Whitsunday Coast Guardian

In the early days of printing, sheets of newspaper were fed by hand and the press was driven by a petrol engine.

In July 1945, Major Alan Spence, an experienced printer, with his wife Dorothy, purchased the business.

Major Spence was the holder of a Distinguished Service Order for his part in 'Sparrow Force' in Timor, defending the airfield against the Japanese.

It was replaced in 1976 by computers and, in the 1990s, the Model 14 was donated to Proserpine Museum where it remains a central exhibit.

Bernie and Mary Lewis's son Peter and his wife, Cynthia, took full control of the business in 1972 and in 1974 moved the printery to a much larger premises at 16 Chapman Street in Proserpine.

The Guardian was the first country newspaper north of Brisbane to introduce the cold-type method of typesetting and printing.

In September 2014 the Whitsunday Coast Guardian, after being privately owned for 110 years and being one of the few remaining like businesses, was sold by Cynthia and Peter Lewis to ADHOC, APN Australian Regional News.