The early newspapers of the Mid North Coast provide a record of the life and times of the region’s settlement and development. They documented commercial, social and sporting activities throughout their districts and served as a communication link within their communities. Births, deaths, marriages, accidents, concerts, agricultural shows, land and stock sales, shipping schedules, sporting events and results, meeting and even road works were all communicated through the local newspaper.

Whilst intended to be ephemeral, newspapers across the Mid North Coast have left a rich trail of the past and a legacy of identity for future generations. A good local newspaper informs and connects people to each other in their community; it also connects them to the past, acting as a communal memory so that history does not endlessly repeat itself. The local newspaper was a forum for the community to air their grievances, publicise events and report on the proceedings of local governments and courts. Often editorial opinion provoked debate and polarising discussion.

Intertype machines, like this one enabled small communities to print their own newspapers without a huge cost, other than ink and paper. This machine was automatic and replaced a manual typesetting machine previously used to produce the newspaper type. It was purchased in 1926 and used until 1980 to create the plates used by various printing presses to print The Northern Courier (1889-1946), The Raleigh Sun (1894-1946) and The Bellinger Courier Sun (1946-1983) firstly in Fernmount then later in Bellingen. It is now displayed at the Bellingen Museum.