Reporters were as grief-stricken as the public when Queen Victoria died

In January 1901, television was the domain of speculators such as H.G. Wells, not part of everyday life, let alone live broadcast via satellite. But thanks to the imperial telegraph service, the people of Dunedin Otago Daily Times .

Public events around the city have been postponed or canceled, including a march in Port Chalmers to welcome troops returning from the ongoing Boer War.

On the evening of January 21st, Mayor Robert Chisholm called a public gathering at the Agricultural Hall “for the purpose of offering prayers for Her Majesty, as a result of Her Majesty’s illness.”

The mayor explained that, as patriotic and loyal people, it was the duty of Dunedin’s residents to come together, show sympathy, and “pray to God to bless her in her declining days.”

Her Majesty has only hours to live, not years, and on January 24th, ODT Each page had a black border. This was an early visual cue that news of a monarch’s death would follow beyond the classified advertisements that were always printed on the front during that era.

Dunedin City Council postponed the previous night’s meeting and citizens gathered at St Paul’s Cathedral and Salvation Army Hall for a memorial service.

Among the many places where mourning locals could pay their respects was Forresters Hall in Port Chalmers, where Tussaud’s Royal Waxworks and Specialty Company honored one of the late Queens. It ran a short season displaying about 50 life-size figures, including

“The first hint that the citizens of Dunedin knew of the end of the most glorious reign the history of the British Empire had ever known was contained in the flag hoisted on the half-mast high telegraph office. began to explain the reaction of

“That signal could only be interpreted sadly.”

If the reporter was sad, the newspaper’s editorial writer was completely grief-stricken.

“The Queen’s death will bring unprecedented changes to national life—at least, unprecedented in the experience of every living person.

“Every Englishman who thinks and feels intelligently must today be conscious, as it were, of the marvelous change in his mental world, which cannot be realized in a day or a week.

“We tell each other that the Queen is dead, but we still say the words almost like a dream.”

Despite the otherworldly melancholy, even in Dunedin, ODT.

An advertisement for the How to Be Happy in Marriage book gift tea claims that the wife’s husband is in a good mood and that the company has given him a free copy of Mrs. was written. and household management.

Also promising happiness was the giver of Mansavita pills. Mansavita tablets were supposed to be able to cure both piles and eczema.

the black border ODTincluded extensive coverage of memorial services in all of the city’s churches, as well as lengthy reports of events in the city’s synagogues.

“If Jews could live under good laws and stand alongside everyone else to uphold the Queen’s authority, then we have reason to mourn Victoria,” said Rabbi AT Chodowski. said.

“Her noble heart will be at rest forever, and many tears will be shed in many grateful Jewish homes throughout the Old and New Worlds.”

While sharing the sense of loss of their compatriots, ODT Columnist “Civis” concluded his thoughts on the issue by looking forward rather than looking backward.

“It is with great sorrow to lose a monarch who has been loved for her virtues for two generations, but those same virtues have ensured her successor a stable throne and a happy omen.

“There’s no reason why you shouldn’t sing with your heart and your voice. Hopefully, GOD SAVE THE KING!”

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz