Your newspaper rings in changes over 140 years

The Bay of Plenty Times is celebrating its birthday today, 140 years after the first edition was published on September 4, 1872.

Nicknamed the "Tauranga Buster" at the time, the fledgling newspaper was a four-page tabloid printed twice-a-week and sold for three pence.

These days the Bay of Plenty Times publishes six days a week and has an average daily circulation of 20,000 papers.

Throughout the intervening 140 years, the newspaper has recorded the ups and downs of the Bay of Plenty and the colourful personalities who created the region's recent history.

In the early days, the newspaper's publication frequency changed almost as much as its ownership. The newspaper changed hands 11 times in the first 40 years, during which it experimented with different combinations of publishing frequency and days.

Other challenges included major fires in the newspaper's offices in 1881 and 1976.

In May 1889, under the ownership of James Galbraith, the Bay of Plenty Times expanded for the first time.

Mr Galbraith launched a weekly paper at Opotiki, and another in Rotorua. The Hot Lakes Weekly Chronicle later went on to become the Rotorua Daily Post which, like the Bay of Plenty Times, is now part of the APN group.

In 1889, the newspaper printed its first photograph - a picture of Wilson's Portland Cement factory on Limestone Island in Whangarei.

Ninety-three years later, the Bay of Plenty Times became the first newspaper in New Zealand to use a digital camera for photography work.

To mark its 140th birthday, the Bay of Plenty Times will print a commemorative history of the newspaper on September 26.

General manager David Mackenzie said the paper had loyally served the region for 140 years, playing a key role in bringing the rapidly growing community together. The paper had been through many changes in that time but the biggest transformation was scheduled for next year.

"We are planning to transform your Monday to Friday paper into a morning compact paper early next year. It's an exciting time for the company and we are looking forward to sharing the next chapter in the paper's history with our readers."