The Geelong News is a free weekly paper delivered to houses in the Geelong

Geelong, Victoria

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...

 region. It is published on Wednesdays with a circulation of over 70,000 copies. The focus of most
stories are local community issues and sport. Recently the newspaper
started producing different content for different parts of Geelong.

History

The Geelong News was first published as the Belmont and Highton News on 21 July 1965. The first edition was delivered to 4000 local households.

The publisher of the new newspaper was Dick Horniblow who was 27 years old at the time. He completed a Diploma of Agriculture, before working for three years at the Weekly Times, The Sun

Herald Sun

The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...

, and The Herald. He then worked for the Australian Associated Press

Australian Associated Press

Australian Associated Press is Australia's national news agency. The organisation was established in 1935 by Fairfax and The Herald and Weekly Times.AAP employs more than 175 journalists who work in bureaux in all Australian states and territories...

 in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, worked with the Gippsland Times in Sale

Sale, Victoria

Sale is a city in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. It is the seat of the Shire of Wellington as well as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale and the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland. It has a population of around 13,336, and is expected to reach a population of 14,000 soon...

, then was appointed editor of the Traralgon Journal.

The first issues were produced by Mr Horniblow and his wife Helen from their home in Hawthorn Avenue, Belmont

Belmont, Victoria

Belmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road...

. The newspaper moved to an office in High Street, Belmont in April 1966. At the same time circulation of the paper expanded to cover the adjoining suburb of Grovedale

Grovedale, Victoria

Grovedale is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by the Waurn Ponds Creek, Rossack Drive, Boundary Road and Barwarre Road.-Toponomy:...

.

The name of the paper changed to the Geelong Suburban News in September 1968, when separate editions were launched for the suburbs of Newtown

Newtown, Victoria

Newtown is an inner western suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is a primarily residential area occupying one of the highest points of urban Geelong, has always been a desirable place of residence and it is the location of many of Geelong's oldest and most valuable properties.The locality of...

 and Geelong West

Geelong West, Victoria

Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street.-History:...

. By 1970 the newspaper covered the entire Geelong area.

1973 saw Horniblow, his brother Brian Horniblow, and business partner purchase the Ballarat News. The Geelong News moved from High Street to Victoria House in Moorabool Street in 1975, by which time 25 permanent staff were employed by the group.

West Web printers was added to the Geelong News group in 1976, and in 1980 the group was acquired by the Geelong Advertiser

Geelong Advertiser

The Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...

 group, which was then a subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

 of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd

The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd

The Herald and Weekly Times Limited is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited, who purchased HWT in 1987.-Newspapers:...

.