|
|
A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Aberdeen and Northern Counties Printing
Industry
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
161718192021
2223242526272829303132
Oban
It may be of interest to learn that, prior to the eighteenth century,
Oban had no existence. In his book, The Story of Lorn, its Isles
and Oban, Hugh Shedden states that in 1701 Oban is mentioned as
a creek. He claims the word is derived from the Gaelic ‘Ob’
(creek or bay) with the diminutive ‘an’. It has not been
possible to establish exactly when printing was first introduced
to Oban but Shedden records the appearance of a weekly newspaper
in the town around 1860. It was called The West Highland Journal
and is thought to have been printed and published in Oban for circulation
in the west and north. It was edited by J. Ford MacKenzie, and could
have been one of those newspapers which at that time were being
printed at one centre, containing general news, with each district
adding its local news.
In 1861 The Oban Monthly Pictorial Magazine was launched, price
one penny. It was owned and printed by James Miller at premises
in George Street. In 1866 the Oban Monthly became a weekly and changed
its name to The Oban Times, although also frequently referred to
as ‘The Highlander’s Bible’. A few years later Miller
transferred his printing plant to the top of John’s Lane. He
is also known as the author of The Royal Tourist’s Complete
Handbook, published in 1877.
Soon after Miller’s death in 1881, the newspaper was acquired
for £4,000 by Duncan Cameron of the Edinburgh company Macniven
and Cameron and his eldest son Duncan, jun. Although some-what distant
from Oban, Duncan Cameron’s interest in the town and its newspaper
sprang from the fact that his ancestral home was Ballachulish. Duncan
Cameron, jun., had assumed the editorship of the newspaper but this
arrangement was of short duration when he was recalled to the head
office in Edinburgh. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Waverley,
who was tragically drowned in a boating accident off Lismore in
June 1891.
Previously, in 1886, the newspaper had been enlarged to seven columns
on each of its four pages and some two years afterwards the extent
was increased to eight pages. At that time the paper was printed
on a hand-fed Wharfedale Press.
In 1898 the first Linotype machine in the High-lands was installed
in the Times caseroom. Up until then all composition had been by
hand. Another innovation was the acquisition of a Lancaster reel-fed
machine to replace the aging Wharfedale. The new press was capable
of printing eight pages in one operation.
On the death of Waverley Cameron, his elder sister Mrs Flora Blair
became responsible for the management of the paper and for more
than half a century did more than anyone to raise the profile and
status of The Oban Times. She was widowed and in 1911 married George
Macaulay of the Edinburgh police. Following his retirement, the
couple moved to Oban when the now Mrs Macaulay assumed full control
of the newspaper. In 1924, when he retired from Macniven and Cameron,
Duncan Cameron, jun., joined his sister in running the paper.
In the 1920s and 1930s the circulation of the Times was around 15,000
copies but this dropped to nearer 13,000 copies following the outbreak
of the Second World War. As was the experience of other local newspapers
at that time, Mrs Macaulay and her brother, both by then in their
eighties, encoun-tered increasing difficulties arising from staff
call-ups and a shortage of newsprint.
Alan Cameron, the youngest son of Duncan Cameron, jun., joined the
editorial staff of the Times in 1934. After war service he re-joined
the newspaper and, following an accident suffered by Mrs Macaulay
in 1952, he was appointed editor. Later, when assuming the additional
responsibilities of managing director, he set about modernising
the plant. His first major acquisition was a Cossar press, and this
was followed by the purchase of new Linotype machines.
When Alan Cameron took over, the print run of the newspaper had
risen to 22,330 copies and this continued to increase until October
1973 when it stood at nearly 27,000 copies. However, in that year,
a major crisis arose over the continuing avail-ability of newsprint
which was only solved when agreement was reached with a Scandinavian
com-pany to ship supplies direct to Grangemouth. A further difficulty
was encountered when British Rail announced the closure of the town’s
goods yard where the Times newsprint reels were stored.
An application to the Town Council for a site at Lochavullin was
successful and in April 1975 entry was made to a new building which
not only stored the newsprint reels but also could accommodate a
modern press. This new Goss Community four-unit web offset press,
capable of handling a 16-page issue, was installed and running by
December 1975.
Sadly, before the end of that year, Alan Cameron suffered an accident
which resulted in his decision to relinquish control of The Oban
Times. Among several companies interested in acquiring the newspaper
was the Johnston Press, Falkirk, and ownership passed into their
hands in June 1976. Ian Nicolson became editor for a short period
before being succeeded by Stewart Fairlie. The control of the Times
by the Falkirk group was of short duration and it reverted to private
ownership in 1983 when it was purchased by its present owner, Howard
Bennett. Since that date over £100,000 has been invested in
computer typesetting and finishing equipment. Recently, the Goss
Community press was sold and the printing of The Oban Times, with
its other com-panion papers, is now undertaken by the Johnston Press
at Falkirk.
|
|
Volume 3 published 1996
Buy a
copy of the illustrated book?
Download a PDF (8MB)
|
