The ''Avoca Mail'' is a newspaper in

Avoca, Victoria Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. Geography The town stands in the gently undulating basin of the ...

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 began printing 11 December 1863 at High Street, Avoca under proprietor John Ferrara Pinto Paten (1833–1898). Discussing the town's prospects in July 1864, the ''Avoca Mail'' prophesied that the cultivation of vineyards in the district could well give rise to a flourishing industry. This vision took more than 100 years to become a reality. In its early years, the newspaper played a prime role in documenting the region's growth. In the fifty years following the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851, more than 190 newspapers were published on the central Victorian goldfields. Many in this tally only made brief appearances or abortive starts, however the ''Avoca Mail'' flourished and was to continue publishing until

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ( ...

Even in 1867,

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

still played a large part in the lives of the people in the district. Every edition of the ''Avoca Mail'' during this period had large parts of the paper devoted to mining news. Regular items listed the mining companies meeting and their decisions. At least two mining companies based had the memorandums of their meetings published. The ''Avoca Mail'' was not the sole paper for the town. One historian tells the story of business rival Thomas McHugh, proprietor of the ''Avoca Free Press'' from 1873–1904, being in dispute with John Paten, proprietor of the ''Avoca Mail''. Among the paper's staff was printer, journalist and politician James Edward Fenton (1864–1950). At age 13, Fenton became a printer's apprentice with the ''Avoca Mail''. At 21, he moved to

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 ...

. The ''Avoca Mail'' printed its "Jubilee Issue" on 23 December 1913 and a souvenir issue with the theme "Back to Avoca" on 11 December 1974.

Melbourne Observer The ''Melbourne Observer'' newspaper is circulated across Victoria every week. It was established by transport magnate Gordon Barton in September 1969 as the "Sunday Observer", Melbourne's first Sunday newspaper. Barton ran the paper for 18 months, ...

editor Ash Long attempted to help keep the paper publishing beyond

by making "arrangements to lease the title of the ''Avoca Mail'' newspaper from journalists Lindsey Arkley and John Merlo, who had become co-owners and publishers. It did not have the expected monetary returns for Long, so the lease was surrendered after just three months, an option previously negotiated."http://www.melbourneobserver.com.au/ob060322b.pdf With the merger of the Avoca, Ripon and Lexton Shire's in the mid 1990s into the new Pyrenees Shire, one newspaper now covers the entire district. The Pyrenees Advocate has offices based in both Avoca and Beaufort and is published each Friday. The microfilm archive of the newspaper held at the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

holds copies from 11 December 1863 to 26 December 1868. The collection then continues from 1 January 1870 to 22 December 1976.

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External links

* {{trove newspaper, 756, Avoca Mail, Vic. : 1863 - 1900; 1915 - 1918 *Digitise
''World War I Victorian newspapers''
from the State Library of Victoria Newspapers published in Victoria (state) Newspapers established in 1863 Newspapers on Trove

See also

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External links