The Dimboola Banner, communicating history is the story of a community which took over the running of the old newspaper office and printing presses after the paper moved out of town.
The first issue of the Dimboola Banner rolled off the press on 10 May 1879. More than 130 years later, the Banner is still published weekly, even though it’s now printed in Warracknabeal rather than in Dimboola itself.
Pictured is the original Dimboola Banner office and printing works – in 1929 they moved to a different building around the corner.
Meanwhile, the former Dimboola offices of the Banner have been acquired by the Dimboola & District Historical Society and transformed into a Newspaper and Letterpress printing museum. The museum owns and operates a diverse collection of vintage presses, all in working condition.
This film, created by filmmaker Malcolm McKinnon and produced by the Heritage Council of Victoria, tells the story of veteran printer and newspaper man Joe Barry’s long career at the Dimboola Banner and demonstrates some of the print machines still in full working condition at what is now the Dimboola Newspaper and Letterpress Print Museum. Image courtesy Dimboola Historical Society.