Historical information

The Flagstaff Beacon was printed weekly from 14th July 1979 to 5th October 1979. The paper was published in Warrnambool by Trevor Alan Mackay (Ennisclay Pty Ltd) and the address was listed as 104 Liebig Street with the Classified Department at 148 Fairy Street. The name of this paper was a reference to the two operating lighthouses on Flagstaff Hill in Warrnambool. The Flagstaff Beacon was delivered free to Warrnambool householders but extra copies could be obtained for 20 cents a copy. The paper produced the usual newspaper material – current news, sport, real estate, movies, women’s news, motoring, advertisements etc. In August 1979 the Flagstaff Beacon offered colour reproductions of any photographs appearing in the paper. This was described as the first service of its kind to be offered in Victoria.

Significance

These newspapers are of considerable interest as they are some of the few surviving copies of the 1979 Warrnambool paper, The Flagstaff Beacon. They also are of historical interest because of their news items and their advertisements.

Physical description

These are 13 copies of the Warrnambool newspaper, The Flagstaff Beacon. The newspapers are printed in black and white with a masthead featuring a colour – mainly red and orange. The masthead also has an image of a lighthouse, perhaps the Upper Lighthouse at Warrnambool. Most of the copies have 20 pages. The copies have some staining where they have been folded.