The Chinese Times 警東新報

The Chinese Times was Melbourne's first major Chinese newspaper, published in 1902.

The Chinese Times was Melbourne’s first major Chinese newspaper, published for the first time on 5 February 1902. For the first three years Thomas Chang Luke (鄭祿 Zheng Lu) was the proprietor and editor until he ran into financial difficulties. The Chinese Times changed its Chinese name several times over the years, reflecting shifts in its ownership and political sympathies: 愛國報 Aiguobao (1902-1905), 警東新報 Jingdongxinbao (19051914), 平報 Pingbao (1917), and 民報 Minbao (1919-1922). It was published weekly, at first on Wednesdays and then from February 1905 on Saturdays. From 1919 the newspaper was the official organ of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Australia. It was published in Sydney from 1922 until it ceased publication in 1949.

Nearly 800 issues of the Chinese Times have been digitised and made available through Trove. These date from 1902 to 1922 with some gaps as there were breaks in the newspaper’s publication. Only scattered issues after 1922 are known to exist, held in both public and private collections.

Source: Bagnall, K. (2015) Early Chinese Newspapers in Australia: Trove Presents a New Perspective on Australian History, Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Vol. 7, 2014-15, pp. 160-165.