Geelong Advertiser
Encyclopedia
The Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong
, Victoria
, Australia
, the Bellarine Peninsula
and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is currently owned by News Limited
. It is the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association 2009 Newspaper of the Year (circulation 25,000 to 90,000).
, a Scots emigrant, who had arrived in Sydney
in 1837 to set up a printing press for the English company Tegg & Co.
Moving to Melbourne
in 1839 he found employment with John Pascoe Fawkner
as a compositor and later editor on Fawkner's Port Phillip Patriot. When Fawkner acquired a new press Harrison offered him 30 pounds for the original old press to start Geelong's first newspaper. The first weekly edition of the Geelong Advertiser appeared on Saturday 21 November 1840: edited by 'James Harrison and printed and published for John Pascoe Fawkner (sole proprietor) by William Watkins...' .
Its first editorial offered the following doggerel:
By November 1842 Harrison became sole owner. For the first seven years the paper was printed in demi-folio size before changing to broadsheet
. In 1858 the newspaper retired the original wooden press and adopted new typography and was printed by mechanised steam printing.
The newspaper did not feature actual news on the front page until 21 June 1924, coinciding with the inauguration of a new printing press. Before this time the front page was filled with classified advertisements
. Trials of a tabloid size paper were trialled during 2000, when a Sunday edition was printed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
. The large broadsheet
paper size was used until 2001, when the newspaper changed to the tabloid size which has been used since.
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the Bellarine Peninsula
Bellarine Peninsula
The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is currently owned by News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
. It is the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association 2009 Newspaper of the Year (circulation 25,000 to 90,000).
History
The Geelong Advertiser was initially edited by James HarrisonJames Harrison (engineer)
James Harrison was an Australian newspaper printer, journalist, politician, and pioneer in the field of mechanical refrigeration.-Early life:...
, a Scots emigrant, who had arrived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1837 to set up a printing press for the English company Tegg & Co.
Moving to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1839 he found employment with John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner was an early pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land , to sail to the mainland in his ship, Enterprize...
as a compositor and later editor on Fawkner's Port Phillip Patriot. When Fawkner acquired a new press Harrison offered him 30 pounds for the original old press to start Geelong's first newspaper. The first weekly edition of the Geelong Advertiser appeared on Saturday 21 November 1840: edited by 'James Harrison and printed and published for John Pascoe Fawkner (sole proprietor) by William Watkins...' .
Its first editorial offered the following doggerel:
By November 1842 Harrison became sole owner. For the first seven years the paper was printed in demi-folio size before changing to broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
. In 1858 the newspaper retired the original wooden press and adopted new typography and was printed by mechanised steam printing.
The newspaper did not feature actual news on the front page until 21 June 1924, coinciding with the inauguration of a new printing press. Before this time the front page was filled with classified advertisements
Classified advertising
Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge...
. Trials of a tabloid size paper were trialled during 2000, when a Sunday edition was printed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. The large broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
paper size was used until 2001, when the newspaper changed to the tabloid size which has been used since.
Further reading
- Don Hauser, The Printers of the Streets and Lanes Of Melbourne (1837 - 1975) Nondescript Press, Melbourne 2006