Last run for the Prince of the Press

Over almost a century working in the newspaper business, Norm Marston witnessed unprecedented changes in the news landscape.

He was there during the golden days when print was king, witnessed the rise of television and online news, and the evolution of social media and all its impacts.

Throughout that period, Norm remained a steady presence at the helm of the Adelaide Hills’ oldest – and, more recently, only – newspaper, and could still be found in his Courier office every morning right up until last week.

On Wednesday, October 15, Norm died peacefully at home, a few days before his 97th birthday.

It was 1936 when Norm Marston entered the newspaper world.

He was only eight years old, but every Tuesday afternoon he could be found riding his chestnut horse, Ginger, through the streets of Burra in SA’s mid-north, carrying a hessian bag full of the town’s weekly paper.

He rode house to house, selling papers for two pennies each.

Norm was from a newspaper family – his father, Frank, and grandfather both published the Burra Record and the Eudunda Courier – but he initially had his sights set on a career in farming.

He studied at Roseworthy Agricultural College, but was eventually called home to join the family business.

In those early days, Norm was the “roustabout”, doing a bit of everything – it was a sound introduction into the newspaper industry.

He later moved to Broken Hill to work for the Barrier Times and expanded his skillset to become a Linotype operator.

In 1952, Frank bought a share in what was then known as The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser, and Norm’s legacy with The Courier and the Hills was born.

Norm began working at the newspaper on his 24th birthday on October 20, 1952.

Back then, the newspaper was eight pages and Frank, Norm and his brother, Peter, did everything from taking sports photos on weekends, to covering evening events.

Over the years he fulfilled various roles at the company, including production manager and, most recently, managing director.

He loved his Courier ‘family’ and would often go above and beyond for his staff.

He could often be found checking in with his employees, chatting about everything from cattle to light aircraft or congratulating them on another good issue.

When businesses across the country began closing during the tough Covid-19 years, Norm was resolute – the paper would keep on going, even if advertising revenue plummeted during lockdowns.

Since 1880, there had never been a time without a local Hills newspaper, and there wouldn’t be now.

Both the community and the paper’s several dozen employees relied on it.

Away from the newspaper, he found time to pursue his passion for agriculture – the family owned Glenstrae Pastoral Co stud in the State’s south-east and, for a period of time, the Mt Lyndhurst Station in the State’s north.

He also had his own properties in the Hills at Red Creek and Wistow, where he ran cattle for many years.

He was a member of the Mountain Pony Club and captain of the Mt Barker Jailbirds B Grade football team.

One of his great passions was flying and he could often be found buzzing around the region in his Piper Cherokee Archer, coming and going from the airfield he owned just outside of Strathalbyn.

His love for flying and newspapers occasionally collided and once, at the age of 87 – long after many would have given up their wings – Norm took to the air over the region with his co-pilot, as a journalist in the back seat shot photos of Langhorne Creek in flood for the next week’s edition.

In 2020 he was made a Life Member of the Southern Districts Flying Club.

Well respected in media world, Norm was also inducted as a Rural Media South Australia Icon in 2011.

Country Press SA president Darren Robinson said Norm was a “true stalwart” of regional news media.

“He was a man whose life was devoted to the service of his community through the power of local news,” he said.

“His dedicated leadership and commitment to independent regional publishing have left an indelible mark on our industry.

“Through decades of thoughtful leadership, The Courier flourished under Norm’s guidance to become one of SA’s most respected and trusted regional newspapers, and a true benchmark for quality journalism and genuine community connection.”

While the landscape of news media has changed significantly over the decades since Norm first began delivering newspapers as a boy in Burra, he always remained firmly convinced of the vital role country papers played in their communities.

He believed it was a country newspaper’s role to reflect its community in every form.

And true to that conviction, over the 73 years he was involved in the paper, it covered everything from major disasters like the Ash Wednesday and Cudlee Creek bushfires to the council decisions that would never make it into a State or national outlet and the local achievements – great and small – of members of the Hills community.

To Norm, it wasn’t just news – The Courier always was the ‘people’s paper’.