Wanted: Australia's Missing Newspapers

If there’s a stack of old newspapers gathering dust under the bed or out in the shed, the State Library of Western Australia wants to know about it.

The search is on for these valuable pieces of our social history, with the State Library of Western Australia part of the Australian Newspaper Plan (ANPlan), a nation-wide initiative of state and territory libraries designed to find, collect and preserve access to historic newspapers.

CEO and State Librarian Margaret Allen said newspapers did not just report the news. They told stories of their times, through ads, photographs and even their design – stories we want to save for all Australians.

“The aim is to find the thousands of missing pieces in the jigsaw of our history,” Margaret said.

“Old newspapers are an important part of our social, political and cultural history, and they offer valuable insights into a society changed forever.’’

Some of our most wanted newspapers include the Pilbarra Goldfields News from 1901, the Northam Courier from 1915, the Geraldton Express from 1916, the Swan Express (also from 1916) and issues of Boulder’s Evening Star from 1919.

“Often a chance conversation uncovers these wanted papers which may have been lying hidden in someone’s garage, in an elderly person’s collection of keepsakes or even in the vaults of a local historical society or archive,” Margaret said.

Once the wanted newspapers have been tracked down, they will be saved to ensure their preservation for future generations of Australians and made freely available through the National Library of Australia and state and territory libraries.

For a full list of the wanted newspapers, go to www.nla.gov.au/anplan or telephone Carmel McRobert, Battye Library Subject Specialist, on (08) 9427 3305 to find out how you can help.