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A typical do-it-yourself Kiwi, Ross Annabell is shown with a deer he shot and , a 120 camera hanging about his neck, down inside the steaming crater of Mount Tarawera which exploded in the 1880s, devastating a large part of the Bay of Plenty in the North Island.
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By Peter Simon
Annabell, destined to become closely involved with Bowditch and Bob Freeden , mentioned in the previous post , NO NEWS IN THE TRUTH , was offered the position because he had applied in l950 for the job as the first editor of the NT News, but had not received a reply to his letter. Then ,“ out of the blue ”, some two years later, he was offered the editorship of a new newspaper to be called the Mount Isa Mail , on a salary of 20 pound ($40) a week, plus two percent commission on any advertising contracts he could write. He accepted the position to start mid-January but , luckily, did not resign from the Mercury as plans for the paper were delayed several months.
In April , Annabell was flown to Sydney and in an interview with Eric White and Don Whitington was confirmed as editor and given many instructions on how they wanted the paper run . They told him they had 20,000 pound ($40,000 ) capital to start the paper and he firmly believed they had received some financial assistance from the mining company. Annabell was instructed to set up an office in the Isa then travel to Townsville and go by rail around the west for a fortnight selling advertising space and gathering copy for the paper . The paper would be printed in Darwin at the NT News.
Both White and Whitington , he felt , had spoken to mine management who were “desperate ” to have a local paper to counter the strong union influence in the town. As a result of that visit to Sydney, Annabell resigned from the Mercury immediately, booked a flight to Isa for late May , the aim being to have the first newpaper out on July 3. He tried to leave the Mercury earlier but the management made him work out his month’s notice , finally departing for Mt Isa on May 26. By this time, Eric White and Associates were in a “ big panic ” because they had heard that a journalist with access to financial backing was trying to buy the newspaper in the nearby township of Cloncurry with plans to also produce a paper for Mt Isa , beating them to the punch.
Annabell arrived in the Isa and discovered that the temporary office which had been arranged for him was to be demolished in two weeks. Therefore his first task was to find a new office , engage an office girl and have a phone connected . After that he had to get cracking on stories and advertising for the first issue. The local MP , a Labor man , was suspicious about the paper . Entertainment in Isa consisted of picture theatres, pubs and a brothel -all of which did a roaring trade.
DISTURBING NEWS SHOCKS SYDNEY
Dilligently doing the rounds on a motorbike , whipping up adverts and copy for the new paper, Annabell was told that a Sydney company had rung a Mt Isa timber and hardware firm seeking land on which to build a newspaper office and printery. This intelligence was quickly passed on and had caused further consternation at Eric White’s . Then a rumour went about the town that the journalist said to be keen to move into Mt Isa had offered 12,000 pound($24,000) for the nearby Cloncurry Advocate plant and buildings. Sydney made counter offers until it eventually succeeded in buying the rundown plant ; it was later moved to Mt Isa. The plant was so primitive that the metal for the linotype machines had to be melted down each day in a wood -fired trough in the backyard .
However, during the months Annabell was in the Isa he was on his own and the Cloncurry paper had not yet been bought . The first edition of the paper came out on Friday, June 26, l953, and consisted of four broadsheet pages. Prominence was given to a Sydney court case in which a man linked with plans to start up a rival paper in Mt Isa had been charged with embezzzling funds from Universal Business Directories. Eric White and Associates had known of the forthcoming court case and had instructed Annabell that he should mention it about town . This was intended to undermine a potential competitor.
One of the stories in the first edition was about two police officers in Camooweal who had been charged with assault and sacked . Annabell had a personal interest in the case -the magistrate was the father of a girlfriend Ross had in Mackay. Later on , Annabell met one of the policemen in the case who had moved to the Northern Territory and he took the journalist on a shooting trip .
As planned, the Mail was printed in Darwin and flown down to Annabell for distribution. During his time in Mt Isa he led a busy life which included parties at the hospital, drinking sessions at 2 am in the pathology department with nurses and being driven home in an ambulance.
Having successfuly launched the Mt Isa paper, he was then directed to Darwin in September to help the NT News in its quest to torpedo the union owned Northern Standard. He was obviously well respected in the Isa because a farewell party was held for him at which the local shire chairman got into a fight because someone shouted him down during a speech praising Ross for his efforts in starting the Mail . The small, hard working journalist , Mac Jeffers-"the Midget Sub" - was sent down from Darwin to take his place, but for a time operated from the Cloncurry Advocate premises . Once the paper was printed it was railed to Mt Isa. Eventually the Cloncurry plant was moved to a site in Mt Isa , but the paper was never much of a goer, eventually bought by Rupert Murdoch. NEXT: Editor hooked on banana fritters.
