The first issue of the St. George Standard and Balonne Advertiser appeared on 10 July 1878.
A fire destroyed the office and printery on 2 September 1905 and it was replaced by the Balonne Beacon, whose first issue was published on 4 October 1905.
William Norman Dendle and Eva Dendle ran the paper from 1936 to 1971; and it was purchased in October 1971 by Max and Rada Pringle, who ran it for twenty-two years until the end of 1993.
It was then sold to Rob and Pam Elkington and finally purchased by APN News & Media, the current proprietors, in mid-1997.
[2] On 25 June 2020, the Balonne Beacon published its last printed edition with theheadline “End of our era - 115 years of serving the Balonne shire” on the front page.