How the Herald became an instant hit in 1831 – and what that means for our journalists today

Sydney was just 43 years old when the Herald published its first issue from a stone warehouse in George Street amid a wild storm that washed away some of the colony’s streets. The printers worked under borrowed oil lamps and paused their presses for late-breaking news brought by a boat from Hobart.

The year was 1831. Melbourne did not exist. Sydney, home to 16,000 people, would not be declared a city for another 11 years. The first item on the front page of the first paper was a list of transported prisoners who had obtained tickets of leave.

Now, 195 years later, The Sydney Morning Herald is among the oldest continuously published newspapers in the world. And because it is almost as old as Sydney itself, it is woven into the story of the city and the nation in a way few other publications can match.

As a book celebrating our 1931 centenary put it, “the Herald and NSW, and to a large extent, Australia, are so related in their births and in their lives, that to tell the story of the one is but to tell it in terms of the other”.

To put it simply, the Herald knows Sydney. Since the city’s inception, it has championed its residents and helped shape its destiny. It has chronicled its struggles, triumphs and tragedies. It has captured its most precious memories in words and pictures. The way the Herald delivers stories may have evolved from hand-held presses to smartphone apps, but over almost 200 years, its commitment to Sydney and its people has not wavered.

Before the Herald hit the streets in 1831, existing newspapers were, in the words of one founder, Frederick Stokes, “violently written”. Politics in the colony were “running high”. Three young printers saw a need for an “independent, moderate and useful commercial paper”, and borrowed a line from poet Alexander Pope to signal their intention: “Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I.“

In their first editorial, they laid out their founding philosophy – one that has guided the Herald and its journalists for 195 years. “Our editorial management shall be conducted upon principles of candour, honesty and honour,” they wrote. “Freedom of thinking and speaking shall be conceded and demanded.” There was a hunger for a paper that covered Sydney with strength and sense; it was a hit.

These principles are as relevant in 2026 as they were in 1831. There is still “violently written” commentary in the public square, much of it on social media. Partisanship and the silencing of independent voices remain a threat to democracy across the globe. Political temperatures are still running high. The appetite for the Herald’s balanced, nuanced and insightful news and analysis is as great as ever.

There have been many changes to the publication over the years. In 1908, we ran our first photograph. In 1944, during World War II, we put news on the front page for the first time. It was a controversial decision – London’s Times held out until 1966 – but one that the Herald justified by pointing out that there was “an urgent public demand in these critical days for … more news”.

In 1995, smh.com.au – “a precursor to an eventual electronic newspaper,” as it was described – was born. And in 2013, after decades of complaints that the broadsheet was too big to read comfortably on the train, the Herald switched to tabloid size. We now tell stories not only in print, but via video, podcast, social media and interactive graphics. Stories are brought to life in a way Frederick Stokes would never have dreamed were possible.

We are a modern newsroom that is excited about our future and proud of our heritage. Our history is our anchor; almost every generation of Sydneysiders has grown up with the masthead – on copies of the newspaper, along newsagent awnings across Sydney, and online.

The Sydney Morning Herald signals credibility, integrity and constancy. It is the voice of Sydney. As we power towards our bicentenary, the world we report on will change and the way we deliver the news will evolve, but the essence of the Herald will remain.

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