George Robinson bought the copyright of the Hamilton Courier and Normanby, Dundas, Follet and Villiers and Heytesbury Advertiser from Thomas Wotton Shevill in early 1860 and established the Hamilton Spectator and Grange District Advertiser. In December 1861, Robinson appointed William Vale as his partner in the newspaper and, in 1864, Vale 'took over the entire running of the Spectator when Robinson went to Europe'.
Relations between Robinson and Vale deteriorated when Vale made 'unexpected use' of monies left by Robinson in a trust. As the result of court action, a bailiff 'auctioned the paper's copyright outside the Spectator office' and ownership of the newspaper reverted to Robinson alone.
In 1866, Robinson attracted a new partner, Francis H. Nixon. Under their partnership, the Spectator was 'generally perceptive and far seeing. It tried to be politically neutral, yet expressed strong opinions on important issues. Its views were generally liberal'.
Robinson appointed a new partner in late 1869 -
George H. Mott (q.v.), formerly the proprietor of
Albury Border Post.
Source: 'Hamilton Spectator Timeline', http://www.spec.com.au/pub-spectator/hamilton-spectator-timeline/
Sighted: 04/04/2013
