Bibliographical Society of Australia & New Zealand
Abstract
[Extract]: Despite having been published continuously from 1865–1961, the Australian
Journal is mainly regarded by literary historians as a nineteenth-century
periodical. By concentrating on nineteenth-century authors such as Marcus
Clarke, Charles Harpur, Ada Cambridge and “Rolf ” Boldrewood, the brief
entry in the Oxford Companion to Australian Literature mentions nothing beyond
1875. Vane Lindesay’s The Way We Were: Australian Popular Magazines 1856
to 1967 gives the magazine a few short pages,
as do Frank Greenop’s passing
references in his History of Magazine Publishing in Australia,
pushing further into the twentieth century, but with little detail. R. G. Campbell’s The First Ninety
Years: The Printing House of Massina Melbourne 1859 to 1949 provides the fullest
account to date with an accomplished history of the printer and publisher of the
Australian Journal, and more than passing references to the magazine that ran off
its presses.
But Campbell’s story ends before the final decade of the magazine’s
production. To date, a comprehensive account of the twentieth-century Australian
Journal has not been assembled