Nineteenth Century Australian Magazines

Item 46.
The News letter of Australasia : or narrative of events : a letter to send to friends. (Melbourne ; Sandhurst [Kent] : George Slater, [1856]- )

This is a variation on the illustrated newspaper. It was generally a single leaf, folded with an engraving on the front and a local news story, with blank pages inside to allow the correspondent in the colonies to write back to friends at home in England.

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Item 49.
The Journal of Australasia. Continued by: Illustrated journal of Australasia (Melbourne : W. H. Williams; George Slater, 1856-1858)

This magazine was yet another mixture of literature and matters of general interest. It began with the publication of Batman's journal as the first article in the first issue, "The settlement of John Batman in Port Phillip. From his own journal" (July 1856, p. 1-10; August 1856, p. 52-59) Daniel Bunce's "Reminiscences of twenty-three years wanderings in the Australian colonies" also ran through two numbers (July p. 16-21; and September 1856, p. 109-112)

Perhaps it is best remembered as the magazine in which "The fiction fields of Australia", by Frederick Sinnett, first appeared (Sept. 1856, p. [97]-105, Nov. 1856, p. 199-208) This was the earliest critical assessment of Australian fiction. We have on display Daniel Bunce's own copy of the September 1856 issue.

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Item 50.
Australian monthly magazine. (Melbourne, Vic. : W.H. Williams, 1866-1867)  
This was another magazine which promised to provide serious periodical fare for the Australian public. It contained Marcus Clarke's earliest publications; these were under the nom de plume of "Mark Scrivener". The series of articles on "Australian bibliography" the Rev. J. E. Tenison Woods gives a wealth of information on ephemeral Australian publications.

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Item 52.
Colonial society : a weekly journal of satire, fun and humor. (Sydney : Walter J. Greenup, 1868-)  

This title was part of the Punch sub-genre, presenting satirical articles and verse, with political caricatures. As referred to above, each colony had its own, localised version of Punch. There were other satirical magazines such as Touchstone and Humbug, which appeared in Melbourne.

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Item 55.
Once a month : a magazine for Australasia / conducted by Peter Mercer. (Melbourne : William Inglis, 1884-1886)  

As Turner remarks, "it was not very wise to introduce a third competitor while Melbourne enjoyed the unwonted luxury of two established local magazines of a higher class than anything that had gone before." [5] All three failed at about the same time.  

Once a month was somewhat lighter in tone than the other two, and included much imported material from the English magazines. Perhaps the most lasting contribution made by this publication was the series of "Gallery of eminent Australasians". This consisted of portrait engravings and biographical accounts of such personalities as James Service, Graham Berry, Henry Clarence Kendall, Marcus Clarke, John Dunmore Lang and Samuel Marsden.

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Item 57.
The Lone hand. (Sydney : W. McLeod, 1907-1921) 

This was a monthly begun by the Sydney Bulletin publishers in May 1907. Archibald was the driving force behind it. It usually included a colour cover designed by one of the prominent artists of the day, most notably, by one or other of the Lindsays. The September 1914 issue with May Gibb's "Flannel flowers" on the cover is much-sought after. There were literary pieces, travel and politics also featured in the pages as did critical articles on the contemporary art scene.

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