 Cover of the first edition of the Lyttelton Times | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Founded | 11 January 1851 |
| Ceased publication | 29 June 1935 |
| Headquarters | Lyttelton Times Building, 56 Cathedral Square,Christchurch New Zealand |
TheLyttelton Times was the first newspaper inCanterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by theCanterbury Association as part of itsplanned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a liberal, at the time sometimes seen as radical, newspaper. A successor paper,The Star, is published as a free bi-weekly newspaper.
James FitzGerald was the newspaper's first editor, and it was FitzGerald who in 1861 set up its main competitor,The Press, over theLyttelton Times' support for theLyttelton Rail Tunnel. In 1935, it wasThe Press that won the competition for the morning newspaper market in Christchurch; theLyttelton Times was the oldest newspaper in the country when it ceased that year.
The Canterbury Association was formed in order to establish a colony in what is now the Canterbury Region in theSouth Island of New Zealand. Part of the plan was to have a newspaper, and a prospectus was published in August 1850.[2] The Canterbury Association entered into a contract with Ingram Shrimpton, of the Crown Yard Printing Office,Oxford, to send out the necessary plant in one of theFirst Four Ships toLyttelton.[3] The printing equipment arrived on theCharlotte Jane on 16 December 1850, and the first edition of theLyttelton Times was published less than one month later on 11 January 1851.[4]
The press was first installed in a shed on Norwich Quay. John Ingram Shrimpton, Ingram Shrimpton's son, came out on theCharlotte Jane with some staff for the newspaper and was manager and canvasser.[3]James FitzGerald was the first editor for theLyttelton Times, and had agreed to work for free.[1][4] One of the early contributors to the newspaper wasJohn Robert Godley.[3]
Ingram Shrimpton came out from England in 1854 and took over as editor. FitzGerald had effectively relinquished the editorship upon his election asSuperintendent of theCanterbury Province in July 1853.[4] The production moved to more spacious premises in Lyttelton's Oxford Street in 1854.[3] In July 1856, Shrimpton sold the newspaper toCharles Bowen andCrosbie Ward for £5000.[3] Ward became editor and showed great talent in running the newspaper. When he lost his seat inParliament in 1866, he could devote himself full-time to journalism and was regarded as Canterbury's best satirical writer.[5]
In 1861 Bowen sold his interest in the business toWilliam Reeves, andWilliam John Warburton Hamilton[6][7] and Thomas William Maude became minority shareholders.[3][8]
Due to the growth ofChristchurch, the newspaper moved to this bigger market in 1863, but kept its original name. The new location for the newspaper was in Gloucester Street, with the section extending back toCathedral Square.[3][4] The buildings were extended several times and in 1884, the Star Building was established at the Gloucester Street frontage[9] and between 1902 and 1904, the final office building, theLyttelton Times Building, was constructed on the Cathedral Square frontage bySidney and Alfred Luttrell.[10]
Ward died in November 1867 and Reeves took editorial and managerial control.[3] Later, his son,William Pember Reeves, joined the staff. A lawyer by training, he reported Christchurch Supreme Court cases for the New Zealand Law Reports. His real interest was in politics, though, and he wrote political commentary for theLyttelton Times before becoming the parliamentary correspondent. He became editor of theLyttelton Times in 1889, but resigned in 1891 when he became a minister. Reeves senior died shortly after that and it was discovered that he had mismanaged the finances of the newspaper, and the family lost its control of theLyttelton Times.[11]
TheLyttelton Times started as a weekly newspaper. Beginning on 4 August 1854, the newspaper became bi-weekly.[3] From 1863, the newspaper was published three times a week.[4] After the move to Christchurch, the newspaper became a daily.[3] An illustrated weekly paper, theCanterbury Times, was first published in 1865.The Star, the evening edition of theLyttelton Times, was added to the portfolio on 14 May 1868.[12]
On 1 August 1929, the name was changed toChristchurch Times. The final issue was published on 29 June 1935.[12] Its demise was brought on by intense competition, with two morning papers and two evening papers being published in Christchurch at that time.The Press, which is still published today, took the morning newspaper market. The Lyttelton Times Company was renamed to New Zealand Newspapers Ltd and published theStar-Sun as an evening paper.[4] The successor of that evening paper,The Star, is still published in Christchurch on Wednesdays and Fridays as a free newspaper.[13]
The first edition covered the journey of the First Four Ships, which due to its importance for the history of Christchurch is often quoted.[14][15][16]
Starting with issue 8 on 1 March 1851, theLyttelton Times published the rural sections chosen by land purchasers. Much of the land listed makes up suburban Christchurch. The rural sections (RS) were numbers in the order they were chosen. The table below lists rural sections and notable purchasers. In the 1 March edition, rural sections 1 to 18 were described.[17] This came to an end with issue 17, by which time the first 157 rural land purchases had been reported.[18]
| Issue | Date | RS | Notable purchasers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8[17] | 1 March | 1–18 | Felix Wakefield (RS 2) Guise Brittan (RS 5) Henry Sewell (RS 9) John Watts-Russell (RS 12) Lord Wharncliffe (RS 15) Walpole Cheshire Fendall (RS 18) |
| 9[19] | 8 March | 19–38 | Benjamin Mountfort (RS 20) Guise Brittan (RS 26) |
| 10[20] | 15 March | 39–53 | Benjamin Dudley (RS 40) Guise Brittan (RS 41) Alfred Barker (RS 46) G. Draper andJames FitzGerald (RS 48) |
| 11[21] | 22 March | 54–70 | Joseph Longden andHenry Le Cren (RS 55) Felix Wakefield (RS 56) Richard James Strachan Harman (RS 58) Guise Brittan (RS 60) Benjamin Lancaster (RS 62) Thomas Rowley Jr. (RS 63) Edward Kent andIsaac Luck (RS 64) |
| 12[22] | 29 March | 71–104 | RevCharles Martin Torlesse (RS 81 & 86) George Hart (RS 84) Thomas Rowley Sr. (RS 85) Henry Selfe (RS 91) Charles Bowen (RS 94) Edward Bishop and Frederick Augustus Bishop (RS 98) |
| 15[23] | 19 April | 105–117 | Charles Adderley, 1st Baron Norton (RS 115) |
| 16[24] | 26 April | 118–138 | RevThomas Jackson (RS 121 & 123) |
| 17[18] | 3 May | 139–157 | Rev Thomas Jackson (RS 141, 146, 156) LadyOlivia Sparrow (RS 147) Richard Packer (RS 148) Edward Dobson (RS 152) Charles Simeon (RS 154) |
A topic on everybody's mind was the proposal for theLyttelton Rail Tunnel. Eventually, it became the first tunnel in the world to be taken through the side of an extinctvolcano, and at 2.7 km, the longest in the country.[25]William Sefton Moorhouse became a strong proponent of the tunnel project. During the election campaign of the provincialSuperintendent in 1857, the tunnel became the central issue, with Moorhouse’s opponent,Joseph Brittan, being opposed to the idea. Moorhouse received much support for his position from the residents of Lyttelton, as evidenced by the results of the election: of the 12,000 residents of Canterbury, including 3,205 in Christchurch and 1,944 in Lyttelton, both candidates received 206 votes from the residents of Christchurch. However, overall results were a victory for Moorhouse by 727 votes to 352. Moorhouse later began the project by turning the firstsod on 17 July 1861.[26] The tunnel project was supported by theLyttelton Times.[27] FitzGerald, the first editor of theLyttelton Times until he became the first Superintendent, was vehemently opposed to the tunnel to the extent that he foundedThe Press in 1861, so that he could give a voice to his opposition.[1][28]
Crosbie Ward and theLyttelton Times are credited with the successful campaign for a fast mail service between England and the colony throughPanama to be established.[5][27]
