MS 13486 - Melbourne Advertiser

Fawkner’s first newspaper was the Launceston Advertiser, which began publication on 8 February, 1829. He sold this paper to Henry Dowling in June 1831. On 1 January, 1838 he issued the first number of the Melbourne Advertiser, which was handwritten for want of a printing press. Nine issues were ‘published’ in this fashion in January and February. Issue no. 10 (5 March, 1838) was the first to be printed and the Advertiser continued in this manner until no. 17 (23 April, 1838), which was the last issue published before the paper was suppressed for lacking the appropriate licence. On 6 February, 1839 Fawkner published the first issue of his newly licenced Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser. In 1845 he sold the Patriot to G.D. Boursiquot whereupon it became the Daily News. This marked the end of Fawkner’s career as a newspaper proprietor.

A number of lithographic facsimiles of some of the handwritten Advertisers were produced in the nineteenth century. Copies of these emerge from time to time, occasionally causing great excitement followed by acute disappointment to would-be collectors when it becomes clear that they are not in fact Fawkner originals.

For a list of these facsimiles, see the article ‘Port Phillip in 1838’ in the Victorian Historical Magazine, vol.3, no.2, December 1913, p.102. The most frequinetly seen facsimile is that of no.2, published by Peter C Alcock in 1869.

The following issues are held by the State Library of Victoria: