Truth was a newspaper published in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in August 1890 by William Nicholas Willis and its first editor was Adolphus Taylor. In 1891 it claimed to be "The organ of radical democracy and Australian National Independence" and advocated "a republican Commonwealth created by the will of the whole people",[1] but from its early days it was mainly a scandal sheet. Subsequent owners included Adolphus Taylor, Paddy Crick and John Norton.[2]
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | William Nicholas Willis |
| Founded | August 1890 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 1958 |
| City | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Sister newspapers | The Daily Mirror |
Norton established several subsidiaries, including the Sportsman (1900),[3] the Brisbane Truth (1900), the Melbourne Truth (1902) and the Perth Truth (1903 to 1931),[4] and an Adelaide Truth (1916-1964).
Ezra Norton
editAlthough John Norton disinherited his estranged wife, Ada Norton and his son Ezra Norton at his death in 1916 (with the bulk of his estate going to his daughter, Joan), Mrs Norton persuaded the New South Wales Parliament to backdate the new Testator's Family Maintenance Act to take effect before Norton's death. Under this legislation, she succeeded in having his will rewritten in 1920 so that she and Ezra Norton each received a third of his inheritance, allowing Ezra Norton to gain control of the Truth group.[5]
End of Truth
editIn January 1941, Ezra Norton launched The Daily Mirror. In October 1958, he replaced the Sydney Truth with the Sunday Mirror. In December 1958, Norton and the other shareholders sold their shares in Truth and Sportsman Ltd to the Fairfax group, which on-sold it to Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd.[6] The Sunday Mirror continued to be published until 1977 when it was renamed the Sunday which in turn ceased circulation on 7 Oct 1979.[7][8] The Truth (Melbourne) which was initially the Victorian edition of the Truth (Sydney) continued publication until 15 May 1993.[9]
Digitisation
editThe paper has been digitised as part of the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program project of the National Library of Australia.[10][11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Pearl 1958, p. 47
- ^ Pearl 1958, p. 38
- ^ Pearl 1958, p. 165
- ^ Cannon, Michael. "Norton, John (1858 - 1916)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
- ^ Pearl 1958, p. 245
- ^ Lawson, Valerie. "Norton, Ezra (1897 - 1967)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
- ^ "Press timeline 1951-2011".
- ^ "Two hundred years of Sydney newspapers: A short history" (PDF).
- ^ "Truth Newspaper - Entry - eMelbourne - the Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online".
- ^ "Newspaper and magazine titles". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ "Newspaper Digitisation Program". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Sources
edit
- Pearl, Cyril (1958). Wild Men of Sydney. London: W.H. Allen. ISBN 0-207-13539-8.