Know your town 

The original Martinborough Star

The first Martinborough Star news paper came off the old hand press on  Tuesday October 4^th 1904. The proprietor, Mr J H Claridge, had previously started the Kimbolton paper. And so began the twice weekly Martinborough paper. Setting a paper in those times involved meticulously placing each lead letter onto the printing base. When the paper had been printed the process was reversed with the letters being returned to their  respective boxes leaving the  base ready for the next edition to be composed. 

In 1907 the Star was sold to Masterton man Mr Andrew C Nichol.

It by then become a thriving paper publishing three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

The Star’s impressive building was easily seen  on the right hand side as one entered Martinborough from Featherston (sited behind what is now Peonies). An article in a February 1908 Wairarapa Daily; ‘ Premises comprising of a large well lighted printing room, composing room , public and private offices  plus dwelling’.  The building was among the first fifty to be connected to the town’s new electricity supply.

The old hand press had  given place to a ‘modern’ Paynes and Son Otly D.D. Wharfdale printing machine driven by a Hercules gas engine. The new format Star was four pages  with seven columns on each page. Andrew Nichol was assisted by his son  and Mr J MacDonal of ‘The Gums’  in Dublin Street. 

In September 1915 Andrew Nichol sold the paper to Fred Michell of  Akoroa, Nichol went farming at Hinakura. Fred Michell kept the paper in the Ohio Street building until 1920 when he shifted it to Jellicoe street ( the building now a hairdressers). Fred Michell continued to produce a very interesting and up to date on local news paper until his death in 1944. With local help the paper continued to be published until Fred’s son Charles returned from the War.

Charles Michell continued his father’s good work publishing the local news,  particularly in reporting very accurately all the council and other local meetings. When the final Martinborough Star was delivered on Wednesday the fifteenth of August 1962 people realised what they were going to miss out on – The Wairarapa papers seldom reported events in Martinborough, unless there being a drama.

Mate Higginson