First published on 21 November 1840, the Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second-oldest in Australia.

[5] The Geelong Advertiser was initially edited by James Harrison, a Scottish emigrant, who had arrived in Sydney in 1837 to set up a printing press for the English company Tegg & Co.[6] Moving to Melbourne in 1839, he found employment with John Pascoe Fawkner, as a compositor, and later editor, of Fawkner's Port Phillip Patriot.

The first edition of the Geelong Advertiser, which originally appeared weekly, was published on Saturday 21 November 1840, edited by 'James Harrison and printed and published for John Pascoe Fawkner (sole proprietor) by William Watkins...'[7] Its first editorial offered the following doggerel:[6] Bring forth the press!

[10] The newspaper did not feature news on the front page until 21 June 1924, coinciding with the inauguration of a new printing press.

[11] Trials of a tabloid-sized paper were made in 2000, when a Sunday edition was printed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.