Sidney Edwin Hocking (1859–1935) founded ''

The Kalgoorlie Miner ''The Kalgoorlie Miner'' (commonly known as ''The Miner'') is a daily newspaper circulating in the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Goldfields-Esperance region, in Western Australia. It is published Monday to Saturday by Hocking & Co. Pty L ...

'' newspaper in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area inclu ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

, in 1895. Born in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, he began his career at ''The Adelaide Advertiser'' in 1874 as a general reporter. He began reporting on new mines in South Australia, then travelled to others in New South Wales and Western Australia. When the Kalgoorlie mines began to predominate he moved from Coolgardie and bought the weekly newspaper ''Kalgoorlie

Western Argus The ''Western Argus'' was a newspaper published in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territor ...

'', later launching the daily ''Kalgoorlie Miner''. In 1900 he married 21-year-old Effie Fenn and they had eight children.

Career

Hocking had a reputation as a good boss in Kalgoorlie, which no doubt contributed to his election as a councillor and later mayor of the

Municipality of Kalgoorlie The Town of Kalgoorlie was a local government area in Western Australia, centred on the town of Kalgoorlie. It was established as the Municipality of Kalgoorlie on 15 February 1895. It was renamed the Town of Kalgoorlie on 1 July 1961. The m ...

. He was involved in the Kalgoorlie Racing Club and Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Fresh Air League which sent goldfields children to the coast for holidays. The company he formed in 1896, Hocking & Co. Pty. Ltd., still publishes ''The Miner,'' as it is locally known, to this day. Along with ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times (Western Australia), The Sunday Times'' ...

'', it is the only other daily print newspaper in Western Australia. Following his death in 1935, the running of the newspaper was taken over by his four sons, which continued until 1970. The newspaper's 100-year history was commemorated in 1995 by the publication of ''The Voice of the Goldfields: 100 Years of the Kalgoorlie Miner'' by Norma King.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hocking, Sidney Edward 1859 births 1935 deaths Australian newspaper publishers (people) People from South Australia People from Kalgoorlie Western Australian local councillors Mayors of places in Western Australia