person or book cover
Image, courtesy of the State Library of Victoria, created as part of the Port Phillip Papers Digitisation Project.
y separately published work icon The Melbourne Advertiser newspaper  
Issue Details: First known date: 1838... 1838 The Melbourne Advertiser
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The first attempt at newspaper literature in Melbourne was made by Mr. John Pascoe Fawkner, on the 1st January, 1838. The pioneer journal, which had been named the Melbourne Advertiser, consisted of a sheet of foolscap in manuscript, and there were 32 copies of it circulated. For nine weeks this tedious process of diffusing intelligence was continued, and by that time the proprietor managed to obtain some old type and other requisites from Hobart Town, which enable him to publish his journal in letter-press ...

'Unfortunately, however, Mr. Fawkner had not complied with the stringent condition of the Press laws then in force, and his publication was temporarily suppressed. Before he could go through the necessary forms to enable the Advertiser to be republished, Mr. George Arden entered the field with the Port Philip Gazette; and when Mr. Fawkner's paper reappeared, under the name of the Port Phillip Patriot, the attitude of the two journals towards one another might have served Charles Dickens for a model, when, years afterwards, he described the proceedings of the two Eatanswill papers. (p.28).

Source: Gordon & Gotch, Australasian Newspaper Directory (1888): 28.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1838
    • Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria,: John Pascoe Fawkner , 1838 .
      Link: U24208Web resource See copyright information on site for any usage restrictions.
      Note/s:
      • Colophon: Printed and published by J. P. Fawkner, at the office of the Melbourne Advertiser, Melbourne.
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Related Works

y separately published work icon Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser William Kerr (editor), John Pascoe Fawkner (editor), 1839 Melbourne : John Pascoe Fawkner , 1839-1845 Z1558486 1839 newspaper (15 issues)
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

The Fawkner Printing Press : A Provenance Study Brian Rubber , 1996 single work prose
— Appears in: La Trobe Library Journal , Autumn no. 57 1996; (p. 15-25)
Cornstalk Papers : no.14 : "The Melbourne Advertiser" J. H. M. Abbott , 1918 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian Town and Country Journal , 6 November vol. 98 no. 2549 1918; (p. 36)
Compositor Wanted 1838 single work advertisement
— Appears in: The Cornwall Chronicle , 10 February vol. 4 no. 157 1838; (p. 3) The Cornwall Chronicle , 17 February vol. 4 no. 158 1838; (p. 27) The Cornwall Chronicle , 24 February vol. 4 no. 159 1838; (p. 32) The Cornwall Chronicle , 3 March vol. 4 no. 160 1838; (p. 36) The Cornwall Chronicle , 10 March vol. 4 no. 161 1838; (p. 40) The Cornwall Chronicle , 17 March vol. 4 no. 162 1838; (p. 44)

An advertisement for a compositor 'to work upon the Melbourne Advertiser'. Applicants were asked to apply to the [Cornwall] Chronicle Office. The advertisement is dated 10 February 1838.
Untitled 1838 single work column
— Appears in: The Cornwall Chronicle , 13 January vol. 4 no. 153 1838; (p. 2)

Acknowledgement of the receipt of 'the first number of a manuscript newspaper, entitled The Melbourne Advertiser ... '

A report on an escaped murderer is printed in the 13 January 1838 issue of the Cornwall Chronicle and the source acknowledged as 'M.S.S. Melbourne Advertiser 1st Jan, 1838'. A further editor's note advises: 'a private communication from P. P., of a late date, states that [the murderer] was captured ...'.
Port Phillip 1838 single work column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 14 June 1838 vol. 36 no. 4031 1838; (p. 2) Short column on the fact that the Melbourne Advertiser 'has been prohibited by the Government from being published ...'
Port Phillip 1838 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 5 April vol. 36 no. 4001 1838; (p. 2)
— Review of The Melbourne Advertiser 1838 newspaper This is a review of the first two issues of the Melbourne Advertiser.
The Fawkner Printing Press : A Provenance Study Brian Rubber , 1996 single work prose
— Appears in: La Trobe Library Journal , Autumn no. 57 1996; (p. 15-25)
Cornstalk Papers : no.14 : "The Melbourne Advertiser" J. H. M. Abbott , 1918 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian Town and Country Journal , 6 November vol. 98 no. 2549 1918; (p. 36)
Port Philip 1838 single work column
— Appears in: The Hobart Town Courier , 2 February vol. 11 no. 598 1838; (p. 2)
— Appears in: Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal , 14 April vol. 6 no. 276 1838; (p. 60)
Port Phillip 1838 single work column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 14 June 1838 vol. 36 no. 4031 1838; (p. 2) Short column on the fact that the Melbourne Advertiser 'has been prohibited by the Government from being published ...'
Untitled 1838 single work column
— Appears in: The Cornwall Chronicle , 13 January vol. 4 no. 153 1838; (p. 2)

Acknowledgement of the receipt of 'the first number of a manuscript newspaper, entitled The Melbourne Advertiser ... '

A report on an escaped murderer is printed in the 13 January 1838 issue of the Cornwall Chronicle and the source acknowledged as 'M.S.S. Melbourne Advertiser 1st Jan, 1838'. A further editor's note advises: 'a private communication from P. P., of a late date, states that [the murderer] was captured ...'.
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (7)

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

ISSN: 1440-4354
Frequency:
Weekly
Range:
Vol. 1 no. 1 (1 January 1838) - vol. 1 no. 17 (23 April 1838)
Continued by:
Reissued as The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser.
Note:
No. 1 (1 January 1838) to no. 10 (5 March 1838) hand written. No. 10 also issued in print.
Note:
Ferguson no. 2547
Last amended 15 Jan 2014 11:19:49
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