| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Australian Community Media |
| Founded | August 1927 |
| Language | English |
| City | Port Lincoln, South Australia |
| Website | portlincolntimes |
ThePort Lincoln Times is a newspaper published weekly inPort Lincoln, South Australia. It was first printed in August 1927, and has been published continuously ever since. It was later sold toRural Press, previously owned byFairfax Media, but now an Australian media company trading asAustralian Community Media.
The origins of thePort Lincoln Times began when theRecorder inPort Pirie was taken over by Mrs R.L. McGregor and her two sons. McGregor had worked under David Drysdale at thePort Augusta Dispatch and claims she was instrumental in suggesting that he start a newspaper in Port Lincoln.[1] In 1925, she was approached by another formerDispatch employee, Maurice Hill, to sell theRecorder, but she refused, and as a result, Hill, along with J.E. Edwards, founded thePort Lincoln Times.[1]
ThePort Lincoln Times was first published on 5 August 1927, and unlike many newspapers of the time, it did not continue or subsume a previous publication, and used a simple banner title without adefinite article or sur- and sub-titles.[2] On page 6 of the first issue, the new publication was introduced as both independent and non-sectarian, alongside an overall aim "to entertain and instruct by giving the whole of the news of the district which it serves, and to give it brightly, briefly, accurately and completely".
It absorbed theWest Coast Recorder in 1942 as a result of wartime consolidations. In 1960, it also absorbed theAreas Express (17 September 1959 - 8 September 1960), which had been printed inCleve.[3]
Since its founding, the company has been situated on the same site on Washington Street, Port Lincoln, since 1927.[4] By the 1960s, the Hill family had modernised the look of the paper (with large front-page headlines, sport action photographs and large advertisements), and in 1990 the newspaper was taken over by Rural Press.[5] Alongside many other rural publications in Australia (e.g.Eyre Peninsula Tribune), the newspaper was a member ofFairfax Media Limited,[6] a national company which has been purchasing and rationalising publication assets across the country.[7]
In addition, the newspaper also printed a short-lived free newspaper, theEyre Peninsula Rural Chronicle (1987–1990), and a sister publication, thePeninsula Farmer, in conjunction with theWest Coast Sentinel.[8]
TheWest Coast Recorder began printing in 1904 as thePort Lincoln, Tumby and West Coast Recorder which was shortened to theWest Coast Recorder in 1909. TheRecorder, had absorbed theStreaky Bay Standard and West Coast Advertiser (1912), which was only issued twice by David Drysdale in early April that year, and quickly became a "Supplement to the West Coast recorder".[9] It continued until it combined with thePort Lincoln Times in 1942. It was the first major newspaper established in Port Lincoln. The Port Lincoln History Group was raising funds in 2020 to work with theState Library of South Australia to digitise all editions of the newspaper and make them available onTrove.[10]
ThePort Lincoln Times is published on Thursdays and is printed inMurray Bridge at the high-tech Rural Press printing centre. It serves the LowerEyre Peninsula area, namely:Port Lincoln, Arno Bay, Cleve, Coffin Bay, Colton, Coomunga, Coulta, Cowell, Cummins, Darke Peak, Edillilie, Elliston, Karkoo, Kimba, Kyancutta, Lipson, Lock, Louth Bay, Mount Damper, Mount Hope, Mount Wedge, North Shields, Port Neill, Rudall, Sheringa, Talia, Tooligie,Tumby Bay, Ungarra, Wangary, Wanilla, Warramboo, Warrow, Wharminda, Wudinna, Yallunda Flat, and Yeelanna.[11] The current monthly readership is estimated to be 19,000.[12] Like other Rural Press publications, the newspaper is also available online.[13]
Australian National Library carries images and text versions of the newspaper from 1927 to 1954, accessible usingTrove, the on-line newspaper retrieval service. In 2020 the Port Lincoln History Group was raising funds to also digitise theWest Coast Recorder.[10]