BY HERBERT HEATON, M.A., M. COMM. 11 



iiobart town, Saturday" was printed devoid of a solitary 

 capital letter (21). It was many months before a larger 

 supply could be obtained from England. With the ar- 

 rival of Governor Sorell, in 1817, the amount of Govern- 

 ment matter increased, and soon the single sheet had to be 

 supplemented by a second one. At times four sides w^ere 

 covered with print, and when a death occurred in the 

 Royal House, five or six sides were required in all to make 

 room for the obituary notices. By 1818, all type difficul- 

 ties had been overcome. Small pictures of ships and 

 houses began to grace the advertisement columns. The 

 size of the paper was increased to large foolscap, and three 

 columns per page became the rule. Even then it was 

 often necessary to add a second sheet, and this four-page 

 production was a really creditable piece of work. In April, 

 1821, Governor Macquarie visited the island, and Bent 

 celebrated the event by publishing an '"Extraordinary" in 

 mid-week, the first "Special" published in the island (22). 

 By this time Bent was ready to do copper-plate printing ; 

 he published a sohool primer and spelling book, and ac- 

 quired a stock of copybooks from England, with which ho 

 supplied the schools that were now being formed. The 

 newspaper improved every month, and at the beginning of 

 1824 it became a four-page paper, with four columns per 

 page, excellently arranged and printed. In 1823 the 

 press had been moved into larger premises in Elizabeth- 

 street ; bookbinders' tools had been obtained, and Bent 

 was now a publisher, stationery dealer, and bookbinder. 

 He therefore conceived the idea of issuing the Van 

 Diemen's Lund Ahiianarl\ which made its appearance in 

 1824 ; it was a creditable little volume, sold at 5s., and was 

 the ancestor of WnJrlis Red Bool- of present fame. 



When the difficulty of inadequate type had been re- 

 moved, Bent found another problem before him, one not 

 nearly so' easy to solve. The settlers, especially those in 

 the Midlands and North, had welcomed the Gazette, and 

 Bent, with his usual diligence, spared no pains to see that 

 the copies reached their destination. But when the first 

 quarter's accounts were sent out, many of the settlers disr 

 regarded them. Just as the doctor's bill is the last to be 

 paid to-day, so was the printer's bill the last to receive at- 

 tention then. The settler obtained his rum and tobacco 

 on three vears' credit ; whv not his paper on the same 

 terms? For a time Bent did not press his claims, but 

 eventually, in 1819, it became necessary to state ''that un- 

 less his demands (were) regularly adjusted quarterly he 

 must unavoidablv relinquish his endeavours to supply the 

 Gazette'' (23). Two years later (1821), the same trouble 



