Southern Australian

The Southern Australian, later The South Australian, was a newspaper published in South Australia from 2 June 1838 to 19 August 1851.

The Southern Australian was founded by the Crown Solicitor, Charles Mann, and James Hurtle Fisher. The printer was Tasmanian Archibald Macdougall and James Allen was the editor. The newspaper was founded as an opposition to South Australia's first newspaper, the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, edited by George Stevenson. As private secretary to Governor John Hindmarsh (as well as holding a number of other government appointments) Stevenson espoused a strong party line in the pages of the Register. He was also notoriously outspoken against those who disagreed with Governor Hindmarsh, and was taken to court many times for libel, and even once was attacked in the street by Robert Torrens in response to his articles. A clear aim of the Southern Australian was to provide a different perspective to the Register. The new publication incorporated the Government Gazette, a useful source of revenue and guarantee of circulation previously held by the Register.

It is needless to shew that up to this time we have had no Free Press in the Colony. It will on all hands be admitted that one Journal devoted to sectional interests in the community, does not realize the idea entertained of a Free Press. ... We have had indeed a pernicious and corrupting monopoly.

The founding of the Southern Australian carried the stated support of prominent early colonists, including William Light, Robert Gouger, John Barton Hack, BT Finniss and John Morphett. Although its stated purpose was to provide more balanced news reporting in the infant colony, a second aim was clearly to also give a very critical analysis of the news reporting of the rival newspaper.

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