The ''Ararat Advertiser ''is a newspaper published in

Ararat, Victoria Ararat ( Djabwurrung: ''Tallarambooroo'') is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is one of the oldest continuously operating newspapers in Victoria, second in age only to the ''

Geelong Advertiser The ''Geelong Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper circulating in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula, and surrounding areas. First published on 21 November 1840, the ''Geelong Advertiser'' is the oldest newspaper title in Victor ...

''. The paper is now published by

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

History

With the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

printing industry facing periodic unemployment and worsening industrial conditions, formally trained printers and stationers Jabez Walter Banfield and James Gearing emigrated to Australia in search of gold. Arriving on 10 October 1852, they followed the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, where they went into partnership with Edward Holt Nuthall, a printer recently arrived from India. In May 1855 the trio returned to the central goldfields to invest in a printing plant in Maryborough. Between 1855 and 1864 Banfield and Gearing were associated with newspaper or printing offices in thirteen towns. First published on 1 August 1857 as a free single sheet newspaper under the name ''Mount Ararat Advertiser'', the paper was distributed throughout the Mount Ararat gold diggings. A report at the time estimated the number of people on the diggings to be between 40,000 and 50,000. Six months after the death of Nuthall, Banfield bought the newspaper business for £1012 10s when it was auctioned on 20 March 1861. Banfield died in 1899 and the newspaper remained in the family's control until sold to a new company controlled by the Ballarat ''

Courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

'' in early 1962. It was known as the ''Ararat and Pleasant Creek Advertiser'' from 1861 to 1885, then as ''Ararat Advertiser'' from 1885 to the present day.

Digitisation

Some editions of the paper has been digitised as part of the

Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text document ...

of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

. , these were all editions published in the five years 1914–1918.

References

External links

* {{trove newspaper, 229 , The Ararat Advertiser, Vic. : 1914 - 1918 Newspapers published in Victoria (state) Newspapers on Trove