Update on Geelong Advertiser on TROVE

It’s so much fun watching the progress of the Geelong Advertiser through TROVE – the anticipation is mounting!  Priority has been given to the years 1914-1918 and this is what has already been completed and available online:

• 8 Jan 1914 – 24 May 1915
• 17 Dec 1915 – 31 Mar 1916
• 14 May 1917 – 31 Dec 1918

And checking the ones still to come, they’re VERY close!  They appear to have been digitised and searches during this period will find the entries marked as [Coming Soon]:

• 26 May 1915 – 16 Dec 1915 [6,101 entries “coming soon”]
• 1 Apr 1916 – 13 May 1917 [11,340 entries “coming soon”]

So you know what that means!  Once those ones are finished, they’ll be starting on the rest of the promised Geelong Advertisers … it is so reassuring to look at the NEW TITLES COMING list for the current year:

The following titles are intended to be made available to the public during the coming year [July 2013 to June 2014]. Multiple titles may be processed and made available at any given time. Dates of when specific issues will be available unfortunately cannot be provided.

And find this entry:

Geelong Advertiser

1857 – 1918

National Library of Australia and selected by Australian Newspaper Plan libraries

And when that’s all done we’ll have a complete run from 1840-1918.

And while we’re holding our breath with excitement, I found this reference to the Addy in a book I was indexing – oh how politically INCORRECT our newspapers used to be!

14 May 1942 – Tobacco Shortage Hits Councillors

Cigarettes will in future grace the Bannockburn Council table in place of cigars.  The supply of the latter has run out and as replacement cost is 2 pounds 8 shillings a box, no more will be purchased.  Those Councillors who do not smoke the humble cigarette can, if they so desire, provide their own cigars.  But as Bannockburn is largely composed of Scotchmen, the risk of that is not great.

And before ANYONE complains, that is a direct quote and not something I would DARE to say in mixed company!