The Friend

The Friend is a South African newspaper published under various names in Bloemfontein since 1850.

The origins: Friend of the Sovereignty and Bloemfontein Gazette

The Free State's first newspaper - the Friend of the Sovereignty and Bloemfontein Gazette - was founded and edited by Richard Godlonton in June 1850, lasting under this name till March, 1854.

Friend of the Free State and Bloemfontein Gazette

In August 1854, when the Free State gained its independence from England, the publication was renamed Friend of the Free State and Bloemfontein Gazette (published by Barlow Bros. & Co.), publishing articles in English, Dutch and Afrikaans till 1894, thereafter in English only till 1899, when the control of the publication was taken over by Lord Roberts, as military commander of the British Forces occupying the city during the Anglo-Boer War.

The Friend

After the war, the newspaper was revived in 1902 by Barlow and renamed The Friend, to become one of two daily newspapers published in Bloemfontein, the other being the Afrikaans daily, Die Volksblad.

Sources

Julian Ralph. 1901. War's brighter side : the story of "The Friend" newspaper edited by the correspondents with Lord Roberts's forces, March-April, 1900. New York : D. Appleton and Co. (The Internet Archive [1])

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2274042

https://www.loc.gov/item/sn88088613/

https://www.eggsa.org/newspapers/index.php/the-friend

Lizette Rabe. 2020. A Luta Continua: A history of media freedom in South Africa. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media: p. 98[2]

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