Adelaide Times

The Adelaide Times was an early newspaper founded by James Allen and printed in Adelaide, the capital of the then colony of South Australia. It was published between 2 October 1848 and 8 May 1858, and evolved through a series of names and publication frequencies, and closed due to uncertainty surrounding Allen's bankruptcy.

History

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The Adelaide Times was established by Allen, an experienced newspaper man, in partnership with John Brown and William Barlow Gilbert.[1] Allen, who had just visited England in 1845-1848, had previously worked on other local newspapers, the Southern Australian and South Australian Register, and periodicals such as South Australian Magazine and Monthly Almanac and Illustrated Commentator.[1]

The newspaper's original format and masthead were copied from The Times of London. It was published weekly from October 1848; semiweekly from October 1849; three times a week from March 1850; and, daily from April 1850.[2] As was common for the time, it evolved through various titles, such as The Adelaide Times and General Commercial Advertiser (15 January 1849 – 10 September 1849) and The Times (6 March 1850 – 16 November 1853).[2]

In November 1853 Allen sold the newspaper to a consortium, including Richard Hanson, Robert Torrens, George Stevenson, John Brown, and Edward Gwynne.[3] W. M. Akhurst, who was reporter and sub-editor, resigned rather than work under the new owners. The Adelaide Times was later sold to Allen's former partner, Gilbert, but in 1855 Gilbert went bankrupt and the newspaper was re-purchased by Allen, who himself went bankrupt in early 1858.[1] Shortly afterwards, Rev. John Henry Barrow, a former editor of the South Australian Register founded the morning newspaper The South Australian Advertiser and a companion weekly The South Australian Weekly Chronicle.

Gilbert, who was a nephew of Thomas Gilbert, later moved to Victoria, where he worked for The Argus and became a reporter for the Victorian Hansard. Gilbert next returned to Adelaide, where he held various Government positions. He died on 13 March 1893.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Adelaide Times". www.samemory.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b The Adelaide Times. Digitised newspapers and more. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 2016.
  3. ^ "South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) - 17 Nov 1853 - p3". Trove. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  4. ^ "The Late Mr. W. B. Gilbert". South Australian Register. Vol. LVIII, no. 14, 457. South Australia. 15 March 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
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The Adelaide Times (SA : 1848 - 1858) at Trove