Street where a national newspaper war played out

Mar 01, 2020 at 01:03 am by Staff


The Canberra building in which national daily The Australian was born is to be demolished to make way for units and offices.

The Australian Newspaper History Group has reported that plans have been lodged for the $17 million redevelopment of the site in Mort Street, Braddon, with a new seven-storey building.

Rupert Murdoch is reported to have told newspapermen at a party in 1964 that he planned to run the Canberra Times from the building, prompting Arthur Shakespeare, whose father Thomas had established the Canberra Times in 1926, to sell the newspaper to Fairfax, which then bought land behind the Murdoch site to prevent him expanding.

The Australian launched in July 1964 - a fortnight after a revamped Canberra Times - and relocated to Sydney after frustrations with airlifting the papier mache flongs from which printing plates were made, from the foggy city. The story of a pyjama-clad Murdoch trying to persuade pilots to fly the editions to Sydney and Melbourne has passed into history.

Sections: Newsmedia industry

Comments

or Register to post a comment




ADVERTISEMENTS


ADVERTISEMENTS