Campbelltown’s first newspaper preserved

The first ever copy of a local newspaper in Campbelltown has been repaired and preserved by Council, conserving an important piece of local history.

The Campbelltown Herald, the area’s first newspaper, was published on 14 February 1880 and provided Campbelltown residents with their first localised press.

The newspaper was donated to Campbelltown City Library by the Macarthur Advertiser and preservation work was completed by Bowral conservator Tony Ameneiro which included wet treatments, repairing tears and humidifying the document.

Copies of the double sided two-page paper are being made to ensure it is preserved and the original will be displayed at the HJ Daley Library from Monday 8 February to Saturday 13 February.

“Local newspapers preserve snapshots of our history and the day-to-day stories of our residents and local institutions,” Mayor George Brticevic said.

“Campbelltown has a proud history of local newspapers serving the community so I’m delighted that we’ve been able to preserve an original copy of our first paper,” Cr Brticevic.

“In a time when the way we consume news every day is changing, it is fascinating to see how news was presented to our community in the past,” he said.