Collecting oral history is a little like digging for gold. One never knows when a treasure will be uncovered.
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Some years ago I talked to a very modest man. He had done something incredibly brave on the Somme in the First World War for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. However, he didn't really want to tell me very much about this, and it was only when I asked about his family history, that he became enthusiastic.
Arthur Charles Hall's great grandfather, Edward Smith Hall, was a man of great conviction and compassion. He arrived in Australia from England in 1811 and in 1826 he published the first edition of The Monitor newspaper, in which he advocated trial by jury and freedom of the press.
He so infuriated the authorities by his activities that he was convicted of libel and flung into jail from which, undeterred, he continued to publish his paper.
Such was the tenacity of our first journalists!
Fortunately, amongst the convicts arriving in Australia in the first years of settlement was one George Howe who happened to be an experienced printer and his skills were utilised in the publishing of the earliest newspaper, The Sydney Gazette and NSW Advertiser in 1803. In 1824 William Charles Wentworth was responsible for The Australian, which was described, rather unkindly by a contemporary, as being "moral to the point of priggishness and patriotic to the point of servility--in fact quite pompous and stiff."
Australia's longest running newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald was first published as the Sydney Herald in1831.
The Orange Liberal began as a weekly newspaper about May, 1878 and was changed to the Orange Leader on October 4, 1890, before becoming a daily in1901.
On July 1, 1945, Western Newspapers bought the Leader and on October 1, 1945 the Central Western Daily took its place.
This month the Oral History group remembered newspapers of the past, while the present managing editor of the CWD, Tony Rhead, was able to show us the path of the future.
With the introduction of television into Australian homes in the late 1950s, we were suddenly able to receive our news from a box in our living rooms. In fact, people who were unable to afford a TV set gathered in front of any shop window that displayed one, to watch with amazement, the man who was telling us what was going on in the world.
And that world as we knew it was about to change dramatically.
"I remember the Sydney Morning Herald, the Daily Telegraph, The Truth and the afternoon papers, The Sun and The Mirror”, said Frank Higgins.
"I enjoyed the comics, Ginger Meggs and Speed Gordon.
Tom Hawes used to listen to the radio on Sunday morning when Charlie Chuckles would read the comics over the radio and encourage the children to read along with him.
The mothers of Pat Fitzpatrick and Bruce Martin always turned to the births, deaths and marriages or the "hatches, matches and dispatches" as they called them.
Bruce's mother would then declare that there was nothing else worth reading.
Of course, possibly, nothing much has changed!
The Land still is a popular paper with country people, but it seems to have been the Sydney Morning Herald which had most influence on the young lives of our group.
Bronwyn and Judy learned to read ,sitting with their parents, while they looked at the paper together, while Owen Schwilk's teacher used the leading article as an example of the correct use of the English language.
Every town and most hamlets published their own local paper and these were a source of great interest and information.
As Dot Higgins recalled, the Forbes Advocate had a page of Eugowra news, and possibly its greatest scoop was when the Cassey family went to Orange and "had fifty-two teeth out between nine children."
While many of these newspapers are still operating, our guest, Tony Rhead, was able to point out the changes that are taking place and what the future is likely to bring.
"When I started at the CWD in 2003, we had a staff of 54. We now have 35 and it is reasonable to think that we might have less in 5 years time. This is all due to the digital age. Currently we publish a little over 6000 papers on Saturday but two or three years ago the number would have been closer to 8000", he told us.
This drop is mirrored in every newspaper in Australia and most countries in the world.
"News can be downloaded for free and read online and there is so much competition that if we didn't do it someone else would,” he went on.
"Hard copies are declining and digital is increasing dramatically."
Advertising is important revenue for newspapers and a lot more is made from hard copy than advertising online. However , with the ever increasing interest in shopping online, it is much more competitive and this seems to be the catalyst for the change that we are experiencing in nearly every aspect of life.
"We have 17 editorial staff producing content and reporters now work seven days a week to get breaking news at the weekend,” Tony said.
"Facebook has to be vetted carefully and because stories can be commented upon on social media, we have to be very aware of defamation."
These days when politicians can announce breaking news on Twitter, life is certainly made much harder for our journalists.
As Tony pointed out, "Five years ago a big news story like a bushfire would mean that we would print more papers but now people get news on TV and social media straight away."
However, he did leave the oral history group with some comforting words.
"People will always be interested in what happens in their community and I think there will always be room for a local newspaper,” he said.
As Dot summed up: "Little towns want a 'parish pump'. There will always be local events which are important to people. They need local papers to spread the news."