Printed works leave a mark

THERE wouldn’t be many Ballarat people alive who could say they read The Sporting World when it used to be printed in the city.

Following the Ballarat Historical Society’s recent acquisition of a complete set of every copy of the sports newspaper, the publication is being read again.

The Sporting World was put to press locally by printers Berry Anderson from 1890 until the mid-1930s, and with the closure of the Dana Street business, the Berrys unearthed the collection.

“Until recently it was believed all copies of this newspaper had been destroyed,” BHS president Marion Littlejohn said.

“The Ballarat Historical Society only has four random surviving pages in its collection. However, several complete sets were found in the upstairs workroom of Berry Anderson.”

Realising their rarity and significance to Ballarat’s history, Henry and Maxine Berry have generously donated a complete set to the Ballarat

Historical Society.

“Rarely, if ever, is a complete set of a previously thought lost publication discovered,” Ms Littlejohn said.

“These papers will now be conserved, catalogued and added to the Ballarat Historical Society’s research collection.”

She said before telephone communication, Berry Anderson employees visited Melbourne to gather national sporting results.

“The paper was then printed on Saturdays and sold on the street in Ballarat later the same day.

“The paper consisted of four pages, it cost one penny and amazingly there was no change to the price from the beginning of 1890 to the last edition in April 1936.

“With the development and spread of both the telephone and radio, the importance of a newspaper to deliver sporting results declined and the paper ceased production in 1936.”

To celebrate the discovery and acquisition of the set, a BHS exhibition is now on at the Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum at Lake Wendouree called IMPRINT.

It details the history of the Berry Anderson Printing Works, where Henry Berry was a fourth-generation printer. The display is on until June.

“You can see an original page, on the distinctive pink newsprint, from an 1894 issue of The Sporting World on display at the exhibition,” Ms Littlejohn said.

IMPRINT also includes newly acquired Berry Anderson printing proofs from as far back as the late 1800s.

“The days and deeds of Berry Anderson, 1888 to 2021, with their printing, stationery, bookbinding, paper, and packaging activities have left an indelible legacy and imprint that, in many ways, parallels the story of Ballarat itself,” Ms Littlejohn said.