The Gazette in Teesside is marking its 150 years in print with a special edition, featuring artwork from the internationally acclaimed artist, Mackenzie Thorpe.
The first ever edition of the newspaper appeared on 8th November 1869 and was described at the time as a “bold adventure,” because none of the team knew what to expect.
The publisher has commissioned two pieces of work from Thorpe, a former shipyard worker, to mark the occasion. The art will appear on the front and back pages of a souvenir supplement in today’s paper.
“The Evening Gazette (as I always knew it as a child) has been a permanent fixture in my life, as much a symbol and embodiment of our community as the Transporter Bridge itself. I am not unique, my memories will be others’ memories too,” Thorpe told the newspaper.
“I remember how as a young lad, growing up on Beechwood, I was, for a while, a paper boy.
“I remember how heavy those bags were; I remember my grandad reading the Sporting Pink; I remember when the big fundraising was going on for the kidney dialysis unit at North Ormesby Hospital in the 1960s, the Gazette, ever at the forefront of local issues, used to print the names of people who had raised money. I remember seeing my name there and feeling so proud to see my name in print.
“It seems to me the Gazette is exactly what a local paper should be – a constant, a part of a community sharing and reporting all the ups and downs of an area and the people who live there.”
The Gazette has published a digital timeline of the newspaper since the very first edition on its Teesside Live website, which you can view here.
