About The Bunyip

The Bunyip

The Bunyip is a weekly newspaper published in Gawler, South Australia — one of the state's oldest newspapers, first printed on 5 September 1863. It began life as the satirical journal of the Gawler Humbug Society and grew into the paper of record for Gawler and the districts to its north: the Barossa, the Light region, Playford and the Adelaide Plains. Published every Wednesday and owned since 2003 by the Taylor Group of Newspapers, it survived a brief pandemic suspension in 2020 thanks to public support, and during the Border Watch's closure later that year it was briefly South Australia's oldest rural newspaper still in print.

Overview

Gawler sits on the northern fringe of metropolitan Adelaide, the gateway town to the Barossa Valley wine region. It retains its country feel — a widely scattered farming community, a strongly based horse industry of racing, harness racing and hobby farms, and many sporting clubs — while experiencing a massive population and housing boom as city commuters discover "the best of town and country." The Bunyip, based in the town, is growing with its district: one of South Australia's oldest newspapers, serving a region that is both deeply rural and rapidly suburbanising.

History

The Humbug Society's Chronicle, 1863

The origin of The Bunyip lay in a group that lampooned Gawler's Friendly and Provident societies — the Freemasons, Oddfellows, Rechabites and Foresters — and the pomposity of early colonial public and social life. After several years of existence, the Gawler Humbug Society determined to establish a journal for its creed, and The Bunyip was created: a collaboration between William Barnet, a Scottish-born printer who had established a printing business in Gawler six years earlier, and the Society, with Dr George Nott — later Gawler's town mayor — as the first editor.

The first issue, The Bunyip or Gawler Humbug Society's Chronicle, appeared on Saturday, 5 September 1863: eight pages, priced at sixpence, full of biting satire and tongue-in-cheek commentary, including twelve "rules" and twelve "by-the-bye laws" delivered through the Society's mock offices of the Arch Flam, the Bouncible Bam and the Surprising Sham. It sold out as soon as it was published. The South Australian Register greeted it warmly, observing that it was full of racy articles and local hits, including a very humorous — and strictly correct — account of the Gawler Agricultural Society's last dinner.

The paper explained its name in that first edition: the bunyip, the mysterious creature of Aboriginal stories that is ever near and ever promising to appear but ever eluding sight and grasp, was "the true type of Australian Humbug" — the perfect emblem for a society devoted to satire. In one of the paper's first issues Dr Nott wrote a historical sketch of the town in which he coined the term "Colonial Athens" for Gawler, a name that stuck.

From satire to newspaper

Originally appearing as a monthly pamphlet, the paper became so popular that it was soon published as a bi-monthly broadsheet — from February 1865, on the first and third Saturday of each month, upsized with new printing machinery — and a year or so later as a weekly publication. Somewhat to the surprise of its founders, the Bunyip gradually settled into the role of a newspaper rather than an organ of the Society, as the ongoing need for local news and advertising content asserted itself. E. H. Coombe, in his History of Gawler 1837–1908, claimed it was the first provincial newspaper in South Australia.

The paper's early years were punctuated by libel actions — the occupational hazard of a satirical journal. Dr William Popham, who had set up a hospital in the town, sued Barnet over material he claimed made him the subject of contempt and ridicule; the 1864 hearing was described as vastly entertaining, and the jury found for the plaintiff but awarded damages of just one shilling. Four years later Barnet was sued in the Supreme Court by Henry Edward Bright MP for libel and found not guilty — a decision greeted by both the Register and the Advertiser as a landmark.

In February 1885 the Bunyip's building was destroyed by fire. Barnet wasted no time: he had the paper's competitor of seven years, the Gawler Standard, take over printing duties, then arranged an immediate merger with its proprietor, Richards. The paper was run by Barnet's descendants until they sold it in 2003. Among its editors was George E. Loyau, who edited the paper in 1878–79 and went on to write The Gawler Handbook (1880), an invaluable source on early Gawler.

The Humbug Society itself did not last beyond the 19th century, but its journal is still published today. The Society was mainly devoted to humorous activities, but it also provided an avenue for local intellectual life to thrive — its members met in the old Globe Hotel, and the monthly Bunyip established a newspaper that was initially the vehicle of Gawler's cultural elite and later an important source of information for the whole community. That the paper of the satirists became the paper of record is one of the pleasant ironies of South Australian journalism: the Humbug Society set out to mock the district's institutions, and ended up creating its most enduring one.

Taylor Group and the 2020 suspension

Since 2003 The Bunyip has been owned by the Taylor Group of Newspapers — alongside The Murray Pioneer at Renmark, The River News at Waikerie, The Loxton News and The Border Times at Pinnaroo — and printed in Renmark. On 1 April 2020 the paper announced it would cease publication "indefinitely" as a result of losses from the coronavirus crisis. But public support brought it back shortly afterwards, and during the Border Watch's temporary closure from August to October 2020, The Bunyip briefly became South Australia's oldest rural newspaper still in print.

Content

The Bunyip covers the Gawler district agenda: the farming communities of the Barossa, Light and Adelaide Plains; the wine industry; the equine world of thoroughbred and harness racing; the growth suburbs and their infrastructure debates; council affairs across its council areas; courts, health, education and community events; and the district's crowded sporting calendar. Across more than 6,000 issues it has provided a comprehensive history of Gawler — its colonial, agricultural and industrial years — making its archive one of the great records of South Australian provincial life.

Coverage and Audience

The paper's distribution area includes Gawler, the Barossa, Light, Playford and the Adelaide Plains, circulating in the council areas of Gawler, Barossa, Light, Playford, Wakefield, Mallala and the Clare & Gilbert Valleys. Its readership spans farming families, winemakers, the equine community, the district's tradies and professionals, and the commuter families of the growth suburbs. A Wikipedia-compiled circulation table listed the paper with a circulation of 8,750 at a cover price of $1.50; current figures are not publicly confirmed.

Ownership

The Bunyip is owned by the Taylor Group of Newspapers, the Riverland-based family publisher that also owns The Murray Pioneer, The River News, The Loxton News and The Border Times. Its ownership lineage runs from William Barnet and his descendants (1863–2003) to the Taylor Group.

Digital Presence

The paper publishes every Wednesday in print and maintains a website and social media channels for news distribution and reader engagement across its districts. Its archive — more than 6,000 issues from the satirical pamphlet of 1863 to the present — documents the transformation of Gawler from a colonial country town, the self-styled "Colonial Athens," into the thriving growth centre it is today.