The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 9 (December 1, 1936)

Government Gazette

Government Gazette.

The Government, however, found it necessary to have a paper for the publishing of its notifications. The result was the appearance on 30th December, 1840, of the Gazette Extraordinary. It was printed at the Church Missionary Society's printing office at Paihia. The reason given for its birth was that the “Advertiser” had declined to publish any advertisement for the Government. The fact that a newspaper chose to decline good money in this way is some indication of the bitterness of feeling that existed at the time towards the Administration. With the second number the name was changed to the “New Zealand Government Gazette.” Nineteen numbers had been published when on 7th July, 1841, it was superseded at Auckland by the first issue of a new series, the forerunner of the present Government “Gazette,” which is thus the oldest journal in the Dominion, being ninety-five years of age. Moreover seven years ago the Full Court gave as its considered opinion that the “New Zealand Gazette” is legally a newspaper.

Of the early issues Dr. Hocken says: “From internal evidence I am inclined to think that the printer of the crushed ‘Advertiser’ was employed, and that he was permitted to make the best private use of the paper after satisfying official requirements. Comical juxtapositions thus happened—private advertisements for lodgings, salt beef, and other merchandise displayed on the same page as those signed by His Excellency's command; and in addition there were a few items of news. It was published gratis, which, remembering the mode in which it rose from the ashes of its predecessor, seems enough.” Dr. Thomson writes in a similar strain: “It was partly official and partly not, although there was often difficulty in detecting which was which, and some of the articles were curious compositions for a paper ‘published by authority’.”

“The Bay of Islands Examiner” had also been started as a weekly about the same time as the “Advertiser.” It ceased publication some time the following year.