Newspaper Publishing in Wales

(from the Report of the Newsplan Project in Wales, 1989)

Development of the Newspaper Press

The first printing press was established in Wales in 1718. Prior to that date it must be surmised that the ordinary Welshman had to rely for his 'news' on scraps of information culled from the conversations of his fellow workers in the fields and in the taverns, on the tales told by soldiers, sailors, drovers and other itinerants, on the occasional sermon, and on hearsay in general.

Sometimes an important or sensational event would be celebrated in verse. Thus there is a simple Welsh poem that celebrates the unmasking of the Babington plotters who sought to murder Queen Elizabeth in 1586. The translation of the Bible into Welsh in 1588 is also celebrated in a 'popular' song, while the same author gives thanks in verse for the dispersal of the Spanish Armada in the same year. The failure of the Gunpowder Plot is similarly recorded, while Rhys Prichard, the Vicar of Llandovery and writer of popular verse, wrote a poem to thank God for the safe return of the Prince of Wales - later Charles I - from Spain where he had gone to woo the King of Spain's daughter in 1623. Such poems as these made their gradual appearance towards the end of the Tudor period because by that time the traditional strict metre poetry, which had held sway in the courts of the princes and noblemen for several centuries, was now on the wane, and the works of lesser and more lowly poets began to be noticed and recorded in contemporary manuscripts. It seems reasonable to assume that simple homespun poems about specific events and occurrences had always existed side by side with the official poetic traditon, and had played their part in the spread of information among the ordinary people, albeit on a local and restricted level.

But the imparting of information and news on the printed page did not come within the Welsh experience until 1680 when Thomas Jones, a native of Corwen in Merioneth who had left for London when he was eighteen, published the first of his thirty - two annual almanacs. They were based on the almanacs with which he was familiar in London, and of which there was an abundance, but Thomas Jones placed them in a thoroughly Welsh context giving them a character entirely their own. They usually included a current calendar, general hints on husbandry and medical matters, notices of fairs and various eisteddfodau, lists of notable places and persons, dates of important occurrences since the creation of the world, astrology, prognostications and other varied topics. Welsh almanacs also included literary material such as carols and ballads and, sometimes, instruction for those wishing to master the intricate Welsh strict metres. It is small wonder that these cheap, paper-covered booklets of about forty - eight pages , produced by Thomas Jones and later by his imitators, were by far the most popular Welsh publications of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Apart from his pioneering work as an almanacker, Thomas Jones may also fairly be called the father of the Welsh newspaper, for there are references in his almanacs of 1691 and 1692 to a Welsh news-sheet produced by him for the Welsh market. The venture was not a success, however, and as far as is known no copy of what must be termed the 'first Welsh newspaper' has survived.

Printed Ballads

It was the Government's decision in 1698 not to renew the Licensing Acts, which had previously restricted printing to certain specific centres, that enabled Thomas Jones to move from London to Shrewsbury, thereby bringing him much closer to his Welsh readers. The immense popularity of the material he provided was not lost on others, and soon Shrewsbury printers were producing, as well as almanacs, scores of eight-page pamphlets, usually containing two or three ballads on various subjects, but with the emphasis generally on current and sensational events. These ballads, written for the most part by the pedlars who sang and sold them in fairs, markets and on the streets throughout the country, were by far the most popular of all printed matter to emerge from Shrewsbury, which became for a time a centre of Welsh printing, and from the numerous other presses that sprang up all over Wales after 1718.

The ballads not only provided the common people with entertainment, as they touched on love, religion, legend, folk-lore and new habits such as tea-drinking, but also came to be regarded and appreciated as a source of information as they strove to satisfy the public's eagerness to learn of the latest murders, pit disasters, shipwrecks, pestilences and earthquakes, as well as the latest news from the battlefields of France, America, India and the Crimea. It was only when newspapers, properly so-called, in the Welsh language began to appear in the second half of the nineteenth century that the role of ballads as a means of keeping the common man in touch with the world outside his parish boundaries started to decline.

The first attempt to establish a periodic magazine in Wales was made by Lewis Morris (Llewelyn Ddu o Fôn). He set up a printing press at Holyhead in 1735 and published what was intended to be a quarterly magazine under the title Tlysau yr Hen Oesoedd only one issue of which, however, appeared.

Newspaper Publishing

Newspaper publishing came late to Wales, compared to the rest of the United Kingdom. This can be partly explained by a lack of communications and a sparse population that was largely non-English speaking. Wales is a small country of about 8,000 square miles, which in 1801 had a population of around 580,000 compared with England's 8.5 million. Bilingual newspapers, which sought to cater for Welsh speakers and the much smaller English-speaking element, were at a disadvantage as compared with single-language newspapers since the news-space at their disposal was restricted and they were costly to produce. The inhabitants of the larger towns like Cardiff and Swansea were already served by newspapers published much earlier in Bristol, Gloucester, Hereford and London.

The first newspaper published in Wales, The Cambrian, appeared in Swansea in 1804. Swansea at that time was beginning to develop into a busy commercial and industrial town with the good communications that were necessary for the distribution of the newspaper to the minority of English speakers and readers in the principal towns of South Wales. North Wales followed soon afterwards with its first weekly, The North Wales Gazette, published at Bangor in 1808. Both papers were in English, and both were supported by influential local families as well as by more recently settled English families such as the Hayes and the Dillwyns of Swansea, and the Browns and the Brosters of Bangor. Two years later, a similar paper - The Carmarthen Journal - was to appear which sought its readership in West Wales. Both of the lastnamed papers were conservative in outlook and have survived to the present day.

The first Welsh-language weekly to be published appeared in 1814. It was called Seren Gomer and, like The Cambrian, was based in Swansea. Unlike the others already mentioned, Seren Gomer saw itself as a national newspaper which sought to serve the whole of Wales. It arose from the demand for parliamentary reform which followed soon after the end of the Napoleonic wars, and its founder and editor, Joseph Harris, also known as Gomer, has been described as a moderate reformer, opposed to all forms of violence and bloodshed. He pointed out the woeful state of parliamentary representation in Wales, and demanded a redistribution of seats, an extension of the franchise and electoral reform. The paper's brave attempt to break down the Welsh people's apathy in this direction was, however, to be short-lived. Because of the heavy tax imposed on newspapers and the difficulties encountered in the distribution of the paper throughout Wales, it was discontinued in August 1815. It was to re-appear in 1818 as a fortnightly magazine, becoming a monthly in 1820.

Other Welsh-language newspapers began to appear soon after the reduction in the stamp duty in 1836, the first being Cronicl yr Oes (Mold 1836), although the first two issues appeared as Y Newyddiadur Wythnosol. After the third issue Roger Edwards, a Methodist minister in Mold, undertook the editorship and it became liberal in politics. It was soon followed by Y Papyr Newydd Cymraeg (Caernarfon 1836) with the versatile Hugh Hughes as its printer and proprietor.

An important Welsh newspaper was Yr Amsersau under the editorship of the radical stalwart, William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog). He saw it as his duty to awaken his fellow-countrymen to their basic rights as citizens, to persuade them to think for themselves, and generally to wean them from their forelock-tugging ways. Yr Amserau began publication in Liverpool in 1843, but by July 1848 (no. 117) the imprint read 'Printed and Published in Douglas, Isle of Man, by John Lloyd at the Mona's Herald and Printing Office, top of Post Office Lane in the said town.' This, as in the case of Cronicl Cymru, was obviously an attempt to avoid the stamp duty, and it continued until September 29th, 1848, an issue in which it was announced that it would be the last to be published in the Isle of Man, and in which the editor generally bemoans the difficulties that surrounded publication. Yr Amserau was taken over in 1859 by another redoubtable figure in the field of Welsh publishing - Thomas Gee of Denbigh - who merged it with his Baner Cymru to form Baner ac Amserau Cymru, which survived as a current affairs-cum-literary journal called simply Y Faner, until its demise in 1992.

In 1855, just before the abolition of the Stamp Act, James Rees published Yr Herald Cymraeg (Caernarfon), which again has survived to the present day. In 1890 Y Genedl Gymraeg (Caernarfon), a radical weekly (first published in 1877 ), was bought by a group of local liberals including David Lloyd George who were opposed to the orthodox stance of Yr Herald. Beriah Gwynfe Evans was its first editor and some of the foremost Welsh journalists of the period were associated with it. In 1888 David Lloyd George had already formed a company to establish Udgorn Rhyddid, an earlier radical national newspaper which was set up as a means to facilitate his ambition to become a Member of Parliament. However, he lost interest in the paper after his election in 1890.

In South Wales Y Gwron Cymreig (Merthyr and Cowbridge 1838-1839) was printed by Josiah Thomas Jones, a pioneer of the Welsh newspaper press who had come from Caernarfon. It was revived in 1852 as a fortnightly, published by Jones in Carmarthen and later in Aberdare, which was becoming one of the centres of the developing coalfields of South Wales. Not unexpectedly the paper was anti-establishment and supported the workers against the mine-owners. Y Gwladgarwr (Aberdare 1858) appeared as a weekly, and, like Y Gwron, it was a radical publication although not as intensely political, being criticised on occasions for allowing too much space for eisteddfodau and literary activities. Another paper, Y Gweithiwr (Aberdare 1858), had a more popular appeal than Y Gwron in that it sought to entertain the `working class' by including such features as a serialised story and a family corner. Its life was short, due in part, perhaps, to the fact that it was founded, edited and printed by J.T. Jones who had a genius for courting trouble. Probably the most influential of the Welsh-language newspapers of South Wales, appealing as it did to the coal miners and tin workers of that area, was also published at Aberdare. This was Tarian y Gweithiwr which appeared in 1875 and continued until 1934 (as Y Darian from 1914). A paper akin to it in North Wales was Y Chwarelwr (Llanberis 1891), a publication aimed primarily at the slate quarrymen of Caernarfonshire, and later Y Dinesydd which appeared from Bangor between the 1890s and the Great War.

The following newspapers, the establishing of which belong to this period, were in fact religious denominational publications: Seren Cymru (1851), Y Tyst Cymreig (1867), Y Goleuad (1869), Y Gwyliedydd (1877), and Y Llan a'r Dywysogaeth (1881). They can, however, be considered national newspapers of general interest in as much that they carried news of home and international affairs and provided guidance on the political and local issues of the day.

One paper of which, sadly, no copies have survived is Y Cronicl Wythnosol. That the paper did exist in the 1850s cannot be doubted, as we have the testimony of its editor Lewis W. Lewis (Llew Llwyfo), poet and humourist. In July 1877 he wrote in Y Darlunydd (translated):

After a while I had the privilege of joining Ieuan Gwyllt in the service of the respected Mr. John Lloyd, proprietor and publisher of Yr Amserau. He succeeded Hiraethog as an editor and I conducted a penny paper named Cronicl Wythnosol published in the same office. We were as a matter of course thrown much together and had frequent conversations relating to our official work...The Crimean War was then going on and the whole country, with the exception of a few far-sighted and courageous persons was in a fever of excitement and hostility towards Russia and in favour of Turkey. Ieuan Gwyllt ... threw his weight behind the peace party ... I admit that I was then among the mad anti-Russians .... The Cronicl became more popular than Yr Amserau - not on account of its literary merit, but the warlike feeling which had overwhelmed the country.

Y Cronicl Wythnosol would no doubt make fascinating reading today. Is it too much to hope that a copy - or even a complete run! - still waits to be discovered in some forgotten corner?

The first daily newspaper to be published in Wales was The Cambrian Daily Leader which appeared in 1861. It was followed by the South Wales Daily News (Cardiff 1872), and the South Wales Daily Post (Swansea 1893). But it was the Western Mail (Cardiff 1869) that was to become Wales's foremost daily newspaper and continues as such today. It was established as a conservative newspaper following the extension of the franchise in 1867, but it also promoted Welsh national aspirations by covering all aspects of Welsh life, so much so that it was described by a Liberal writer in 1895 as 'the strongest nationalising agency we have in the country.'

In North Wales, where no daily newspaper appeared, the North Wales Chronicle (Bangor 1827) was published as a weekly, and like the Western Mail it has continued to this day. Like the Western Mail, also, it was a conservative paper which was exceptional as most newspapers published in Wales in the nineteenth century tended to be radical in outlook. It was challenged in 1831 by the Carnarvon Herald which became the Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald in 1836 and survives under that title today. Like the Monmouthshire Merlin (Newport 1829) and the Glamorgan, Monmouth and Brecon Gazette and Merthyr Guardian, known as the Merthyr Guardian (Merthyr 1832, Cardiff 1841), in South Wales, there was constant conflict between these two North Wales papers because of their different political stance.

In the late nineteenth century industrialisation made a substantial impact on the growth of the newspaper industry in Wales. There was a sudden and sharp increase in the population of the industrial areas such as the South Wales coalfield. Ports, market towns and summer resorts developed as a result, and better roads and postal communications became the order of the day. In 1855 the tax on advertisements and the stamp duty on newspapers were abolished, thus opening the floodgates in Wales as in the rest of the United Kingdom. Twenty-five newspapers were being published in Wales by 1860, a figure which rose during the next twenty years to sixty-one, thirteen of which were in the Welsh language, and by 1893 to ninety-five, five of which were in Welsh.

It was not surprising, perhaps, that in 1899 J.E. Vincent could write in The Times:

The growth of journalism, and of vernacular journalism in particular, in the Principality has of late years been little short of phenomenal. My impression, indeed, is that Wales supports more journals in proportion to its population than any other part of the civilised world. (from J E Vincent, Letters from Wales, (London, 1889), 118)

Of these newspapers, R.D. Rees has written:

As the nineteenth century progressed the editors and publishers of the period's newspapers like their counterparts in Ireland, proved most effective instruments in the development of a national opinion and figure prominently in the folk-lore of the Welsh radical tradition. (from R D Rees, 'South Wales and Monmouthshire newspapers under the Stamp Acts', Welsh History Review, 1 (1960), 301)

A characteristic of Welsh newspapers of the nineteenth century in particular is the gusto with which they attack their opponents - political, religious or otherwise - and the seeming boundlessness of their personal abuse. One paper which stood in a class of its own where invective was concerned was the short-lived English-language paper The Figaro in Wales, published in Bangor between 1835 and 1836 by Robert Jones, although the identity of its true sponsors have never become clear. Dr. Thomas Richards, one-time librarian of the University College of North Wales, Bangor, states that there was never a more ferociously outspoken paper. Its main targets were the influential people of Bangor and Caernarfon - especially the latter, including a clique of local Tories who sought to take over the Town Council and the Savings Bank as well as the running of the harbour. In Bangor its arrows were aimed mostly at the Cathedral authorities, especially those who had inherited sinecures through the influence of the late Bishop Warren's family. But it was not always a case of Tory-bashing. The Whig James Hews Bransby, first editor of the Carnarvon Herald was branded as `arch-hypocrite,' `Tory Spy,' `Judas Silkworm,' and `Penrhos bone-polisher,' and Figaro readers were promised a full account of Bransby's career (which included beating a hasty retreat to North Wales from Dudley owing to some shady activities in his dealings with a savings bank there). This article never appeared, but by the end of 1835 Figaro had chased Bransby from the editorship of the Herald, and succeeded in reducing the Caernarfon Tories to a minority on the Town Council. This was the first Welsh newspaper to include an illustration.

It is known that the earlier nineteenth century newspapers such as The Figaro were carefully watched by paid agents of the Home Office, aided by volunteers from among Tory magistrates and the clergy, who would often underline what they considered to be `subversive' material in their copies and send them on to the Home Office. Obvious targets among Welsh newspapers of the period were those which espoused the Chartist cause, such as Udgorn Cymru and its companion The Advocate, each of which at various times was reported to the authorities for endangering the security of the realm, but both of which managed to escape with a warning. They were run by Morgan Williams and David John, the former being a member of the 'National Chartist Association' and the latter a keen supporter of the movement. Parts of the Udgorn were translated and also sent to the Home Office as was the case with Y Gweithiwr: The Workman (Merthyr 1834), another paper which carried Welsh material. The Newport and Monmouthshire Register (1822), the paper of John Frost, Etheridge, Partridge and other Newport radicals, directed a campaign against the Corporation of Newport. Similarily, The Cardiff Recorder and The Cardiff Reporter, both published in 1822, were printed irregularly in order to avoid the restrictions of the Stamp Duty Act. The former poured contempt on the Bute Corporation group which sought to control elections to borough offices and to command Cardiff's parliamentary vote, while the latter was printed in support of Wyndham Lewis of Greenmeadows's parliamentary canvass against Lord James Stuart, younger brother of the Marquis of Bute. The Cambrian Gazette: Y Freinlen Gymroaidd (Aberystwyth 1836) was a bilingual newspaper much in the same mould. These and others published during this period were generally short lived.

The Whig newspaper The Welshman, which appeared under that title between 1832 and 1840, and which was founded as a mouthpiece for the Carmarthen Reform Club, in opposition to the Tory Carmarthen Journal, was charged with libel by the Tory magistrates of Carmarthen and Pembroke no less than five times during those years. In the south-east the Whig - Tory battle raged between the Whig Monmouthshire Merlin (1832) and the Tory Merthyr Guardian, founded soon afterwards to oppose the 'insidious poison' of Nonconformist doctrine put about by the former. While the latter had some success in the surrounding areas, it soon became clear that it was making no inroads in Merthyr itself, described by editor as 'that sink of incurable Radicalism.' One who eyed these wars of words with regret was the Rev. David Charles of Carmarthen, a noted nineteenth-century Welsh divine and hymn writer. Since contemporary opinion about the birth and growth of the newspaper in Wales is not easily come by, his sentiments, expressed at a Calvinistic Methodist Association meeting in 1864, are worth quoting here:

I remember the time when there was not a single Welsh newspaper published in Wales. But matters have much changed since. The newspapers are now more powerful than any other literary effort, but I look upon them, I am sorry to say, with regret; for instead of elevating and improving the taste of the public, they lend themselves to personalities and abuse by giving opportunities to the refuse of the people to blacken the character, and traduce the reputation of public men and public institutions. They encourage disputes and bad feelings, and allow their columns to be used by jealous and disappointed individuals, under assumed names, to pour their venom upon men in whose presence they would not dare to speak. What is the reason that Welsh newspapers are so personal? Does it increase the circulation? If so, the object is low and contemptible. Is it not possible to sustain a newspaper, guided by honourable and worthy motives - one that we can admit into our houses without fear, and where questions would be discussed with intelligence, ability and in the spirit of the Gospel? (from D Tudor Evans, Transactions of the National Eisteddfod, (Cardiff, 1883), 216)

The Twentieth Century

The world of newspaper publishing experienced great changes after the First World War. Newspapers became more popular in content as more space was given to local news such as marriages and deaths, but they also became a means of disseminating political opinion. In Wales, Llais Llafur (1899- 1915) is a good example of this new kind of paper. Under its proprietor, Ebeneser Rees, it became an interesting and readable paper, which included articles on socialism. This was also the period that saw the development of the radio which led to foreign news being received more swiftly. By the 1950s distribution figures showed that newspapers were losing ground, and this trend continued in the 1960s. There is little doubt that the development of radio and television had much to do with the decline, especially the setting up of the Independent Television service which exploited the world of advertising, so important to the newspaper industry.

Between 1973 and December 1992 fifty-four Welsh-language community papers (papurau bro) have been established in Wales, a few of which have ceased publication the meantime. The first of them, Y Dinesydd, was launched in Cardiff in 1973 as a community newspaper for the capital's Welsh-speaking community. This example was soon to be followed in other smaller and more rural areas, such as the Tal-y-bont area in north Ceredigion, by individuals who felt that the lack of use made of the Welsh language by the existing local newspapers needed to be combated. Even in areas where more than 60% of the readers were Welsh speaking, the amount of Welsh-language material provided for them by their local newspaper was extremely low, with meetings and activities carried out entirely through the medium of Welsh being reported in English. At this time, there were only two Welsh weeklies - Baner ac Amserau Cymru and Y Cymro, the former becoming a current affairs journal between 1972 and 1992 - while in Gwynedd, two other Welsh-language weeklies circulated - Yr Herald Cymraeg and Herald Môn. It was apparent to those who gave any thought to the situation that a great many Welsh speakers throughout Wales hardly read anything `journalistic' through the medium of their own language.

A report on 'The Community Papers - The Present and the Future' prepared by Dr. Emyr W. Williams in 1990 shows that five community papers were established in various parts of Wales, between 1973 and 1974, twelve between 1975 and 1976 and fourteen between 1977 (the peak year) and 1978. There has been a steady growth since, so that, as stated above, there now exist fifty-two papers in all. About 70,000 copies, according to the Report, are printed monthly, and with an estimated average of four readers per copy, they have a total readership of around 280,000 per month - a figure in excess of the combined readership of the two `Welsh' daily newspapers - The Western Mail and The Daily Post.

Each papur bro is a totally voluntary venture, and they vary a great deal in size, style and format. Some are professionally typeset, others use word processors while some are still produced on various kinds of typewriters. They receive comparatively small grants from the Welsh Arts Council, but their survival depends much more on sales and effective distribution, local advertising and on local fund-raising activities, which are in themselves an important communal by-product. The news carried by them is parochial in the best sense of the word, but they frequently provide a window on the world by printing reports by or about local residents who have a point of view on controversial issues, or by providing a lead to the community when one is required. One criticism that may possibly be levelled at them is that they tend to concentrate on the `good' news and to avoid such items as local court cases, preferring to leave the unpleasant features of local life to the mainly English-language and long-established local papers.

An integral weakness in all voluntary ventures is that interest may wane after the first flush of enthusiasm, and as the first few papurau bro were founded this truism was often heard. The demise of a few early papers was usually followed by the prediction that the movement as a whole would soon collapse. However, this has not happened, and seventeen years later the report produced by Dr. Emyr Williams points to several interesting longer- term possibilities which could put the existing fifty-two papers on a sound financial footing which would secure not only their continuation into the future but possibly also their development, in the fullness of time, into regular weekly publications.

Welsh Publishing Abroad

Welsh newspapers and periodicals were also published outside Wales - in London and Liverpool for example - and further afield in America and Australia. In common with peoples from all over Europe, the Welsh were to find America an irresistible magnet during the first part of the nineteenth century, especially with the development of the coal and iron industries, and the slate quarries of Pennsylvania. The majority of Welsh emigrants were ardent Nonconformists, and the various denominations soon began to build chapels which became the centres of their activities. It was this kind of society, closely modelled on the society in Wales itself, which the press sought to serve, and it is not surprising that, as in Wales itself, it was the denominational periodicals which enjoyed most success. The first of these was Y Cyfaill o'r Hen Wlad, which was established in 1838 by William Rowlands as an interdenominational publication, but which soon became the official publication of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists in America and which was to survive until 1933. The two other main religious denominations, the Independendents and the Baptists, were soon to follow suit with Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd in the case of the former, which appeared between 1840 and 1904, and Y Seren Orllewinol (1844-1867) and Y Wawr Americanaidd (1872-1896) in the latter case. These periodicals, although closely identified with the denomination which sponsored them, often carried foreign and national news and contained comment on current issues, such as slavery and temperance.

The first Welsh newspaper published in America to cater for the steady stream of migrants from Wales was Cymro America, established in 1832 by a one-time Swansea printer, John A. Williams. This was a bilingual fortnightly publication which survived for a month only. Its successor as a Welsh newspaper, Haul Gomer, which appeared in 1848 and was published at Utica, was also of short duration, ceasing publication after only nine issues. These two early newspapers were to be followed by others, just as short-lived, making in all twenty-one papers aimed at the Welsh Americans and established between 1832 and the 1920s. However, some of those set up had a longer life-span. Y Cymro Americanaidd, printed in New York, survived for five years from 1855-1860, while Colomen Columbia, published in Kansas, and Y Wasg, published in Pittsburg, survived for ten years (1883-1893) and nineteen years (1871-1890) respectively. The most successful among these, however, was Y Drych Americanaidd which began publication in New York in 1851, moving in 1861 to Utica which became the centre of the Welsh-language publishing from the mid-nineteenth century, where it established itself as the main newspaper of Welsh Americans. It remained a Welsh-language publication until the early 1930s, becoming a monthly publication in 1940 and it is still published today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as an English-language newspaper. The development of the Welsh community newspapers in Wales encouraged the setting of a similar publication in America called Ninnau:papur bro Gogledd America which began publication as a monthly in 1975 and continues so today.

The setting up of a Welsh colony in Patagonia in Southern Argentina in 1865 was to lead to further Welsh newspapers being established far away from the mother country. Y Brut, which appeared in manuscript form for a short period after 1868, and Seren Patagonia, which was to follow in August of the same year, were short-lived, as was Ein Breiniad, published in 1878. But in 1891 Lewis Jones, one of the colony's pioneer settlers, founded Y Drafod, as a Welsh weekly which survived as such until 1961. Today it is published as a quarterly, mostly in Spanish.

Emigration to Australia from Wales was on a much smaller scale than that to America, but here again attempts were made to provide the emigrants with periodical publications in their own language. Three titles have ben recorded: Yr Ymgeisydd, which seems not to have appeared after its first issue in 1865; Yr Awstralydd, which appeared between 1866 and 1872; and Yr Ymwelydd which was first published in 1874 and survived until 1876.