Editions of The Australasian Melbourne (1864-1946) began arriving at Trove in early January and since there has been five further updates.  On my first search of the paper, and there are still many issues “coming soon”, I was pleased to find many articles, with photos, that are of interest to me.

The Australasian grew out of the  Weekly Argus (1855), Examiner and Melbourne Weekly News (1857), Yeoman and Australian Acclimatiser (1861), with the first issue published on October 1, 1864.  Later,  Bells Life in Victoria and the Australasian Sketcher (1873) merged with The Australasian.  Sold as a “town and country” paper,  it includes plenty of news from Western District towns.  The Australasian became the Australasian Post in 1946.

There was one photo I was keen to get access to from The Australasian, that of “Bewsall”, the home of Robert Stapylton Bree of Hamilton.  I have searched everywhere for a photo of the house which no longer exists,  but I had seen one in Don Garden’s book, “Hamilton, A Western District History” (1984), sourced, including others in the book, from The Australasian.  Well, the photo of “Bewsall” is now available and you can see it below.

HAMILTON. (1903, May 2). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 27. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138684187

The following photo is of Hamilton’s main street, Gray Street, published in 1903.  The Christ Church steeple is in view as well as the black face of the Hamilton Post Office clock, later changed to white.

IN AND AROUND HAMILTON, INLAND METROPOLIS OF THE WESTERN DISTRICT. (1903, May 2). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 26. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138684186

Influence from Bells Life in Victoria,  a  sports newspaper, is present in The Australasian, which has some great sporting photos, including the following from the 1902 Hamilton Golf Tournament.

HAMILTON GOLF MEETING. (1902, August 9). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 33. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139129326

As I page through the many illustrated articles from The Australasian, I can see that there are still many more articles with photos to come from the Hamilton district.  Thank you Trove, for once again providing us with such a wonderful newspaper.