''The Bathurst Advocate'' was a weekly English language
broadsheet
A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...
newspaper published in
Bathurst, New South Wales
Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in ...
,
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 ...
.
History
This newspaper was first published on 5 February 1848 by Benjamin Isaacs, possibly with financial support from Geoffrey Amos Eagar, an accountant.
Isaacs had previously set up two newspapers in
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, as well as one in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
After 10 issues of the paper had been published, its subscribers numbered 70.
Only 87 issues of the paper were published, the last being number 39 of Volume 2, which was published on 29 September 1849.
The short life span of the newspaper has been attributed to two libel actions which were brought against the editor in 1849.
During that year the paper regularly published criticisms of the local police, and in particular the Chief Constable, John Davies. A poem published by the paper resulted in a libel action by Davies. In reporting the libel action in the newspaper, Isaacs re-published the verses which had sparked the court action, thus leading to a second action.
Before the libel suits came to court, Isaacs sold the Advocate's press, types and building to William Farrand for £450. Farrand then started up the
Bathurst Free Press newspaper, publishing the first issue on 6 October 1849. Isaacs was imprisoned for two months and was fined £40 1s.
Digitisation
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 ...
.
Australian Newspapers Digitisation Project
/ref>
See also
* List of newspapers in New South Wales
This is a list of newspapers in New South Wales in Australia.
List of newspapers in New South Wales (A)
List of newspapers in New South Wales (B)
List of newspapers in New South Wales (C)
List of newspapers in New South Wales (D)
Li ...
* List of Newspapers in Australia
This is a list of newspapers in Australia. For other older newspapers, see list of defunct newspapers of Australia.
National
In 1950, the number of national daily newspapers in Australia was 54 and it increased to 65 in 1965.
Daily newspape ...
* List of Defunct Newspapers of Australia
This is a list of defunct newspapers of Australia. For current Australian newspapers, see List of newspapers in Australia.
National
* ''Business Review Weekly'' (1981–2013)
* '' The Bulletin'' (1880–2008)
* ''Nation'' (1958-1972)
* ''Nation ...
References
External links
*
Press timeline
Select chronology of significant Australian press events to 2011
The birth of the newspaper in Australia
* Isaacs, Victor, Kirkpatrick, Rod and Russell, John (2004)
Australian Newspaper History: A Bibliography
* Isaacs, Victor; Kirkpatrick, Rod
Two hundred years of Sydney newspapers: A short history
Rural Press Ltd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathurst Advocate, The
Newspapers established in 1848
Publications disestablished in 1849
Bathurst, New South Wales
Bathurst Advocate
''The Bathurst Advocate'' was a weekly English language broadsheet newspaper published in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
History
This newspaper was first published on 5 February 1848 by Benjamin Isaacs, possibly with financial support ...