Diamond Fields Advertiser
The Diamond Fields Advertiser (the DFA) is the oldest surviving newspaper in the Northern Cape.
Founded in Kimberley on 23 March 1878, joined the weekly called the Diamond Field (founded by Alfred Aylward in 1870) and the Diamond News.
The DFA famously survived the siege of Kimberley, only suspending publication for the last week of the 123-day ordeal and then just because the bombardment from the Boer Long Toms was making it perilous for the staff to print the paper, which had long run out of anything worthwhile to print, being forced to go the library and reprint articles from Britain’s other wars to motivate the townsfolk to hold out.
Among the famous journalists and artists who worked for it over the years as editors and/or journalists have been R.W. Murray, F.Y. St Leger, George Green, Vere Stent, Rex Hall, Harvey Tyson and Johan du Plessis.
The DFA went on to outlive the two rivals, continuing to exist as a daily paper to this day. It is now part of the Independent News & Media stable.
Sources
Kevin Ritchie. 2018. 140-year history of Diamond Fields Advertiser, Pretoria News, 26 October 2018. [1]
