The Queensland Times

The Ipswich Herald first appeared on July 4 1859, launched by four partners Walter Gray, H.M. Cockburn, Arthur Macalister (later Premier of Queensland) and John Rankin.  The editor and publisher was Edmund Gregory who had come from the Sydney Morning Herald to manage the new paper.

One of the Herald's aims was to agitate for separation from New South Wales - but this was achieved on the eve of the paper's first issue.  In its first issue, The Queensland Times (then Ipswich Herald) published momentous news: it issued a special new-sheet which announced that Queen Victoria had agreed to establish a separate colony "Queensland".

Within two years, Gregory had left to join the Moreton Bay Courier (now known as The Courier Mail) and the paper had been sold to three former employees of a rival newspaper The North Australian - Hugh Parkinson, F. Kidner and J. Sloman.  For much of its life, the paper has been a family affair and many names have been associated with its ownership or operation for several generations including Stephensons, Parkinsons, Kippens and Cooks.

They appointed a new editor J.C. Thompson and renamed the paper The Queensland Times, stating "It is our wish not only to represent Ipswich and its neighbourhood but to represent the interests of Queensland generally." The first edition under the new name appeared on October 8 1861.

In spite of this ambitious intention, it was the local region that The Queensland Times represented and the presence of a reporter from "The QT" became an Ipswich institution. The paper also established a network of "Country Correspondents" who sent in reports of daily activities in their small communities.

Before the motor car was commonly used, young reporters rode out into the country on bicycles or made longer journeys by train. Norel Kippen, who retired as deputy editor in 1980, recalled that he travelled to Esk Shire Council meetings by goods train, writing his stories on a portable typewriter on the way back. During the 1893 Floods, Ipswich was isolated and The Queensland Times reporters undertook a dangerous trip to Brisbane in a small boat to find out what was happening.

Standards were very high and a young reporter of early 1900s recalled "Mr Stephenson used to get the first copy off the press delivered to him. He used to go through and write his comments and send them down to us for our edification."

A well-known early staff member Tom Barker, was born in Ipswich in the 1850s and wrote many important historical articles under the names "Red Gum" and "Old Sport". The editor at the time of Federation was John Woolley.

The pressures of modern media and the cost of modern technology eventually made this type of local operation difficult. The paper became a company, then joined with other regional papers to form Provincial Newspaper of Queensland (PNQ).  The group was eventually purchased by Haswell in 1988. Later that same year, its name was changed to APN - Australian Provincial Newspapers.  The newspaper is currently owned by News Corp Australia.  Its final print edition was released at the end of June 2020.  The Queensland Times is now an online only newspaper. 

To access The Queensland Times collection, click on the image above ↑