The Advocate (Australia) facts for kids

The Advocate is a newspaper that is printed in northwest Tasmania, a state of Australia. People in towns like Burnie, Ulverstone, Devonport, Penguin, Wynyard, Latrobe, and Smithton read it. Since 2008, a company called Fairfax Media has owned it.

The Story of The Advocate Newspaper

How It All Began

On October 1, 1890, a man named Robert Harris and his two sons, Robert and Charles, printed the very first newspaper in Burnie, Tasmania. They called it The Wellington Times. Burnie is a big town in northwest Tasmania.

The newspaper got its name from the county where Burnie and Emu Bay were located. At first, The Wellington Times was printed only twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. About 2,000 copies were made for each print run.

Early Days and Changes

The first office for The Wellington Times in Burnie was on Cattley Street in 1890. Ten people worked there to create the newspaper. By 1892, the newspaper was printed three times a week: on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Later, on November 2, 1897, its name was changed to The Emu Bay Times.

The newspaper became very popular, so the owners decided to start another newspaper in Devonport. On January 4, 1899, they launched The North Western Advocate and Agricultural and Mining Gazette.

Joining Forces

The two separate newspapers did not stay separate for long. After only 11 months, on November 13, 1899, they joined together. They became one daily newspaper called The North Western Advocate and The Emu Bay Times.

In 1902, a new building was built for the newspaper on Mount Street in Burnie. This is still where the newspaper is located today (as of 2010). By then, 26 people worked there. In the late 19th century, many daily newspapers existed in northwest and western Tasmania. But by 1920, The Advocate was the only one left.

New Technologies and Ownership

In the 1950s, The Advocate was one of the first daily newspapers in Australia to use colour in its advertisements. This was a big step forward! In 1968, it was also the first daily newspaper in Australia to be printed using a special machine called a web-offset press. From 1993 to 1996, The Advocate worked on new technology. This allowed them to create full newspaper pages using computers by October 1, 1996.

In 2004, The Advocate became the third largest regional daily newspaper owned by a company called Rural Press. This was the first time the Harris family, who started the newspaper, were no longer involved.

In 2008, Rural Press became part of Fairfax Media. Fairfax Media is one of Australia’s biggest media companies. The Advocate was the only daily newspaper that covered all parts of northwest and western Tasmania.

Images for kids

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  The former headquarters of The Advocate on Mount Street.