The Brimbank and North West Star Weekly has undergone a lot of changes since 1924.
The paper has experienced name changes, masthead redesigns, layout updates and the introduction of colour photographs.
Starting out on March 1, 1924 as the Sunshine Advocate, the paper covered interests of Sunshine and the surround district. It was created by Clarence Carlton, who operated the paper until the 1960s when it was purchased by the Cumberland Newspapers
The Advocate’s first edition said, “help us help you in the district’s progress’ and they were devoted to covering the interests of the area– serving much of the region it does today.
Council news featured prominently in the paper but it also included titbits from across the world.
The first edition spoke about the Braybrook quarry and the contemplation of closing part of Raleigh Road, Maribyrnong.
Also making news in that edition was councillor J Grist resigning from Braybrook council while the Braybrook council was looking at running buses so a tramway could be established.
The paper also included the Footscray Football Club, which would feature in the paper for much of the next 100 years.
The Advocate name stayed part of the paper until the paper until the 2010. It was known as the Sunshine Advocate, the Sunshine-St Albans-Melton Advocate, the Sunshine-St Albans Advocate, Sunshine Western Suburbs and later the Advocate.
Along the way, the masthead was changed to reflect the different owners and names. Fairfax Community Newspapers would take ownership of the paper during the years.
A sister publication dedicated to the North-West area, which covers parts of the growth area of Melton, was born in 2022
In December 2009, the Advocate celebrated the Brimbank community with an edition dedicated to good news.
On September, 7, 2010, the Advocate has another name change and the Brimbank Weekly was born. The paper featured the same news the Brimbank community had come to expect from the Advocate, with the edition of extra features and lifestyle content.
Then in May 2014, the Brimbank and North West Star Weekly was born following a merger of the western suburbs’ Weekly and Star News Group papers.
It is that paper that is delivering the local news, both in print and online, as you read today.
