The ''Mornington Standard'' was a weekly newspaper, circulating in the Frankston, Mornington, Dromana and Somerville areas of

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in A ...

from 1889 to 1939. Usually four pages in length, the ''Mornington Standard'' covered news from all towns on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogr ...

. It contained a mix of local news, reports of the proceedings of local councils, churches, schools, the police courts and local sport.

History

The ''Mornington Standard'' was founded on 5 October 1889 by Robert Ewins, but had little success, and went through a series of owners. On 7 March 1895 its masthead first proclaimed "Incorporating Mentone and Moorabbin Chronicle". From 1903 to 1905 it was owned by prominent local media entrepreneur Henry James Richmond. In July 1905 Henry's son William took over ownership of the ''Standard'' from his father. It was renamed the ''Mornington and Dromana Standard'' on 11 July 1908, bearing issue number 1021, thus acknowledging its 1889 startup. The last issue with this banner was 4 March 1911 shortly after being taken over by William Wilson Young (), who had considerable experience with regional newspapers. The title reverted to ''Mornington Standard'' on 11 March 1911 as issue 1154. The business prospered under his management, and during war years and immediately after, there was a surge in demand for local news. In 1919 his eldest son, William Crawford Young, took over management of the business. In 1924 the office and print shop moved to Wells Street, Frankston, and in 1925 W. C. Young floated a company, Standard Newspapers Pty. Ltd. to build the business. He died 17 September 1928, but his family retained an interest in the company.

''Frankston & Somerville Standard''

From 11 July 1908, two editions of the newspaper were produced, the ''Mornington and Dromana Standard'' and the ''Frankston & Somerville Standard'', which became separate newspapers on 7 January 1921 and whose last issues were dated 5 May 1939.

Consolidation

The ''Mornington Standard'' and ''Frankston & Somerville Standard'' continued as separate entities until 5 May 1939, when they were amalgamated into the ''Standard'' on 12 May 1939, the masthead later carrying the subtitle "Peninsula News-Pictorial", and as such continued until 28 July 1949, when it became the ''Frankston Standard'', ceasing publication in December 1949.

Standard Newspapers Ltd.

The ''Standards publisher from 1925 to 1933 was Arnold Leslie Aitken. In 1949 it was David Bowman JP, followed by Charles Dudman Fox in 1934. Around 1929 the company's head office moved from Wells Street, Frankston to 10–12 Park Road,

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral ...

. Standard Newspapers Ltd. was still in existence in 1956, and may have been taken over by the owners of '' The Argus'', as all later advertisements were carried by that newspaper.

References

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