Scone Advocate
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on 22 December 2005 |
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| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Fairfax Media |
| Editor | N/A |
| Founded | 7 October 1887 |
| Headquarters | 206 Kelly Street, Scone, NSW, Australia |
| Website | www.scone.yourguide.com.au |
The Scone Advocate is an Australian local newspaper, serving the communities of Scone, Aberdeen and Murrurundi in the Upper Hunter Valley. It is owned by Rural Press, and goes on sale each Thursday for $1.40. The newspaper was founded in 1887, the same year Scone was declared a municipality.
The Advocate began publication on 7 October 1887 as a weekly broadsheet newspaper, under the ownership of founder Arthur "Advocate" Smith. Five years later, it became a twice-weekly publication, and in 1898, the paper purchased their first typewriter. In 1933, Smith died, and was replaced by his son Arthur Fleming "Tod" Smith. The paper commenced construction of a new building in 1935, and later soon moved to a new location in Kelly Street, replacing the original offices at the corner of Liverpool and Guernsey Streets, which were destroyed by fire in 1942.
A year later, John Arthur "Jack" Smith replaced his father as editor of the Advocate. In 1954, publication days were changed to Tuesdays and Fridays. Also in 1954, the paper is sold to a locally owned company, Scone Advocate Limited, with local businessman J.M. "Mick" Flint as managing director. Later that year, then-editor Vern Hennessy left the paper, and the paper switched to a tabloid format.
Between 1957 and 1975, the Advocate had three editors: Joseph Charles "Joe" Court, William E.M "Mac" Abbott, and James "Jim" Brundson. In 1974, the newspaper was purchased by Western Newspapers Ltd., a subsidiary of Consolidated Press Group, controlled by the Packer family. The next year, Mike Pritchard was appointed as editor, and continued in that role until 1990. In 1976, the newspaper changed to a weekly publication, released Wednesdays.
In 1982, a move to develop the paper into a regional newspaper called The Valley Advocate with a wider-circulation proved unsuccessful. The paper was given away free outside of Scone, but local residents were still required to pay twenty five cents to buy a copy. In 1984, the Scone Advocate banner was restored, with a new publication date of Thursday (which is still the case today. Also in that year, the Packer-controlled Regional Publishers Pty. Ltd. was merged with Upper Hunter Newspapers, owned by the McClintock family of Muswellbrook, to form Upper Hunter Publishers Pty. Ltd. This led to the paper being published off-site in Muswellbrook, with its commercial printing division sold to a private company in 1986.
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