The Advocate (Tasmania)

The Advocate is a newspaper printed in northwest Tasmania. Tasmania is the island state immediately south of the Australiam mainland. The paper is read by people in northwest Tasmanian towns such as Burnie, Ulverstone, Devonport, Penguin, Wynyard, Latrobe and Smithton. Since 2008 it is owned by Fairfax Media.

History

On October 1, 1890, Robert Harris and his sons, Robert and Charles, printed the first issue of The Wellington Times. This was Burnie’s first newspaper.

The Wellington Times was named after the county in which Burnie and Emu Bay were located. It was first published only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There were about 2000 copies printed. On November 2, 1897, the name was changed to The Emu Bay Times.

The success of the newspaper encouraged the owners to add operations in Devonport. On January 4, 1899 The North Western Advocate and Agricultural and a Mining Gazette was produced.

The separate publication of the two newspapers lasted only 11 months. On November 13, 1899 the two newspapers were joined to become a daily newspaper called The North Western Advocate and The Emu Bay Times.

In 2004, The Advocate became the third largest regional daily newspaper of Rural Press. That ended the involvement of the Harris family for the first time since it began.

In 2008, Rural Press became part of Fairfax Media, one of Australia’s largest media businesses. The Advocate was the only daily newspaper covering all areas of northwest and western Tasmania.