Still printing after 160 years

As The Star reaches a milestone of 160 years this month, reporters Brenda Harwood and Simon Henderson delve into the archives.

The origins of The Star begins with the first edition of The Evening Star published on May 1, 1863.

It was first owned by brothers George and William Henningham but the siblings did not get on and William soon bought his brother’s share in the business.

The newspaper’s office was on Stafford St and it was printed by its neighbour, Mill, Dick and Co.

On February 2, 1864 the worst fire in Dunedin up until then ripped through Stafford and Hope Sts, destroying about 30 properties, including the home of The Evening Star.

The newspaper was re-established in a building nearby but it struggled and in 1869 George Bell bought the paper, merging it with his own newspaper, The Evening Independent.

By 1885, the newspaper had a circulation of 50,000 a week — enough to claim it had the biggest circulation in the country.

On October 11, 1928 the newspaper reached a milestone of 20,000 publications.

Later the same year on  December 27 the paper announced it was moving into grand new premises on the corner of Stuart and Cumberland St, running a seven-page feature on the history of the newspaper, and proudly claiming, with the exception of ground floor shops and part of the first floor, the entire 4970sq m of space in the new building would be occupied by the Evening Star Company, Ltd.

In 1975 competing daily newspapers the Otago Daily Times and The Evening Star became bedfellows when they merged to form Allied Press Ltd.

The The Evening Star ceased publication as a daily paper on November 3, 1979, relaunching the following week  as twice weekly community newspaper The Star Midweek and the The Star Weekender.

In early 2002 it became simply the weekly edition The Star, and it continues to serve the community in Dunedin.