The Martinborough Star

The Martinborough Star has been published under it’s current guise since 2007. It is carrying on the name of an illustrious predecessor which was published between 1904 and 1962. The original Star was a four page broadsheet (the size of the Dominion Post) which was published on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Obviously Martinborough has grown in the last ten years since the first deition so there could be many readers who may be interested in this community paper’s background.

The decision to try to produce a Martinborough specific paper was made after a conversation between David Kershaw and Mike Beckett following a Featherston – Martinborough paper’s decision to discontinue it’s Martinborough content.

Shortly after deciding to go ahead Jasmin Sullivan offered to do the layout which certainly relieved their main concern. After speaking prices with prospective printers it was decided to try to produce a quality paper going for full colour, which a mere ten years ago was still not the norm.

The first issue was fairly thin at only twelve pages, however it was well received and increases in both advertising and copy coming in allowed the next one to be increased to sixteen pages. Now the Star is usually twenty or sometimes more pages. The first print run was one thousand five hundred copies, this has been regularly increased as the town and surrounding countryside has grown, currently it is two thousand six hundred copies an issue printed.

A lot of interest started to come from outside the area and, at Jasmin’s husbands suggestion, it was decided to set up an on-line edition. We are very grateful to Palliser Estate who agreed to sponsor this edition. It has proved to be a winner attracting a huge number of viewers from all over the world. Mostly people planning to come to visit the vineyards. Advertising for restaurants , homestays etc. on this site is available at extremely attractive rates. See David Kershaw for details (David@pandk.co.nz).

Four years ago family and work commitments forced Jasmine to pull out. Fortunately the team at Dustysandlulu, Lindie and Mike, offered to take this key job on – Professionals! They took on making the job and giving the Star a complete make over, the result is the really nice looking paper which lands in your mail box these days.

The increasing number of pages required more copy and hence another writer. We were extremely fortunate, Rachel McCahon offered her services and her interesting pieces were a feature of the Star. Sadly ill health has forced Rachel to take a break and we are currently looking for somebody to take her place.

The production of the Star is very much a labour of love for all involved, right down to the large number of loyal delivery folk, most a wee bit elderly, who make sure the papers end up in the mail boxes. There is no doubt that there is quite a bit of satisfaction as each issue arrives, the result of the month’s work.

So, that’s how it all works – and going by the nice comments we receive from time to time, works very well.