Torch flame snuffed out

After 104 years of keeping the community informed and entertained, bringing the news that matters to locals, the Torch will close its doors this week.
Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said the newspaper had been an institution in our City for more than a century and had reported on the good, the bad and the ugly.
“The weekly coverage of local events, human storytelling and love for our community will be sorely missed by all,” he said.
“To the Engisch family, editor Mark Kirkland, and all the hard-working staff and contributors, I say thanks for all the fond memories … memories which will be archived in our city’s history pages and there for future generations to come.”
Torch Publishing Chairman John Engisch said that when his grandfather Lesley Alexander Engisch started the Torch on June 12, 1920, he said it would be a voice piece for the community, making their small voices larger.
“Right up until this last edition, I believe the Torch has fulfilled this role, with our stories and charity projects aiding the community immensely,” he said.
“I have been very lucky in my 63 years in the business to see huge changes in technology which have kept the Torch at the forefront of community newspaper publishing.
“However, a community newspaper must employ people and to do so, sell advertising.
“While we have thousands of loyal readers who read the Torch every week, advertisers have so many different mediums available to them today and as a result, our advertising has been waning.”
He said Covid had also damaged the company which had never really recovered.
“The fact the Torch banner has been going for 104 years and has been produced in a printed newspaper and electronically for nearly two decades in 14 different languages, is an achievement but without advertising support, a newspaper can’t continue and so Torch must close its doors,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how the Canterbury Bankstown community gets the correct local news going forward.”
Torch Publishing General Manager Trent Engisch and other members of the Engisch family (owners of Torch Publishing for more than 100 years and the Auburn Review for over 60 years), said the current economic climate following the effect Covid had on the business, had made it difficult to continue.
“It is with deep regret that our two community papers, the Canterbury Bankstown Torch and the Auburn Review will cease publication on August 28, 2024,” he said.
“I thank the readers and businesses for your support over the many years.”
Torch director and Industrial Project Manager, Christian Engisch said It’s not every day that you have to close a 104-year-old company.
“However, Torch will continue to live within a different industry. Industrial property development has become our new business model and already showing a great future for the Engisch family,” he said.
Chambers Fleming Professionals Padstow, now Property Place Agency, Principal Todd Owsnett said the Torch newspaper was a real institution in the area.
“My father John respected the Engisch family who have always been very well regarded in the community,” he said.
“Every time I visited a house, there was always a copy of the Torch on the dining room table; we are incredibly sorry to see it go.”
Federal MP for Blaxland, Jason Clare, said it “is a very sad day for our local community”.
“The Torch has kept us informed, entertained and most importantly, given us a sense that we are part of one big family,” he said.
“The Torch has covered every major event in town over the last 104 years, from the visit of the Queen in 1980 and the burning down of the council building, to the elevation of a Bankstown boy to become the Prime Minister of Australia.
“Thank you to the Engisch family, who for four generations have brought us the news that matters to locals.”
Former State MP for Bankstown, Tony Stewart, said it had been a privilege over many years to work closely with the Torch family.
“During its journey across 104 years, Torch newspaper has been an integral part of Canterbury Bankstown including its backbone and historical record,” he said.
“The great positive legacy left by the Torch in our community will not be forgotten and has helped forge Canterbury Bankstown into the great City it is today.
“Over the years, the Torch has feared no one through its news stories and has always acted with journalistic integrity.”