New Westminster has had a long history of physical newspapers, but on Aug. 10, that part of its history appears to be coming to an end.

On Thursday, Aug. 3, the New West Record published a piece online explaining that it would stop distributing print editions, adding that it would be moving to a digital-only format. The move would be the same for its sister publications, the Burnaby Now and the Tri-City News.

So what does the history of newsprint look like in New West? We’re taking a look at some of the highlights.

The New Westminster Times

According to the New Westminster Museum and Archives, The New Westminster Times would have first been published on Sept. 17, 1859. Leonard McLure was the publisher. Later, The Times was sold to some New West locals—that’s when the paper was renamed.

The British Columbian, 1.0

The British Columbian was the name given to the newly purchased paper, with its first edition circulating on Feb. 13, 1861. Its office was in Lytton Square—Lytton Square makes up part of what we know today as our Downtown waterfront. The paper’s then-editor is a name familiar to many: John Robson. Robson would eventually become a BC premier, and you’ve probably walked along the street named after him in Vancouver.

While serving as the editor of The British Columbian, Robson issued a series of editorials demanding responsible government. He also pushed for BC to join confederation.

Robson became premier in 1867. Additionally, the paper ended up being sold after some not-so-great economic conditions. In 1869 it changed hands, and headed off to a competitor on the Island. That competitor was The Daily British Colonist in Victoria.

The British Columbian, 2.0

Robson ended up coming back to New Westminster in 1880, and with that return he ended up purchasing another newspaper called The Dominion Pacific Herald. John Robson ended up recruiting his brother David to help run what became the second version of The British Columbian. They published the first issue in January of 1882.

The pull of politics was too strong, and John ended up going back to Victoria about a year later. David managed the paper until around 1888, usually publishing issues of this version of the Columbian several times a week.

When the paper was purchased by the Kennedy family in 1886, it made the move to becoming a daily, as David was only publishing several times a week—not every day. This is how the paper went from being The British Columbian to The Daily Columbian.

New Westminster’s great fire of 1898 impacted The Daily Columbian’s operations, and the publication wasn’t able to put out a paper for a month. None of the paper’s records were salvaged from the fire, and at one point the publication had to work out of Vancouver for a year. The group found a new home in New Westminster—at Sixth Ave. and Clarkson St.—in Sept. of 1899.

The McBride and Taylor era

Another man who would become premier—Richard McBride—was part of a group interested in acquiring the newspaper. In 1900, the group took over the paper from the Kennedy family, though the Kennedys stayed on for a time as staff members. The group that took over from the family were shareholders in the Columbian Company Limited. James Davis “JD” Taylor would join the team months later, first as a managing editor and then as a shareholder in 1902. According to the New Westminster Museum and Archives, Taylor, who would go on to be a Member of Parliament, bought out the rest of the shareholders in 1906. His family would hold on to the paper to its end decades later.

Taylor’s son joined the paper in 1921, and became its director in 1927. He died in 1941, and his two daughters took over. They were also joined by his daughter-in-law and a grandson. After the Second World War, The Columbian actually saw growth; so much so that at one point—in 1964—the paper distributed 22,000 issues and was serving not just New West. The group was also responsible for The Burnaby Columbian and the The Coquitlam Columbian, to name a few. Circulation grew to 36,000 in 1971; by 1980 that number was up to 39,000 in 1980.

Cracks started to show in the early 70s, and despite an effort to try and raise money by the group, the paper ended up in receivership in Oct. 1983.

The Royal City Record and more recent times

Two years before The Columbian ended up in receivership, The Royal City Record was born. According to The Record, it circulated its first issue on Oct. 1, 1981. Another paper, the New West Newsleader, was launched in 1989.

According to The Vancouver Sun, at some point in the timeline Black Press—responsible for The Newsleader—and Glacier Media—responsible for The Record—got together in a deal that would see the swapping of newspapers in communities across the province. In the case of New Westminster, Black Press sold The Newsleader to Glacier in 2014. A year later, The Newsleader put out its final edition, on Oct. 1. This left just one outlet publishing a newspaper in New West—the same outlet that will publish its final physical paper today.

With enough searching, you can still find the New West News Leader’s final issue—ironically but not surprisingly—online. Its final edition went out with the following message on its front cover. The message addressed the reason why the paper took the direction it did for its swan song—which I think is a fitting place to leave this piece.

“Newspapers are an old school medium struggling to stay relevant in a digital world. So perhaps it’s fitting we dip into the past as we succumb to the future.”

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