Initially published as 'The Guardian' from 1937, the newspaper was banned and harassed several times and published under different names, including 'Advance' and 'New Age', and later 'Spark from 1962 until it was finally closed in 1963. Its contributers were harassed, banned, jailed and exiled. Some of its journalists included Brian Bunting, MP Naicker, Fred Carneson, Govan Mbeki and Ruth First.