The Advocate (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Advocate is a local newspaper
of Burnie, Tasmania
, Australia
. Its readership covers the North West Coast
and West Coast
of Tasmania, including towns such as Ulverstone, Devonport
, Penguin
, Wynyard
, Latrobe
and Smithton
. It is currently published by Fairfax Media
.
.
The original Burnie Wellington Times office in 1890 stood on a site in Cattley Street and employed a staff of 10. In 1892 The Wellington Times was made a tri-weekly, appearing on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on 2 November 1897, the name was changed to The Emu Bay Times reflecting the area in which it was published. The success of the newspaper encouraged the proprietors to extend operations to Devonport and on 4 January 1899 the tri-weekly The North Western Advocate and Agricultural and Mining Gazette was produced.
The separate publication of the two newspapers lasted only 11 months by which time the Government Railway had reached Burnie and on 13 November 1899 the two publications amalgamated to become a daily newspaper, The North Western Advocate and The Emu Bay Times. In 1902, new premises had been erected in Mount St, at the present (2010) site and the staff had increased to 26. In the last decade of the 19th century, the North-West and West Coast were served by a number of daily publications - but by 1920 The Advocate was the sole survivor.
In the 1950s The Advocate was one of the first daily newspapers in Australia to use colour in advertisements and in 1968 it was the first daily newspaper in Australia to publish on a Web-Offset press which today is the industry standard. Over the three years from 1993 to 1996, The Advocate embarked on a technology development programme that resulted in computer based full-page negative output on 1 October 1996.
In 2004, The Advocate became the third largest regional daily of Rural Press
thereby ending the involvement of the Harris family for the first time since inception. In 2008, Rural Press became part of Fairfax Media
, Australia’s largest integrated metropolitan, regional and rural print, online and digital media business in Australasia with The Advocate the only daily newspaper covering all areas of North West and Western Tasmania.
In 2009 when all printing was centralised in Launceston, at a print facility run by The Examiner newspaper, a former rival publication that is now owned by Fairfax Media, the owner of The Advocate. The press was dismantled and shipped off to a newspaper in New Zealand, where it was deployed at another newspaper owned by the Fairfax Media group.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
of Burnie, Tasmania
Burnie, Tasmania
- Sport :Australian rules football is popular in Burnie. The city's team is the Burnie Dockers Football Club in the Tasmanian State League.Rugby union is also played in Burnie. The local club is the Burnie Rugby Union Club. They are the current Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide Division Two Premiers...
, 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...
. Its readership covers the North West Coast
North West Coast
The North West Coast is a region of Tasmania on the north coast of Tasmania to the west of Port Sorell, Tasmania.It includes towns such as Devonport, Burnie, Penguin, Smithton, Stanley. The water to the north is called Bass Strait. The term Cradle Coast has also been in fashion for the last...
and West Coast
West Coast, Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining and tourism, rough country and isolation...
of Tasmania, including towns such as Ulverstone, Devonport
Devonport, Tasmania
-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...
, Penguin
Penguin, Tasmania
Penguin is a town in the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is located in the Central Coast Council Local Government Area on the Bass Highway, between Burnie and Ulverstone. At the 2006 census, Penguin had a population of 2,943....
, Wynyard
Wynyard, Tasmania
Wynyard is a rural town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies west of Burnie on the Bass Highway at the mouth of the Inglis River....
, Latrobe
Latrobe, Tasmania
Latrobe is a town in northern Tasmania, Australia, situated on the Mersey River. It lies 8 km south-east of Devonport on the Bass Highway. It is main centre of the Latrobe Council. At the 2006 census, Latrobe had a population of 2,843....
and Smithton
Smithton, Tasmania
Smithton is a town in the far north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the Bass Highway, 85 km north-west of Burnie. At the 2006 census, Smithton had a population of 3,361. Smithton is the administrative centre of the Circular Head Council...
. It is currently published by Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
.
History
On Wednesday 1 October 1890 Robert Harris and his sons, Robert and Charles published the first issue of The Wellington Times, Burnie’s first newspaper. It was named after the county in which Burnie and Emu Bay were located and was first published only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. With a circulation around 2000 its four broadsheet pages cost 1.5 dPenny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
.
The original Burnie Wellington Times office in 1890 stood on a site in Cattley Street and employed a staff of 10. In 1892 The Wellington Times was made a tri-weekly, appearing on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on 2 November 1897, the name was changed to The Emu Bay Times reflecting the area in which it was published. The success of the newspaper encouraged the proprietors to extend operations to Devonport and on 4 January 1899 the tri-weekly The North Western Advocate and Agricultural and Mining Gazette was produced.
The separate publication of the two newspapers lasted only 11 months by which time the Government Railway had reached Burnie and on 13 November 1899 the two publications amalgamated to become a daily newspaper, The North Western Advocate and The Emu Bay Times. In 1902, new premises had been erected in Mount St, at the present (2010) site and the staff had increased to 26. In the last decade of the 19th century, the North-West and West Coast were served by a number of daily publications - but by 1920 The Advocate was the sole survivor.
In the 1950s The Advocate was one of the first daily newspapers in Australia to use colour in advertisements and in 1968 it was the first daily newspaper in Australia to publish on a Web-Offset press which today is the industry standard. Over the three years from 1993 to 1996, The Advocate embarked on a technology development programme that resulted in computer based full-page negative output on 1 October 1996.
In 2004, The Advocate became the third largest regional daily of Rural Press
Rural Press
Rural Press Limited was an Australian media company which owned approximately 170 newspaper and magazine titles, The Canberra Times being the most prominent. These were predominantly in rural Australia, though it also owned a number of agricultural publications in the United States and New Zealand...
thereby ending the involvement of the Harris family for the first time since inception. In 2008, Rural Press became part of Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
, Australia’s largest integrated metropolitan, regional and rural print, online and digital media business in Australasia with The Advocate the only daily newspaper covering all areas of North West and Western Tasmania.
In 2009 when all printing was centralised in Launceston, at a print facility run by The Examiner newspaper, a former rival publication that is now owned by Fairfax Media, the owner of The Advocate. The press was dismantled and shipped off to a newspaper in New Zealand, where it was deployed at another newspaper owned by the Fairfax Media group.