The Southern Cross (South Australia)

The Southern Cross was a weekly newspaper published in Adelaide, South Australia for the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide from 1889, and continues to this day as a monthly magazine, and web page.

History

The O'Loghlin years

The Southern Cross was founded in 1889 by the Southern Cross Printing and Publishing Company in 1889 with the aim of publishing news about and for the Catholic community. It succeeded the Catholic Monthly, a magazine published by Archbishop C. A. Reynolds (1834–1893), and from which he was anxious to be relieved.[1]

The original board of management consisted of Archdeacon Russell (chairman), the Rev. G. Williams, Hon. James Vincent O'Loghlin, M.L.C., Dr. O'Connell J.P. and Mr. W. A. Dempsey J.P.[2] O'Loghlin was appointed managing editor, with an office at 28 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. The first issue was published on 5 July 1889.[3] The masthead proclaimed itself "A Weekly Record of Catholic, Irish and General Intelligence".[4]

At the following AGM, at which a profit of over 50% was declared and a 10% dividend was distributed to shareholders, Russell, Williams and O'Connell retired and were replaced by Rev. T. F. O'Neill, Rev. P. Jorgensen and Peter Paul Gillen, M.P.[5] At the 1891 AGM a profit was announced, but the meeting resolved that, rather than give a dividend to shareholders, the cover price of the paper should be reduced. The board remained unchanged.[6] At the 1892 AGM another satisfactory report was read; the cover price had been dropped, circulation and advertising were up, and a dividend was distributed to shareholders.[7] Similar results were announced in the ensuing five years, despite a country-wide depression which was affecting South Australia in particular.

O'Loghlin resigned as editor in 1896,[8] but continued as manager and secretary of Southern Cross Printing and Publishing until 1915, when his duties in the Senate and involvement with the war effort made his continuing involvement impossible; he died of tuberculosis after a long period of ill-health, in 1925.[9]

Later editors include Matthew Abraham, now a morning radio presenter with 891 ABC Adelaide.

Archives

Issues from Vol.I No.1 published Friday 5 July 1889 to Friday 24 December 1954 are available on-line and accessible via Trove, a service of the Australian National Library.

See also

Other Roman Catholic publications in Australia are:

References

  1. ↑ "The Rise and Progress of "The Southern Cross.".". Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 3 July 1914. p. 11. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Southern Cross Printing and Publishing Company". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 25 May 1889. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "New Weekly Paper". South Australian Weekly Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1881 - 1889) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 29 June 1889. p. 1. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Advertising.". Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 5 July 1889. p. 1. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Advertiser Saturday, August 2, 1890". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 2 August 1890. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Southern Cross Printing and Publishing Company". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 4 August 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Southern Cross Printing and Publishing Company". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 30 July 1892. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Southern Cross Printing and Publishing Company". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 25 July 1896. p. 7. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Peter Travers, 'O'Loghlin, James Vincent (1852–1925)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ologhlin-james-vincent-7905/text13747, published in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 4 October 2014.

External links