THIRTY years ago this month, the North West Star celebrated its 21st birthday, and like any 21 year old of the time it was given a set of birthday keys.
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These keys were the keys to the city of Mount Isa, presented by then Mount City City Council mayor Tony McGrady.
Reporting on the event, the May 13, 1987 edition of the Star said the paper celebrated its 21st birthday a day earlier on the anniversary of its birth with a function involving newspaper management and staff, Mount Isa City Council, Mount Isa Mines and the community.
“The function hosted by Mayor Tony McGrady and Mayoress Sandra McGrady at the Civic Centre, was attended by Carpentaria Newspapers chairman Sir Asher Joel, managing director Dr Michael Joel and general manager Mr Kelvin Fairbairn,” our front page article of May 13 read.
“In his ‘birthday’ address, Ald McGrady said for the past 21 years the North West Star had been an intimate part of the Mount Isa family.”
Speaking three decades later, Mr McGrady said the role of the newspaper in Mount Isa remained vital.
“I’ve had a long association with the Star and while I’ve been critical from time to time, one of the reasons I have faith in the paper since Day 1 is I have seen what it has done to promote harmony in the community,” Mr McGrady said.
Mr McGrady said the roots of the paper came out of the divisive Mount Isa Mines strike of 1964.
“When that dispute finished Mount Isa Mines hired Sir Asher Joel to advise them on public relations and as a result this city changed for the better.”
Mr Joel advised the Mines to arbitrate with its workers and also establish a credit union and allow its workers to buy homes which transformed the city from a working men’s camp to a community, Mr McGrady said.
Mr Joel also started the North West Star on May 12, 1966 and he later bought the Mount Isa Mail from Rupert Murdoch (the only Australian newspaper Mr Murdoch has ever sold) before combining the resources of the two into one newspaper.
“It was a breath of fresh affair,” Mr McGrady said.
Mr McGrady said despite the problems of media companies like Fairfax (current publishers of the North West Star) a newspaper remained an important resource for communities like Mount Isa.
“In an isolated community such as ours, the paper is vital and I’ll do all I can to promote it,” he said.