When Stock Journal first hit the press in 1904, the newspaper's owners published an advertisement seeking a 'competent man' to take the reigns as editor of the then-named Adelaide Stock and Station Journal.
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Now, as the publication celebrates an incredible 120 years on the press, it does so with a female editor at the helm.
While much has changed over the past 120 years, Stock Journal has never waivered from its desire to be a voice for South Australian farmers.
The Adelaide Stock & Station Journal was originally formed from a syndicate of stock firms in Adelaide, who prior to launch of the paper, would each send out its own weekly or fortnightly circular for their clients, reporting on market results.
By August 24, 1904, an eight-page edition was available, selling for the price of one penny, and containing "reports of the Adelaide and country livestock markets, also the wool, grain and produce markets".
While a 1924 fire in the Adelaide Stock & Station Journal offices destroyed much of the early records, there are some details known.
Louis Arthur Morice, a chartered accountant by trade, was appointed as the Journal's first editor, holding that role until June, 1931, when he was 75, with his wage £700 a year.
In 1922, the syndicate of stock firms was disbanded and a new company, the Adelaide Stock & Station Journal Ltd, was established to take the masthead forward.
Since then, it has undergone a number of name and ownership changes, but it has steadfastly remained 'The Farmer's Bible' - always been there to tell the stories of South Australian farmers and communities, highlight the ongoing innovations in agriculture, cover important news stories affecting primary industries, detail the all-important markets, prices and livestock sales from both near and far, and everything else rural-related both edtiorially and in advertising.
Our special 64-page birthday publication features more than 300 photographs and captions from across the decades, alongside insights into agricultural, rural and regional events and issues of the eras.
Stock Journal online subscribers can also access an enhanced version of the publication online, which includes photo galleries from previous Stock Journal Flashback Fridays, for even more historic moments.
Stock Journal editor Elizabeth Anderson said compiling 120 years of history was "no easy feat", to which publication designer Belinda Stevens agreed.
"For every inclusion, there are probably 20 events and issues left out," Ms Anderson said.
"The past 120 years has been a story of prices rising and falling, of drought and floods, of success and failures. It is the story of countless innovations - some that have stood the test of time and become commonplace, some which have been and gone.
"And as much as has changed in agriculture, so too have things changed on the reporting side.
"From cameras at all to digital cameras to phone cameras; new printing processes, computers, internet, websites. The news no longer waits to be read on Thursday.
"But the common theme of the past 120 years is South Australian agriculture constantly moving forward and Stock Journal being right there to tell those stories."
Grab a copy of this week's Stock Journal, out today, to get your hands on a print edition of this wonderful publication.
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