Smith felt Lower Hutt should have its own paper as its population was approaching that of neighbouring Petone (which had managed to sustain a newspaper since 1887).
[2] In 1928, Smith was joined by brothers James and William Kerr of the Petone Chronicle.
The Hutt News thrived due to large population growth in the area in the 1940s and 1950s despite production being threatened during World War II owing to staff shortages which forced it to rely on printers from the Trentham Military Camp staff in Upper Hutt to continue in circulation.
In 1961 William Kerr's son Ted became Managing Director after his father's death.
The Hutt News then became part of Independent Newspapers Limited (INL) in 1972 after it purchased Post's parent company.