The Kapunda herald was founded in 1864 by Charles Barton of the Tanunda Deutsche Zeitung. Partners James Elliott and James Scandrett were the printers, and just two months after the newspaper was established they became sole owners. For almost 90 years the Kapunda herald was a quality country newspaper, printing news reports from the myriad of tiny settlements stretching across the lower and mid-north of South Australia. Until 1922 when the Angaston Leader began, the Herald was the only English language newspaper covering the Barossa Valley and Murray flats. Bbetween 1903 and 1911, the Herald was also unique as a country newspaper producing a pictorial supplement. The Kapunda herald, throughout its history, was clearly produced by talented printers and editors. James Elliott was the first editor. The well-known politician 'Paddy' Glynn was editor from 1883 to 1891. It was said that Glynn's editorship placed the Herald 'in the forefront of the country press' (Critic, 16 July 1898, p. 13). Charles O'Reilly, a long standing journalist with the Register, followed as editor and part owner from 1909 to 1917. Scandrett died in 1903 and for some years after this the Herald was run by a company.

Kapunda was founded in the wake of the discovery of copper in 1842. When the mining boom ended, prosperity was brought to the town by local pastoralists Sidney Kidman and 'Squire' Henry Dutton, together with the opening of a marble quarry and several iron foundries. By the 1860s Kapunda, with Gawler, was acknowledged as one of the two major country towns of South Australia. It was the perfect location for a newspaper. Kapunda can boast the first country newspaper in South Australia, not published in German. This was the Northern star, published between 1860 and 1863 by George Massey Allen. When Allen's newspaper and printing business failed, his equipment was apparently purchased by Elliott and Scandrett. Between 1872 and 1894 the Kapunda herald was published twice weekly. From 1903 until 1911 a monthly pictorial supplement containing unique photographs of local towns and people, with accompanying articles, was included. The issue of 22 December 1893 contained a large supplement with a calendar and coloured lithograph illustrations of scenes around Kapunda.

An unnamed writer in 1928 recalling Kapunda in the late 19th century, described the Herald as, 'a paper we always enjoyed reading'.

There was a long letter from America, very often quite interesting, tales that everyone enjoyed, all the news of the place we lived in, and much outside information that kept us in touch with the city and other States (Memories of Kapunda and district, p. 56)

From October 1916 until the end of 1917, in what was possibly a unique experiment, the back page of the Herald was printed in the format of a separate newspaper, the Midlands gazette. Complete with a full masthead, the aim was to provide a particular emphasis to Riverton and surrounds. The Herald was possibly sold in that district with this back page title facing upwards.

In September 1923 Leslie Tilbrook took over the newspaper. Tilbrook was the son and nephew of the founding owners of the Northern argus at Clare. He joined the Kapunda herald staff in 1911, working his way up to become manager and editor in 1917. Under him the newspaper continued its strong focus on reporting news of Kapunda and neighbouring towns. Restrictions on the availability of paper and labour during the Second World War forced the newspaper to decrease in size, but following the war it remained at just four pages. During this period the increasing effeciencies of communication and greater mobility, coupled with moves towards larger landholdings and decreasing populations in rural communities, contributed to the demise of many country newspapers - including the Herald. In 1951 Tilbrook sold the newspaper, and it was combined with the Barossa news to become the Barossa and Light herald.