Only two incomplete issues of the Southern star newspaper appear to have survived, although four were aparently published. It is difficult to know what the intention of the newspaper was, but coloured cartoons by G. Illman are featured and depict prominent figures of the time including Premier Charles Cameron Kingston and Chief Justice Samuel Way. The 1890s was a period of political and social change in Australia, and some of this is reflected in the Star, including the unemployment issue. Unusually for the time the newspaper itself names a woman, 'I.K. Henderson' as the proprietor. In fact reports from the insolvency court show the Southern star was established by a Victorian, John Henderson, who induced would-be employees to give deposits as guarantees of their readiness to work for the newspaper, despite which the newspaper did not become financially viable.

"Insolvency Court," South Australian Chronicle, 21 July 1894, p. 12

"Insolvency Court," South Australian Register, 18 April 1894, p. 3