The
Torch was published from premises in North Terrace,
Kitchener Pde, Fetherstone St, and Marion St before moving
back to its original factory in Allingham St. The name
alone must have lit up Bankstown with a new interest
because the Torch was an immediate success.
Over the years Mr Engisch played an important role in the
community affairs of Bankstown, and he was a member of
Bankstown Hospital Board for 21 years. He was also Chairman
of the Board on several occasions and even after he
retired, he maintained his interest in a practical manner.
(The original Bankstown Hospital was an Outpatient's
Department in the Appian Way before it was established many
years later on the Eldridge Road site).As a 'news hound"
Les Engisch rendered a continual assistance to Bankstown
Police and Fire Brigade in the days when his 'Model T Ford'
was known as Bankstown's unofficial patrol car.His
knowledge of local government affairs was exceptional and
many a time he was known for his fierce clashes with
aldermen.
A younger brother, Dudley, assisted in the management of
the Torch, while Les's son Phil and three daughters, Joyce,
Lily and Betty, each played an active part in the paper's
production for varying periods.
Throughout his life, Les Engisch confined his business
enterprises to printing and publishing which has been a
memorial to a man with the courage and conviction to
establish one of the first newspapers in Bankstown and to
uphold the values of the Bankstown/Canterbury district.
The advertisement that appeared on the front page of that
first edition was for the [silent] movies to be screened
that night at the Empire Theatre at Bankstown the "Sauce
for Goose" starring Constance Talmadge and "A Daughter of
Eve" starring Violet Hopson and Stewart Ronie.
And now the news. Bankstown Council was ecstatic that
residents had sent a letter thanking the councillors for
the installation of a drinking fountain on the corner of
Liverpool Road and Hector Street. Council decided to have
the letter framed. In their words "it is so rare to be
blessed by the rate payers! "A list of attendant members of
the council meeting that week included the Mayor Alderman
Graf and Aldermen Townsend, Skelton, Young, Fitzpatrick,
Kennedy and Monohan.As a footnote the Torch editorial said
"we intend publishing the names of the aldermen at each
council meeting for the benefit of the public to "see who's
absent next meeting!
"At the same meeting Bankstown Council decided to purchase
15 acres of land in North Ward. Known as Chisholm Estate,
fronting Clapham Road for the price of £50 per acre, or a
total of £750. South Ward received new fire protection with
the installation of a new telephone that covered fire
brigade stations in the area. The Parramatta State
Electorate Council of the ALP that met at Bankstown, did
not like the new Election Act and it was decided to
advocate for the single electorates system. Almost 6000
consumers of water were under orders from the water board
to have meters installed at a rental price of 8/- [eight
shillings] per annum.
Residents were requested to hire a plumber to install the
devices. When visiting Bankstown, O'Loughlin's Stables
advertised, horses and vehicles could be left at their
premises in South Terrace, Bankstown. In the public notices
it was written "would the person who found a grey woollen
scarf at the Empire Theatre Show on Wednesday, June 2
kindly return the same to Mr Hayes Refreshment Shop.
Soldier's souvenir.
It has been eighty years of life, happiness, sadness,
action, politics, controversy, city building, pollution and
fires. But in the 80 years since The Torch began, some
things remain similar - the stories about what goes on in
this ever-vibrant part of Sydney continue to inform,
inspire and entertain readers - while often at the same
time challenging the authorities.
Still extant in The Torch's dusty filing system, are singed
and crumbling editions of the newspapers that survived the
devastating fire of April 11, 1955. Unfortunately though,
most issues of The Torch published before 1955 were
destroyed in the fire.The fire in The Torch offices began
after an explosion which, according to the front page of
the April 28, 1955 edition, "did blow the building apart. A
police constable has stated that he saw the roof of the
building some distance in the air following the explosion."
The dusty files are a vivid reminder of some of the history
of this newspaper - that has survived some very tough
times. But there are also the less dusty editions of The
Torch that contain graphic portrayals of the times when
Bankstown Council's administration building was burnt down
on July 1, 1997.
In the early days, The Torch was a broadsheet with its own
particular style - and today's tabloid size paper still
maintains its own style. There was a raging debate between
The Torch and the then Observer newspaper in the 1950s
about certain issues about town - which led to a many a
front page story. But there have been plenty of other
issues and controversies that have kept The Torch staff
busy and the presses printing every week so that the
readers would know the talk of the town. There was plenty
of column space devoted to the the issues surrounding
several dismissals of Bankstown Councils.Between 1934 and
today, the council has been dismissed three times by the
State Government - and on each occasion an administrator
was appointed.
The first administrator was Mr W. R. Wylie - in 1934. The
second was Mr H. W. Dane, who administered during 1954,
1955 and 1956 and then in another stint in 1963, 1964 and
1965. Bankstown's politicians have been in many
controversies throughout the 80 years. Paul Keating, who
grew up in Marshall Street Bankstown and went on to become
Prime Minister of Australia was one of them; then there was
the Bass Hill boy, Neville Wran, who became Premier of
NSW.Recently, the long-serving local members Doug Shedden
and Pat Rogan bowed out of politics.
In the 1950s and 1960s there were controversies, debates
and other issues that The Torch reported. From the
Bankstown District Hospital, to building the courthouse,
debate about whether Bankstown should be proclaimed a city
or not, the plans for new shopping centres in Bass Hill and
Bankstown, the decision to build Bankstown Council's
administration centre and increase the number of
councillors to 18, a conspiracy regarding councillors and
developers and the Trotting Club's first meet - were all
recorded in The Torch.
In the 1950s and 1960s there were also environmental
concerns in the area. Swimming was banned in some sections
of the Georges River because of a pollution scare as new
developments sprung up across the area in 1962, the Georges
River National Park took shape in 1964 and a council attack
on vandalism began on November 11, 1964. Public works,
including roads, bridges and works to reduce the number of
unsewered properties were among other big issues. Through
the 1970s and '80s, the issues kept burning and the
printing presses churning. The Member for East Hills Mr R.
J. Kelly criticised Bankstown Council for its support for
high and medium density development in 1970.
It was reported (On December 16, 1970) that Federal member
for Blaxland Paul Keating said he would take an
uncompromising stand against any attempt by the
Commonwealth to use Bankstown aerodrome as a major airline
airport. In the March 3, 1976 edition of The Torch , it was
reported that approximately 1000 residents protested about
the proposed container terminal in the Enfield Marshalling
Yards.The Torch reported that the Bankstown Library was to
be extended in its August 1, 1979 edition and the Old Town
Centre Plaza was officially opened by Neville
Wran.
On July 6, 1983, The Torch reported that a mosque
application for Bass Hill was rejected by Bankstown
Council.On July 9, 1986, there was a report of "gang
warfare" in the Old Town Centre Plaza, involving about 30
people. Reports about (the recently deceased) Ray Buchanan
being elected mayor of Bankstown; and the Revesby
Presbyterian Church burning to the ground were published in
the September 25, 1991 edition of The Torch. On September
10, 1997, The Torch reported that the Holsworthy military
base had been dumped as the site for Sydney's second
international airport.
Many of the staff who have worked with Torch Publishing
Company Limited over the last 80 years will tell you the
success of the operation is due to the firmly entrenched
ideals of the family and community.
When Bankstown was still, what many would regard as a bush
town, Leslie Alexander Engisch purchased a block of land in
present day Sir Joseph Banks Street, Bankstown with the
concept of setting up a suburban newspaper.The first
edition was published by hand, on a sheetfed letterpress on
June 12, 1920 and today a framed copy of page one hangs in
the Torch office foyer at Marion Street. His only son
Philip Charles Leslie Engisch joined the paper directly
after leaving school, and after serving with the Australian
army, returned to spend the next 51 years writing, editing
and performing the position of managing director. His time
at the helm would include some of the most controversial in
newspaper history, and today he is fondly remembered as a
fine journalist who was steadfast in his ideals, a man of
integrity and one who sought the absolute truth.
He was one of only four editors of the Torch the others
being Karen Barrett, Charles Elias and Mark Kirkland.Phil
Engisch is also remembered as a fine humanitarian who gave
much to the community by way of Bankstown Rotary, on the
board of Bankstown Hospital, and a through a deep
commitment and patronage to all local sports.The
present-day Managing Director John Engisch first took up a
position with the paper in 1957 after completing a five
year apprenticeship as a hand and machine compositor.In
1970 he was nominated by the board of the Torch to the
position of director when his uncle Dudley Engisch retired,
and took up the position of Managing Director when his
father died in 1985.
Since that time, like his father (Phil) and grandfather
(Les), John Engisch has shown a deep commitment to the
Bankstown and Canterbury Districts.It is where he lives,
and enjoys most of his leisure time.He is the first to
admit the experience gained from his late father had a
profound influence in his position at the company , but in
his own right John has earned the respect of the local
community as a highly regarded businessman and extremely
generous community-minded citizen. Like his father, he has
had a long association with Bankstown Rotary, and
generously supports countless community projects.John also
started the Queen of Bankstown Quest which has raised more
than $1.7million in last 21 years. He has been its chairman
for the last 15 years.
Today both his sons have followed in the footsteps of their
father, grandfather and great-grandfather by joining the
business.Trent, after completing an apprenticeship joined
the company and is now the General Manager, and brother
Christian is the Web Press Manager. In 80 years the Torch
empire has grown with the community to include four
thriving newspapers - the Torch, the Auburn Pictorial
Review, the Cooks River Valley Times, and the Northern
Beaches Weekender - and today remains as one of the oldest
independent newspaper groups nationwide.
The Engisch family has a highly respected company whose
role in the community is firmly entrenched and is as much a
part of Canterbury Bankstown as any of its famous landmarks
or sporting teams. From an original staff of two, it has
matured into a highly competitive publishing business which
now employs some 140 permanent and more than 300 casuals.
The Torch has won a number of awards in the areas of
community service, production and editorial, one of the
most noteworthy being for Production Excellence In a
Non-Daily/Tabloid Newspaper presented by the Pacific Area
Newspaper Publication Association, the Torch being the
first Australian company to win the prestigious award.
Looking to the future, John Engisch believes Torch
Publishing Company Limited will continue to grow in all
fields. "Whilst the Torch is only small company compared to
larger chains, we are as technologically advanced, if not
sometimes leading the way, particularly in the area of
in-house colour," Mr Engisch said. "Our press is using a
number of colour units which are the first to be installed
in the southern hemisphere and we were also the first
suburban newspaper to be completely using digital cameras."
"Suburban papers are continuing to grow and we see our
company in an equal position to be able to benefit."