Tas That Was
Newspapers of Van Diemen’s Land
Newspapers in Van Diemen’s Land were sources of news and advertisements.
Newspapers in Van Diemen’s Land were sources of news and advertisements. (Nothing has changed!) They also featured alerts about bushrangers and rewards for the capture of escaped convicts.
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The colony’s first-ever newspaper, the Derwent Star and Van Diemen’s Land Intelligencer, was set up in 1810 by government printer George Clarke. Published fortnightly, it sold for two shillings per edition. It ceased publication in 1812.
The front page of The Hobart Town Gazette on Saturday, 11 April 1829.
The colony’s second newspaper was called the Van Diemen’s Land Gazette and General Advertiser. The first edition of this paper was circulated around Hobart on 8 January 1810. Printing of the paper stopped in 1814.
The Hobart Town Gazette began circulation in 1816 as The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter. It has been published as the Tasmanian Government Gazette since 1907.
The printer of the Gazette, a man named Andrew Bent, also established the Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser in 1825. The Times was critical of Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur, who unsuccessfully tried to impose censorship on the paper.
Other newspapers sprung up during the early-1800s, including the True Colonist, the Launceston Advertiser, and the Independent and Cornwall Chronicle. These papers were quite varied and political.
The Launceston Examiner (established 1842) led the anti-transportation cause in Van Diemen’s Land. It also played an important role in helping Launceston define itself as a city.
Hobart’s main newspaper, the Mercury, was created 1854 by former convict John Davies. It issued the weekly Tasmanian Mail from 1877 to 1921.
Newspapers continue to play an important role in Tasmanian society. They serve as tools for shaping thought, forums for public discussion and debate, and sources of information about current affairs.
Read newspapers!
A nineteenth century printing press.
Bibliography
- Barnard, Simon (2014), A-Z of Convicts in Van Diemen’s Land, Text Publishing Company, Victoria.
- Green, F.C. (1972), ‘Davies, John (1813–1872)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, assessed online 29 March 2021.
- Roe, Michael (2006), ‘Newspapers’, The Companion to Tasmanian History, assessed online 29 March 2021.
- Trove.