The ''Burra Record'' was a
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
covering
Burra and the mid-north eastern area of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
that was first printed in June 1876. In 1977, it merged with the ''Review-Times'' to form the ''Review-Times-Record'', which in turn became ''
The Flinders News
''The Flinders News'' is a weekly newspaper published in Port Pirie, South Australia, formed from the historic mergers of multiple Mid-North publications and representing a combined ancestry of 12 former publications. Its earliest constituent p ...
'' in 1989.
Most issues published between July 1878 and January 1954 are freely available online, 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 ...
.
History
The ''Burra Record''
began life as the ''Northern Mail'' which was first published on 30 June 1876 for distribution in
Kooringa
Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek. The town began as a single company ...
. After 26 weekly issues, in 1877, it was renamed to ''Burra News and Northern Mail''. After another 77 issues, the newspaper was then purchased by
Frederick Holder
Sir Frederick William Holder (12 May 185023 July 1909) was an Australian politician. He was Premier of South Australia from June to October 1892 and again from 1899 to 1901. He was a prominent member of the inaugural Parliament of Australia fo ...
, future
Premier of South Australia
The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...
, in June 1878. Schoolmaster Holder, newly married and about to become a father, had missed out on the position in charge of the new Burra Model School. He was forced to look for other work, and took over a local store, selling books, wallpapers, and homeopathic medicines. He also became Town Clerk and bought the ''Record'' from Henry Pether.
The newspaper was then called ''The Record'', subtitled "a paper for the Burra and north-east" (5 July 1878 - 27 September 1878), continuing previous publication order. From Friday, 4 October 1878, it was renamed ''The Burra Record''.
Initially the main newspaper was run by a committee. Holder was managing editor, but three colleagues scrutinised the subject matter. Holder was successful in the new venture, and was one of many newspaper owners who followed their political views in print by standing for Parliament. Holder also organised another publication, the ''North Eastern Times and Terowie News'' (7 January 1881 - 29 December 1882) before selling it to a partner. In 1887 Holder was elected the member for Burra, continuing to run the main newspaper until 1891. In 1892 he became premier, having sold the ''Burra Record'' to William Jenkin Davey.
The ''Burra Record'' continued until March 1977 when, with the ''Review Times'', the newspaper was merged to form the ''
Review-Times-Record''. At the time of its demise, the ''Burra Record'' was run by R.E. and A.J. Angel.
References
External links
Digitised page from ''Burra Record''at State Library of South Australia's SA Memory website
*
{{South Australia newspapers
Defunct newspapers published in South Australia
Burra, South Australia