''The Bathurst Advocate'' was a weekly English language

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

newspaper published in

Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Region, Bathurst Regional Council. Founded in 1815, Bathurst is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

History

This newspaper was first published on 5 February 1848 by Benjamin Isaacs, possibly with financial support from Geoffrey Amos Eagar, an accountant. Isaacs had previously set up two newspapers in

Parramatta, New South Wales Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

, as well as one in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. After 10 issues of the paper had been published, its subscribers numbered 70. Only 87 issues of the paper were published, the last being number 39 of Volume 2, which was published on 29 September 1849. The short life span of the newspaper has been attributed to two libel actions which were brought against the editor in 1849. During that year the paper regularly published criticisms of the local police, and in particular the Chief Constable, John Davies. A poem published by the paper resulted in a libel action by Davies. In reporting the libel action in the newspaper, Isaacs re-published the verses which had sparked the court action, thus leading to a second action. Before the libel suits came to court, Isaacs sold the Advocate's press, types and building to William Farrand for £450. Farrand then started up the Bathurst Free Press newspaper, publishing the first issue on 6 October 1849. Isaacs was imprisoned for two months and was fined £40 1s.

Digitisation

The paper has been digitised as part of the

Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

.Australian Newspapers Digitisation Project
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References

External links

*
Press timeline
Select chronology of significant Australian press events to 2011
The birth of the newspaper in Australia
* Isaacs, Victor, Kirkpatrick, Rod and Russell, John (2004)
Australian Newspaper History: A Bibliography
* Isaacs, Victor; Kirkpatrick, Rod
Two hundred years of Sydney newspapers: A short history
Rural Press Ltd {{DEFAULTSORT:Bathurst Advocate, The Newspapers established in 1848 Publications disestablished in 1849 Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst Advocate

History

Digitisation

See also

References

External links