The Southern Cross is a monthly magazine and website published in Adelaide, South Australia for the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide. For most of its history it was originally a weekly newspaper, whose banner was subtitled "A weekly record of Catholic, Irish and General Intelligence", and later "Organ of the Catholic Church in South Australia".
Contents
History
An earlier Irish Catholic newspaper, The Harp or Harp and Southern Cross, was published in Adelaide, weekly from 1868 to at least December 1875. Publisher was John Augustine Hewitt at 39 King William Street, and printer was Webb, Vardon and Pritchard of Hindley Street.
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.
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. O'Loghlin was appointed managing editor, with an office at 28 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. The first issue was published on 5 July 1889. The masthead proclaimed itself "A Weekly Record of Catholic, Irish and General Intelligence".
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. 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. 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. 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, 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.
Later editors include Matthew Abraham, now a morning radio presenter with 891 ABC Adelaide.
Archives
The Harp or Harp and Southern Cross issues Vol.V No.234 of 5 December 1873 to Vol.VII No.340 of December 24 1875 have been digitized by the National Library of Australia.
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.