| Newspaper Name : | Geelong Advertiser |
| About Us: | “Newspapers were established in Sydney well before Melbourne and Geelong were even colonized. John Pascoe Fawkner, the founder of the Geelong Advertiser, also holds the distinction of establishing the first newspaper in what would become Victoria. The Melbourne Advertiser, launched on January 1, 1838, made history as the colony’s first newspaper. Remarkably, the initial nine editions were entirely handwritten, as printing presses and type were not yet available. Following a brief suspension due to the lack of a necessary license, the newspaper re-emerged in February 1839 as The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser. Competition soon arose, with The Port Phillip Herald (later The Melbourne Morning Herald, and today known as The Herald) making its debut on January 3, 1840. Fawkner acquired a new press for the Patriot and entrusted his original press to James Harrison. Commissioned by Fawkner, Harrison used this press to establish a newspaper in Geelong – the Geelong Advertiser. While Harrison became the paper’s proprietor, he is perhaps best remembered for a different invention: the first mechanical ice-making process. The initial editions of the Advertiser, comprising four pages, were printed weekly from a modest four-room house on Malop Street. Within a decade, the growing newspaper transitioned to daily publication, necessitating two office relocations. In 1841, the Advertiser moved to Yarra Street, and in 1849, it relocated to another address on Malop Street. While the Advertiser continued as a morning newspaper, The Melbourne Morning Herald shifted to evening publication in 1869, solidifying the Geelong Advertiser’s position as Victoria’s oldest morning newspaper. The original Fawkner press, offered for auction in 1850, found no buyers. It was subsequently donated to the Museum of Victoria, where it remains a significant artifact of early Australian journalism.”** |
| Publication Day: | Monday to Saturday |
