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Alternative title: Duncan's Weekly Register of Politics, Facts and General Literature; The Weekly Register
Issue Details: First known date: 1843-1845... 1843-1845 The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts and General Literature
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The Weekly Register commenced with the declaration that 'having undergone a political martyrdom, and having had our fabled deeds recorded in apocryphal Chronicles, we rise again like the phoenix'. The newspaper committed itself to 'contribute of such good sense, moderate acquirements, and honesty of purpose as God has imparted to us, to support the rights, and advance the position and interests of the people of our adopted country'.

The Weekly Register covered colonial news under the heading 'Domestic Intelligence' and included extensive reporting on the debates of the Legislative Council and the local Sydney City Council. English news featured accounts of resolutions in the British Parliament. General news was drawn from Sydney and its surrounding districts as well as from Port Phillip and Van Diemen's Land.

The Weekly Register initially included a 'Ladies' Register' but this section was later dropped. The 'Literary Register' section remained a permanent feature of the newspaper and regularly included the work of colonial poets, particularly Henry Halloran, Charles Harpur and Henry Parkes (qq.v.). The 'Literary Register' also carried articles on contemporary British poets and ran a series on 'Notable Men' from a range of historical periods and countries. A collection of biographical essays titled 'Heads of Australian People' featured eminent citizens of the colony and included an illustration of each 'head'.

The Register's theatre reviews covered performances at the Victoria and the City Theatre and space was often given to new musical performances. The compositions of Isaac Nathan (q.v.) were highlighted in the newspaper's pages. As with other colonial papers of the 1840s, the Weekly Register covered shipping intelligence, births and deaths, and commercial advertising (particularly for land sales). The Register gave considerable space to instructional essays on agricultural cultivation and it also included lists of books for sale at Duncan's Repository of English and European Literature.

The Weekly Register's editorial stance was strongly opposed to the views expressed in the Atlas (edited for a time by Robert Lowe (q.v.)). The Register's editor, William Duncan (q.v.), was a supporter of the colonial governor, Sir George Gipps, and Gipps's policies. Duncan used the Register's pages to raise several political debates with the Atlas and its editorial opinions.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: W. A. Duncan , 1843-1845 .
      Link: U5861Web resource Digital copy of print publication via Australian Periodical Publications 1840-1845.
      Note/s:
        • Edited, printed and published by William Augustine Duncan, of King-Street, Sydney, in the colony of New South Wales. (Weekly Register 1.1 (29 July 1843):12)
        • Offices located at King Street-East, Sydney.

Works about this Work

To W. A. Duncan Esq., Editor of the Weekly Register (1844) i "In these discordant days of this crude State,", Charles Harpur , 1984 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Poetical Works of Charles Harpur 1984; (p. 632)
In praise of Duncan's championing of the state of the colony and referring to the motto of the Weekly Register: 'Be just and fear not'.
The Weekly Register 1846 single work column
— Appears in: The Atlas , 3 January vol. 2 no. 58 1846; (p. 2)
The writer for the Atlas reports on the demise of the Weekly Register and the appointment of its editor as the Commissioner of Crown Lands.
The 'Weekly Register' 1845 single work column
— Appears in: The Morning Chronicle , 24 December vol. 3 no. 232 1845; (p. 2)
The Register's Dying Words W. A. Duncan , 1845 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts and General Literature , 27 December vol. 5 no. 127 1845; (p. 301)
The editor of the Weekly Register resigns his position and offers some concluding remarks on the future prospects of the colony of New South Wales. The editor forecasts dire times for the colony if squatters are given their way, if royal authority is undermined and if a 'liberal and enlightened system' of education fails.
The Atlas Versus the Register : The 'Constitution' in Danger W. A. Duncan , 1845 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts and General Literature , 6 December vol. 5 no. 124 1845; (p. 265-267)
A prolonged editorial comment on the respective editorial stances of the Atlas and the Weekly Register in relation to the governance of New South Wales.
The Weekly Register 1846 single work column
— Appears in: The Atlas , 3 January vol. 2 no. 58 1846; (p. 2)
The writer for the Atlas reports on the demise of the Weekly Register and the appointment of its editor as the Commissioner of Crown Lands.
Prospectus of the Sydney Review, and Weekly True Chronicle W. A. Duncan , 1843 single work advertisement
— Appears in: The Teetotaller, and General Newspaper , 7 June vol. 2 no. 74 1843; (p. 4) The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts, and General Literature , 29 July vol. 1 no. 1 1843; (p. 11) The Colonial Observer , 22 July vol. 2 no. 149 1843; (p. 1179)
Our Resurrexion W. A. Duncan , 1843 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts, and General Literature , 29 July vol. 1 no. 1 1843; (p. 1-2)
The Weekly Register's editor sets out the parameters of the newspaper's raison d'être, placing it within the political and social context of New South Wales in 1843.
The Atlas Versus the Register : The 'Constitution' in Danger W. A. Duncan , 1845 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts and General Literature , 6 December vol. 5 no. 124 1845; (p. 265-267)
A prolonged editorial comment on the respective editorial stances of the Atlas and the Weekly Register in relation to the governance of New South Wales.
The Register's Dying Words W. A. Duncan , 1845 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekly Register of Politics, Facts and General Literature , 27 December vol. 5 no. 127 1845; (p. 301)
The editor of the Weekly Register resigns his position and offers some concluding remarks on the future prospects of the colony of New South Wales. The editor forecasts dire times for the colony if squatters are given their way, if royal authority is undermined and if a 'liberal and enlightened system' of education fails.

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

Frequency:
Published weekly on a Saturday evening.
Range:
Vol.1 no.1 (28 July 1843) - Vol.5 no.127 (27 December 1845).
Price:
Subscriptions: one pound six shillings per annum or six shillings and sixpence per quarter, payable in advance. (Weekly Register 1.1 (29 July 1843):11)
Note:
Ferguson no. 3601
Note:
Although not specifically continuing the Australasian Chronicle, the Register succeeds the Chronicle as the next newspaper established by William Duncan.
Note:
Motto: 'Be Just and Fear Not'
Note:
Pagination continuous for volumes one and two. Pagination re-started for volume three in July 1844 and again for volume four in January 1845 and for volume five in July 1845.

Has serialised

The Pledge : A Tale of the Lines, Captain Hardman , single work short story
Idealityi"Spirit of Dreams! - when many a wander'd height", Charles Harpur , single work poetry
The Student's Bride : A Tale of the Three Days of July, single work short story
Confessions of a Veteran Lawyer, single work short story
Emmeein Dhu, or The Outlaw's Revenge : A Tale of the Whiteboys, single work short story
Last amended 24 Mar 2010 09:53:42
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