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John Pascoe Fawkner
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John Pascoe Fawkner was the son of a convict and a felon himself, but he was also a man of many talents that were legal - among other things, he was a farmer, baker, builder, hotel owner, publisher and politician. Fawkner opened the first hotel in the new colony and this hotel was, in effect, the first de facto library - patrons were able to browse and borrow books from the hotel's shelves.
Fawkner married commerce and culture and in 1835 established the Melbourne Advertiser, the city's first newspaper. The first nine issues of the Melbourne Advertiser were handwritten in ink on four pages of foolscap paper. Fawkner had obtained a printing press in time for the publication of the tenth issue, but he released a manuscript copy as well.
The second issue of the newspaper will tour as part of Travelling Treasures. Handwritten on 8 January 1838, this issue covers a variety of topics relevant to Melbourne's community, including goods and services for sale and those wanted, current affairs relating to criminal activity, and the latest incoming and outgoing ships.
This, along with the other handwritten issues, is held in the State Library's Australian Manuscripts Collection. Digital copies and transcripts can be viewed online as part of the Port Phillip Papers Digitisation Project. |
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