Literary history brought to life
Teacher unveils 1770 US newspaper
WRAPPED in cloth and hidden in the back of a draw for decades, a piece of American literary history has been unveiled for the first time in 250 years at a Gold Coast school.
The March 1770 edition of The Boston Gazzette has been a prized possession and object of fascination for Tom Betts since he discovered it wrapped in a linen handkerchief while rummaging through his father’s things as a child.
The now framed edition, printed a month before Captain Cook’s arrival to Australia, was shared this week with students on the anniversary of its publishing date.
“I got it from my father and he got it from his grandparents who raised him, after that I am not sure how it came into our family’s possession,” the American-born Mr Betts said.
“We don’t have any history of family in Massachusetts so I would imagine it came to our family as a payment of a debt.
“I was around nine years old when I found it in Dad’s draws, he didn’t read it but I would go through it all the time. I was amazed at all the details, how old it was, it was like a treasure.
“Mum finally put it behind glass because it was so old and falling apart.”
Mr Betts, an English and social studies teacher at Somerset College, said this particular edition of The Boston Gazette was of significant historical importance as it was the first newspaper to share the story of the Boston Massacre, which occurred in the days prior to print.
Each of the injuries to the victims was described in intricate details along with the reaction of local business and interesting classifieds of the time.
“The Boston Massacre inspired rebellion against British rule,” Mr Betts said.
“Five years later the American Revolution erupted, not just freeing the colonists from the grips of a distant monarch, but also unleashing a worldwide movement, which continues today, where common citizens fight for individual liberties from repressive governments.
“As English teachers we teach them how to spell, write sentences and recognise themes but these are building blocks to using language as a powerful tool. This paper is a perfect example of that.
“We guide students through the past, analysing events that often seemed insignificant at the time, but were pivotal in altering the course of history.”