'He filled us full of laughter': Contact and Community in Australian Experience

Abstract

The 'Sydney Morning Herald' is the oldest newspaper in Australia and one of the oldest in the world. Since 1831 it has been central to life in Sydney and within New South Wales. As a result it has always been an important paper for advertisements. During its first 25 years its classifying system was extremely simple. There was a heading for 'Ship Advertisements' and another for 'Sales by Auction'. Anything which did not fit under one or two of those headings was presented with no heading at all. However, in August 1856 a third classification was invented; 'Persons Advertised for'. It was especially useful during the gold rushes in Victoria, when there were so many new arrivals - tens of thousands in a few short years - and so much chaotic movement that people frequently lost touch with each other.