Henry Blundell

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Henry Blundell (* 1813 in Dublin , Ireland ; † 15. June 1878 in Sydney , Australia ) was an Irish journalist and the founder of the daily newspaper The Evening Post (1865) in Wellington , New Zealand .

Live and act

Nothing is known about Henry Blundell's parents, childhood or school days. At a very young age he learned the trade of printer . At the age of 20 he got a job at the Dublin Evening Post , which he later took over management until he left the company after 27 years due to disagreement over personnel matters.

In 1845 or 1846 he married Margaret McGowan , with whom he had three sons and three daughters.

In 1860 he emigrated to Australia with his children without his wife, who had probably left him before, and lived for a short time in Melbourne , but then went to New Zealand in 1861 to take on the position of co-manager of the Lyttelton Times in Christchurch . The position did not meet his expectations, so that he soon went back to Melbourne . In 1863 he finally came back to New Zealand to take a job at the Otago Daily Times . In 1864, as a result of the gold rush on the Wakamarina River, he moved to Havelock , where he published the Havelock Mail for the first time on June 1, 1964 in partnership with David Curle . But the "intoxication" was quickly over and the newspaper stopped after a few months in November of the same year.

Blundell and his partner decided to go to Wellington and, since there was no daily newspaper there, they took the chance to establish a daily newspaper. The Evening Post first appeared on February 8, 1865 , but with financial difficulties. Curle , his partner, gave up in July and the two parted ways by mutual agreement. Blundell took over all the debts and continued the evening paper with his two sons, John and Henry . Louis , his third son, also joined the company after finishing school in Dublin .

Despite all the difficulties, the time was favorable for a daily newspaper. Wellington was just about to become the capital of the New Zealand colony again, with a population of just 5,000, and its only competitors , the Wellington Independent , New Zealand Advertiser and New Zealand Spectator , appeared three times a week or just weekly, with the latter appearing forever in August 1865 turned off the printing presses .

In the first issue of his newspaper, Blundell promised liberal journalism that would not allow borders to be crossed and would be politically neutral. In this sense, it set itself apart from its competitors. With his newspaper he stood for fairness and independence, characteristics that his family successors adhered to over the generations . In 1874, Blundell retired from running the newspaper and handed the job over to his three sons. Now retired, he paid a visit to his home country Ireland and on his return traveled to Australia, where he suddenly died on June 15, 1878 in Sydney after a sea voyage.

In a review of his journalistic activities in the Evening Post , Blundell was described as judicial, moderate, and in his reviews inclined to be gracious, and his person was recognized as friendly, personable and humorous. His Evening Post remained in the family until 1972 and had a good reputation in its continuity through its hiring and merger with the Dominion in 2002 and was associated with the city of Wellington , with its town history and with the memory of the Blundell family .

Henry Blundell was transferred to Wellington after his death and buried in Bolton Street Memorial Park .

literature

  • The late Henry Blundell . In: The Evening Post . Volume XVI, Issue 144 . Wellington June 17, 1878, p. 2 (English).
  • The Founder and his Sons . In: The Evening Post . Volume LXXXIX, Issue 32 . Wellington February 8, 1915, p. 13 (English).
  • Patrick Day : The Making of the New Zealand Press . Victoria University Press , Wellington 1990, ISBN 0-86473-089-6 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b History of Wellington 1865-1890 . Wellington City Council , accessed January 17, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Dissolution of Pertnership . In: The Evening Post . Issue 129 . Wellington July 8, 1885, p.  2 (English).
  3. ↑ Gravestones . Friends of Bolton Street Memorial Park , 2006, archived from the original on October 14, 2008 ; accessed on April 17, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
personal data
SURNAME Blundell, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish journalist and founder of The Evening Post in Wellington, New Zealand
DATE OF BIRTH 1813
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1878
Place of death Sydney , Australia