Newspaper history – Australia

Collecting oral history is a little like digging for gold. One never knows when a treasure will be uncovered. 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. For full story click here.