The Children's Hour was a periodical of 16 pages produced by the Education Department of South Australia for distribution in the State's primary schools, first published in 1889.
[1] Oliver David Jones (died 1933) was principal contributor and editor from March 1892 to April 1912.
[2] The magazine was started at the instigation of John Anderson Hartley (died 1896), South Australian Inspector-General of Education, and price per copy was one halfpence,[3] soon increased to one penny ("still cheaper than an English import").
Assistant Inspector-General Charles Lawrence Whitham (died 1908) was the first editor of the magazine,[4] which was generally well received.
[5] The magazine was intended for supplementary reading and recreation, supplying impeccably-written up-to-date information on current events appropriate to schoolchildren, with an emphasis on patriotism and good citizenship,[6] as well as stories, plays and poems, often introducing unfamiliar words to extend the child's vocabulary.