Western Mail (Western Australia)

7 April 1927 edition, with the Countryman behind

The Western Mail, or Western Mail, was the name of two weekly newspapers published in Perth, Western Australia.

Published 1885-1955

The 1897 Christmas Number

The first Western Mail was published between 19 December 1885^[1] and 23 October 1896 as a joint venture by Charles Harper and John Winthrop Hackett, the co-owners of The West Australian, the State's major daily paper. It was printed by James Gibbney at the paper's office in St Georges Terrace, Perth.^[2]

Considerable numbers of regional and local newspapers in Western Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries included the word 'Mail' in their names.

The Western Mail Annual editions (1897–1955) carried significant collections of Western Australia art, photography and writing ^[3]

West Australian Newspapers management experimented with a variety of formats in the late 1940s and early 1950s, including the Weekend Mail for five years (see publication details below).

The paper was renamed to The Countryman on 27 January 1955.^[4] However, the name Western Mail was recycled for a last Christmas Annual in 1956.

Published 1980-1988

In 1980 the name was resurrected for a new weekly, published by Western Mail Limited. The push for a new paper was made by Robert Holmes à Court and Bell Group following his failed takeover attempt of The Times (UK).

The venture was wound up in 1988.^[5]

1929 WA Centenary cover

Publication details

1885-1955 (WA Newspapers)

The Western Mail. Perth, W.A: West Australian Newspapers.

• Vol. 1, no. 1 (19 December 1885) – Vol. 70, no. 3403 (20 January 1955)

Days of issues

• Weekly on Thursday 3 July 1919 – 20 January 1955.
• Weekly on Friday 27 September 1912 – 27 June 1919.
• Weekly on Saturday 16 September 1899 – 21 September 1912.
• Weekly on Friday 21 June 1895 – 8 September 1899.
• Weekly on Saturday 19 December. 1885 – 15 June 1895.

Special Issues and supplements

• Annual Christmas edition – 1897^[6]–1956
• State Centenary Number of the Western Mail, 4 July 1929^[7] (including a colour reproduction of the painting 'The Founding of Perth' by G. Pitt Morison, and a historical calendar of the state)
• Centenary of the West Australian 1933
• Countryman's Magazine (Vol. 1, no. 1 (18 August 1949) – Vol. 2, No. 8 (9 April 1951)
• Women's Magazine (21 March 1946 – 23 October 1947)

Weekend Mail. Perth [W.A.] 

West Australian Newspapers Ltd.

• Known as Weekend Mail – TV from 5 September 1959 to 1960.
• Vol. 1, No. 1 (22 January 1955)-v. 6, No. 290 (30 July 1960).
• Weekly on Saturday.
• Annual supplement: Weekend Mail Annual (1955–1960)

1980-1988 (Western Mail Ltd)

The Western Mail, Perth, W.A : Western Mail Ltd., 1980–1988.

• Vol. 1, No. 1 (8 November 1980) – No. 374 (31 December – 3 January 1988).
• Weekly on Saturday.

Editors

1944: Malcolm Uren

Note on sources

Most dates are derived from the entries in the State Library's reference catalogue:

• Western Mail 1980
• Western Mail 1885

Notes

1. A New Weekly Journal Western Mail, 19 December 1885, at Trove. Initially, a Country Edition was published for despatch on Fridays and the Town Edition for sale on Saturdays
2. Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954) Trove Digitised Newspapers, at Trove
3. Murphy, Ffion; Nile, Richard, 1958–; Murphy, Ffion, 1950–; Fremantle Arts Centre Press (1990), The Gate of dreams : the Western mail annuals, 1897–1955, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, ISBN 978-0-949206-84-8
4. A Change of Name The Western Mail, 20 January 1955, p. 3, at Trove
5. The Western Mail, Western Mail, 1980–1988, retrieved 30 June 2012
6. The Christmas Number Western Mail, 24 December 1897, at Trove
7. The Western Mail Centenary Number, 4 July 1929 at Trove

References

• "Western Mail – history of the newspaper" first published photographs on 23 July 1897. – first printed in – West Australian, 5 January 1933 (Centenary issue), p. 5, 21 then further printed in – Countryman (Perth, W.A.), 12 December 1985, p. 1
• "Countryman – 100 years history of the newspaper formerly named the Western Mail"; Countryman (Perth, W.A), 12 December 1985, p. 3
• Twentieth century impressions of Western Australia(2000)Perth, W.A.: Hesperian Press ISBN 0-85905-269-9 Facsimile of original edition:(1901) Perth, W.A.:Thiel. pp. 168–174 "A history of the West Australian and the Western Mail newspapers, its premises and staff". The section includes photographs of J.W. Hackett, editor; J. W. E. Archdeacon, chief of staff; Charles Harper, MLA; J. S. Nanson, assistant editor; J. Gibbney, publisher; also a group photograph of journalists.
• "Western Mail – history of the newspaper" and first publishes photographs on 23 July 1897 in West Australian, 5 January 1933 (Centenary issue), p. 5, 21.
• Grant, Don (1979) The Western Mail and other weeklies (1897–1955) pp. 288–295 in Bennett, Bruce (editor) The Literature of Western Australia, Nedlands, W.A: University of Western Australia Press for the Education Committee of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations, 1979. ISBN 0-85564-152-5
• Cruthers, James, Sir,(1955) A brief history of the birth of the Weekend Mail "March 1955".