17 February 1931   Amalgamation of the Register and 
                           the Advertiser

On 17 February 1931 two of Adelaide's leading newspapers,The Advertiser and The Register, amalgamated. This was brought about partly through the increased duty on newsprint, and the effects of the Depression which reduced advertising revenue.

The Register dated from the founding of the colony when it was called The South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register. The Advertiser was begun in 1858 by the Reverend John Henry Barrow. Barrow, who was the editor, also published the South Australian Weekly Chronicle. 

The first South Australian Advertiser appeared on 12 July 1858 and consisted of four pages at a price of fourpence. The first offices and printing works were situated at 117 Hindley Street. In 1869 a four storey stone building was erected on the corner of King William and Waymouth Streets. In 1872 another clergyman, the Reverend William Harcus, became editor and he was followed in 1876 by Jefferson Stow, the son of a parson.

The first rudimentary rotary press, the four-feeder Hoe, was installed that year. John Langdon Bonython became editor in 1884 and it was on 1 January 1884 that the price of The Advertiser was reduced to one penny which resulted in a trebling of the circulation that year. In 1893 Bonython became sole proprietor and remained so until 1929 when a new company, Advertiser Newspapers Ltd, was formed.

It was not until 16 February 1942 that news appeared on the front page of the paper, prior to that the Advertiser lived up to its name and had advertisements on page one.

 On their centenary day, 12 July 1958, the foundation stone for the new building, on the same site on King William Street, was laid by the Governor-General, Sir William Slim.

125 Years of The Advertiser, Advertiser Newspapers Limited, 1983.