Delivering news every Friday without fail
Brakpan Herald celebrates 90 years.
On Friday, January 14, 1927, the first issue of the Herald made its appearance on the streets and in postboxes throughout the town of Brakpan.
The Herald’s appearance was a triumph of endeavour on the part of the founder, Edward Wallace, and his staff, who worked many long nights beforehand laboriously handsetting the type and rolling the pages off an antiquated machine.
The first edition, with a circulation of 2 000, was delivered by post.
The paper started as an eight-page 10 by 12 inch (25 by 30cm) sheet.
It was produced by a staff of four in a small works situated in Modder Road (now Voortrekker Road), where the Standard Bank stands today.
The Herald was not without opposition – William Hills, founder of the Benoni City Times – published a weekly titled Golden East News.
This did not deter Wallace, however, and from that first Friday the Herald never missed a single publication day.
The Golden East News eventually ceased publication and, appropriately enough, the Herald moved into the offices and premises previously occupied by the defunct opposition.
The office was situated at the corner of Bedford Street and Queen Avenue, where the Park Hotel stands today.
After being there for some time, an Intertype machine was bought.
This enabled automatic setting, which greatly speeded production and made for increased efficiency all round.
As a result, on May 23, 1929, the size of the paper was increased to sheets of 19 by 12 inches (48 by 30cm) with five columns to the page.
The number of pages, however, remained at eight.
In 1934, the Herald moved again, this time to the corner of Bedford Street and Kingsway Avenue.
The 19 by 12 inch paper remained for 21 years, until September 1950, when it was further enlarged to carry an additional column.
Advertising on the entire front page – almost a tradition with the Herald – was scrapped forever and news was classified into categories of sport, women’s features, events, general and so on.
The whole paper was brightened with the use of attractive headlining and layout.
The years that followed saw a change in the paper’s ownership, from Reliance Press to Amalgamated Press, and to current owners Caxton.
The town and the paper have grown side by side, through the rich years of mining, the lean years and periods of change.
The publication branched into the digital world in 2010 and has a strong online presence, as well as on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
There have also been a few more moves and the Herald settled into new offices along Van der Walt Road, in Dalview, last year.
2016 also saw the paper undergo a redesign – a change that resulted in the publication winning the Best Free Newspaper category at the Caxton Excellence Awards.
The improved design, which is fresh and modern, was specifically created with readers in mind and better tailored to today’s high-tech age.
From an editorial perspective, the redesigned paper retained many of the classic aspects that made it popular in the community, but new elements were created.
Today, the Herald is designed on Adobe InDesign and is printed at CTP in Industria, Johannesburg, with 19 700 copies distributed every Friday.
Throughout all the years and many changes, one thing has remained – the Herald has adhered to the original trends and policies laid down by its founder, who in the first edition 90 years ago, wrote:
“It will be our duty to comment upon public matters of local or national interest. In doing this we aim at fair play and justice all round.”
A legacy to be proud of
Edward Wallace, founder and first editor of the Brakpan Herald, started his career in the printing trade as an apprentice compositor before the Anglo-Boer War.
He worked his way up to a foremanship in his trade and eventually to ownership of one of the largest businesses in Brakpan.
Edward commenced the works of Reliance Press in a small way, with a staff of four in a tiny building.
Machinery was restricted to the bare essentials.
Edward was born in Grahamstown on January 29, 1875.
He came to the Witwatersrand in the 1890s and was first employed at the Heidelberg News.
Edward subsequently moved to Johannesburg, Kimberley and East London, returning to the Rand in October 1910, where he was employed by Messrs George Constable and Co for many years as foreman of the composing room.
In January 1925, he started on his own with Reliance Press.
The company printed counter books, delivery books, statements, letterheads, business cards, wedding cards, stationery, invitations, tickets and anything from posters to catalogues.
Two years later, it published the first Brakpan Herald.
Edward took an active part in the work of the Typographical Union, in which he held a number of important posts, including that of secretary at the Kimberly branch, and as a representative at conferences.
He was a likeable personality and had a wide circle of business and personal friends.
Edward died at the age of 63 on July 10, 1938.
His sons, Edward and Albert, succeeded him.
Edward’s son Allan Wallace still lives in Brakpan and is immensely proud of his family’s legacy.
“I read the Brakpan Herald every week,” he said.
The Sunair Park resident, who is 70, has a trove of Herald relics, including a copy of the Herald’s first edition and several others from the first year, one of which is the March 18 edition featuring a green masthead to mark the St Patrick’s Day Ball.
Allan also has historic photos. One sepia toned image shows his grandfather and four staff members in front of the company’s early works.
Also amongst the treasured items is a copy of the September 26, 1952, edition of the Benoni Mercury – a paper started by the family in opposition to the Benoni City Times.
Allan served his apprenticeship at Reliance Press and has worked in the printing industry all his life.
He was the commercial manager for a printing firm in Spartan, Kempton Park, when he retired.
Herald’s first edition – read all about it
Paging through the first issue of the Brakpan Herald, we find many events and an attractive film programme on offer at the local cinema, The Empire Theatre.
These were the cartoons (one of them a Felix), the African Mirror, Gerald Cranston’s Lady, the Armour Boys in a bright and breezy singing and dancing act, and Tom Mix in Dick Turpin, with Tony the “wonder horse” and a star cast.
The Brakpan and District Caledonian Society organised the traditional Hogmanay in the Town Hall on New Year’s Eve:
“There was a big gathering of local Scots and a most enjoyable evening resulted. The Scottish flag was much in evidence,” reads the report.
Hogmanay was also celebrated at the State Mines Recreational Hall:
“The ball was decorated with coloured balloons and beautifully shaded Japanese lanterns covered the lights,” the article reads.
“Colourful streamers were strung across the hall and clusters of greenery were placed on the stage, which made it look a picturesque bower.
“The delicious supper was served in a large marquee placed outside the hall and the tables were artistically decorated.
“The Regent Dance Orchestra supplied the music and were repeatedly encored.”
The local cricket club waited on the town council and pressed for a new cricket mat.
It was pointed out that the existing mat had been in use for four years and was “beyond repair.”
The first week of publication also marked the commencement of building operations on the Witwatersrand Technical College along Station Road.
The Herald recorded that it was a red-letter day in the annals of our town.
Also featured in the paper, under the heading ‘Brakpan Notes’ was a snippet of hard news:
“Johan Hamilton, an apprentice motor mechanic, Ford Agencies, Brakpan, was admitted to the Boksburg Hospital on Wednesday suffering from severe burning injuries to the right arm, received while working with a blow lamp, the flame of which ignited some petrol.”
Adjacent to this, was the ‘household column’.
Scribed by Martha (sans surname), this provided tips for cooking plums, skinning tomatoes and bottling fruit.
Only one photo can be found throughout the eight-paged paper and the red masthead is the only spot of colour to be seen.
The paper carried no news on the front or back page – both featured adverts.
The front page featured three ads – Parisian Modiste (with the tagline ‘The small shop for big bargains’), Johnston and Co Gent’s Outfitting and Kinghorn’s Boot Store.
A full-page advert for the Rand Furnishing Co was on the back page.
The shop, which was situated at 640 Modder Road, above Standard Bank, stocked oak and teak furniture, but also “a fine selection of water colour pictures, large stocks of Decca Gramaphones, pianos and organs, all to be had on easy terms.”
A message from the editor
The Brakpan Herald is celebrating a wonderful milestone this year and it seems like a good time to thank everyone who has made it possible.
First and foremost, I thank our loyal readers who have stuck with the Herald for the past 90 years. A paper is nothing without its readers.
The Herald has a circulation of 19 700, which is a large audience and we appreciate every one of you.
What is great about being the editor of a newspaper is there is always something new.
Through the years we have made great strides in gathering news to share with the community.
Sometimes it was plain sailing, but we have also endured stormy waters.
It is fitting that in the year we celebrate our 90th anniversary, the Herald won the Best Free Newspaper category at the Caxton Excellence Awards.
This came with hard work and dedication, but is also thanks to our readers who choose to keep us informed.
I started with the Herald in 1986 and have been the editor for 12 years.
Much has changed in the business. We have embraced the digital world and social media.
Nothing is more satisfying than receiving the Herald on my desk on a Friday morning and paging through it.
More satisfying, however, is the thought of those thousands of copies being delivered to homes and businesses, and thousands more reading it online.
The Herald would not have survived 90 years if it weren’t for our loyal advertisers, our readers and the people of this town who so generously share their stories, be it happy or sad.
No one can say what the future holds, but my wish for the Herald is for her to go from strength to strength and to celebrate many more years.
Pages of the past
The Brakpan Herald’s look has changed several times since the paper was founded in 1927. Here’s a look back at some of the different designs.
Loyal supporters over the years
Look familiar? Some local businesses have been advertising in the Herald for years. These ads were found in papers from 1977 – the year of the Herald’s golden jubilee.
Also read:Â Congratulations and happy shopping
Cosy Corner marks it’s 90th anniversary
The history of Cosy Corner Shellhole
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