk-off from Wave Hill Station in 1966,

to promoiing self-govemance for the Northern Territory (Jolly, 2008: 48-50).

Swan Breweries bought John coleman's shares in the paper in 1960 (Northern

Territory News, 9 Febn:rary 1987). Around the same time' Whitington and White

sold their controlling interest in the paper to News Limited, which took full control

of the paper h 1g64 (Cowley, 1gg5: 6). ln 2012, News Limited showed confidence

in the paper's editoriai staff and its future profitability with its investment in a new

$18 million printing Press.Althougtr the N1-News began life with an avowedly anti-communist stance, over

the years r1 has often adopteiliberal causes, particularly -dqq B.owditch's editorial

reign. In more recent decades, it has taken a more neutral political line, even though

it iemains highly parochial and a staunch supporter of statehood for the Territory'

Along with ,"'""-f, of the Australian mainstream media, the News has been subject to

criticism for its representation ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (e'g' see

Aikman, 2013), but it is probably also correct to say that it is just as likely to expose

institutional and casual racism in the Territory as to perpetuate it'

From its eadiest days, the NT News was central to the life of Darwin and the wider

Territory. It remains one'of the main sources of information about events in the city,

fromsocialgossipandsportingresultstocyclonewarningsandtheTerritory,softenfraught relationship with the Commonwealth government'

It is unconcerned by criticism of its tabioid editorial style, seeing itself as an

erpre.rion of Tenitorians'unique view of the world, epitomised by its website slogan,

,orty i, the Territory' ('only in the Territory" 2ol3).In covering.its 50th anniversary

in February 2011, AbC TY'; 730 Report described it as 'Australia's most outrageous

newspaper-': 'It's bizarre and offbeat uttd u li1l" bit wild and I think that is great,' senior

NT Neisjournalist Nigel Adlam remarked (ABC TV 15 February 2011: 1). Known

today for iis garish "orJ.r,

often featuring photo-montages of rampaging crocodiles, and

its tongue-in--cheek headlines about UfO iigtrtings and public_nudity, the NZNews is a

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life in the Territory. Many (though, of course, not all) long-term Territorians

bristle at criticism of their pape., -*iri"h

ihey regard as giving voice to their unique

perspective on a place whose isolation -"urt that other national dailies usually arrive

I auy o. even two after publication and typically cost twice their masthead price'

After the early 1g70s, various smallei newspapers -_ such as.the weekly Darwin

Star - affempted to challenge the dominance of ihe Northern Territory News, but with

little success. Between l99i and2005, the Northern Territory University/Charles ?'1"i"University Student union in Darwin published the monthly the Big spit and Delirra

(Northem Territory Newspapers, n.d.: 24)'

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References

Aikman, A.2013.Australian Burear

ABC_circulatBowditch, J. 1993

University PnBrian, B. 2001,

Australian WcCentralian Adyoa

::,rined. A- bv Gary1:.11\'ersary

,1. the ly'I.', edition

'nght for\orthern.rpointed:r Award,ring the. rn 1966,

.'t orthern::c White-.1 control::nfidence:r a new

::Ce, OVef

. editorial

.a thoughTeritory..,rbject to) (e.9. See

irr CXPOSQ

.re rvider:. rhe city,r's often

.:11 as an:e slogan,

::ir.ersary.ltrageous

,.t.'SeniOr. Klown

.:i1es, and

-" JI1'.! iS a':-itorians

;ir unique

'l1r arrive:rice.

.;. Darwin,. but with.:s Darwin^.t Delirra

In July 1946. the,Territory s second largest town, Arice Springs, acquired its firstnewspaper, The Dead Heart? Ten months later, on 24 May lbqli it *u, ."ptu""J iythe-twice-weekly Centralian Advocate. owned by the well-known local businessman9,Y lpop' chapman, with walter Allan as its shlrt-rived first editor (Donovan, rggg:227 , 229). Jim Bowditch was editor between.1950 and r 954, ,ri"g ,r,. paper to fightfor the right of Aboriginal people with white heritage to ..".ir"-nril citizenship (Jolly,2008: 49)' During the 1950s, tie Centralian Advocite.*p..i.n"J-liequent ownershipchanges and numerous production issues. News Limited took over ttre CentralianAdvo.cate. in 1966, providing access to much more caprtal than"had been availabrepreviously. The paper showed rittre concern with the *id;i;".rd,^maintaining ,;;;;local focus and not being afraid on occasions to criticise the Alice Springs Towncouncil or signiflcant

_commercial interests (Donovan, 19gg; 236, 240,24g,2g1,3034;Kirkpatrick, n.d.: 1). In September 196g, ii attacked the locar iourist industry sayingthat tourist accommodation in Alice springs was generally poor and service standardswere abysmal (Centralian Advocate, il SeptemUe-r 196g). '. _Th:

Alice springs Times,whichcraimed tL 'carry the toich for norlhem deveropment,,had a brief exisrence _between September 1965 ind, August Ls6i.- rh" u,eekry Aricesprings Jtlews - which.is still being published - began"ln tr.larctr 1994,butwith aconsiderably smaller circuration tharr the Centraliai dir"irr" rNofihern TenitoryNewspapers, n.d.: 1)

In the post-world war II period, the Territory's sma[er towns arso acquirednewspapers as their populations increased. These included the knnant an(i DistrictTimes (Tennant creek, est. 197g), the Aryangura Newsretter lrxo-ae;, the JabiruRag(est. 1982),the KclhgrineTimes(est. ioa51,tt. Barkryn"ij.ra(Tennantcreek,1985-89), the Eylandt Eclzo (Groote Eylandt, est. 19g9), ttte,lrajuraT)rzes (Nhurunbuy,est. 1996) and the palmerston serr (est.2000). From it" tsloi,the;ferritory also sawnumerous, often transitory 'throw-away'newspapers. The most important of these wasthe weekly Darwin sun, which began pubrication in March ioooh*tnem TerritoryNewspapers, n.d.; 1-12).

. Thg history of the Northern Territory press is poorly documented. Informationin various secondary sources is incompiete and sometimes contradictory. DougrasLockwood's The Front Door: Darwin, rg69-1969 (196g) gi;;;--th. most detailedpublished history of Darwin's newspapers, but this orty "rt"idr rniit tt" late 1960s.other jounralists' accounts, such ur ii,-, Bowditch,s w;rp";;i;; iin xortt, Tares ofthe Northern Territory.(1993), are generally impressionistic and uneven. Three briefhistorical sulveys by Alan oavis (i01t), darbaru lu-., 1r.Jj1rJ'noa Kirkpatrick(n.d.), together with the Northem Tenitory Library,s annotated'lisi of ,re*spapers andmagazines Q'{orthem Territory Newspapeis, n.d.), all on the ribrafis website, providethe only oveliews.

References

Aikman, A. 2013, 'communiry Siderined by Anti-Bush Agenda,, The Austrarian, i4 September.Australian Bureau of circulation (ABC), circulation figures, www.adnews.corn.au/files/dmf,le/ABC_circulation_Aug20 I 3.pdf.

Bowditch, J. 1993, whispers From the North. Tales of the Northern krritory,Nofthem TerritoryUniversiry Prcss, Darwin.Brian, B. 2001, 'The Nofihem Tenitory,s one Big Union: The Rise and Fall of the NothAustralian workers' Union, 1g11-1 g72" phD thesis, Northern rerritory university.Centralian Advocate, l9 September 196g.

No. 150 -February 2014

59

Cowley, K. 1985, 'The News Limited Way', in Doing the Impossible: The Northern Territory

News, Northem Territory News, Darwin'Davis, A. 2011, 'History of Newspapers in the Northem Territory', http://artsandmuseums.nt.gov.

aglnorthem-territory-1ibrary/colliction..._territory-newspapers/history-of-newspapers-in-the-northern-territory.

Donovan, P. 1988, Alice Springs: Its History & the People Wo Made it, Alice Springs Town

Council, Alice Springs.James, B. n.d., 'Hirtoii"ullntroduction to Northem Territory Newspapers', http://artsandmuseums.

nt.gov.aulnorthem-territory-librar y/collections...y-newspapers/historical-introduction-to-noihern_territory-re*spupers (an earlier and longer version of this used in 2011 is no

longer accessible on the website).Joly, {. 2008, .Bowditch, James (Jim)', in D. Carment, C. Edward, B. James, R. Maynard,

A. powell and H.J. Wilson, Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography, rev. edn, Charles

Darwin University Press, Darwin.Kirkpatrick, R. n.d., 'itirtory of Northem Territory Regional Newspapers', http://artsandmuseums.

nt.gov.aulnorthern-territory-1ibrary/collections/northern-territory-newspapers/history-of-nt-regional-newspapers.

Lockiood, D. 1968, The Front Door: Darwin, 1868'1969, Rigby, Adelaide'

North Australian,25 May 1889.North Australian Workers Union n.d., 'Trade Union Entry - Australian Trade Union Archives',

n.d., wwwatua.org.au,/biogs/AlE0666b.htm.Northern Standard,3l May 1946.Northern Tbrritory News, 8 February 1952,9 February 1987.

Northem Territory Newspapers n.d., Department of Arts and Museums, http://artsandmuseums.

nt.gov.ar,r/northem-territoryJibrary/collections/northem-territory-newspapers..Only in the Territory, 2013, www.ntnews.com.au/news/only-in-theterritory.ABi TV 2011, The 7.30 Report, www.abc.net.aul7.30lcontentl201lls3139724.htm.whitington, D. 1977, strive to be Fair: An unfinished Autobiography, ANU Press, canberra.

Stephen Hamilton is a University Fellow in the School of Creative Arts and Humanities at Charles

Darwin University.

David Carment is Emeritus Professor of History at Charles Darwin University.

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