George Doak
Although the Great Southern Herald was the first newspaper produced in Katanning (1905), there was a second paper that published for 33 years. In 1914 the Southern Districts Advocate was started by George Doak and was owned by the Doak family.
It commenced production with its first publication hitting the streets on October 25. Situated in Albion Street (where the old Katanning Stock & Trading Co panel shop is now) the newspaper was published firstly every Wednesday and later, every Monday. It only ceased publication because the owner had spent over 40 years in the newspaper industry and had decided to call it a day. Its last edition was on Monday 31 August, 1936. (ed.)
All editions are available in digital form HERE.
GEORGE DOAK
1876-1966
Written by Melv Jarvis.
From the original manuscript as supplied by a family member (originally published in “Katanning. A Century of Stories)
George Doak was a journalist and printer as well as a news, sporting and social editor and owner of the Southern Districts Advocate (1914-1936) a country town newspaper of the highest standard of newsworthiness and impartiallity.
George was born in Victoria in 1876. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a newspaper in the Euroa district. At 21 years of age he was editor of the Violet Town newspaper in Victoria. Married in 1897, he came to Western Australia about the turn of the century with his wife and one daughter (Violet).
For a short time he was with a Fremantle newspaper and he then went to work for the Bunbury Herald. Whilst in Bunbury (1904-1910) he was actively associated with local sport. It is recorded in a Bunbury historical record that George Doak was Bunbury Football Association Secretary as well as a football umpire. Three Doak children were born in Bunbury.
He then moved to Wagin (1910-1914) where he acted as editor, printer and reporter of the Wagin Argus. Again George was involved in all local sporting activities, especially football. Whilst in Wagin the Doak children increased to seven and the eighth was born in Katanning (four boys and four girls). All four boys served in the army during World War II.
On the 1st of January, 1914, George Doak established the Southern Districts Advocate at Katanning. Complete copies of the Southern Districts Advocate are held by a family member are a fascinating record of the life and times of Katanning and the wider surrounding districts. Early copies (1915) record Model T Fords, made in Canada for sale at 195 pounds. Local events are recorded in detail.
A former Katanning resident, Mr Bill Fleay, recounted his early working life with the ‘Advocate’ and George Doak;
“My experiences with the ‘Advocate’ commenced in 1926 when I started an apprenticeship at 7/6d per week under the guidance of George Doak – Editor and Manager. Other members of the staff included Fred Higman, Arthur Martyn and Bob Bahlinger Jnr.
The weekly newspaper was published every Monday evening. Monday was always a rush time as we had to get all weekend sporting results – football, cricket, men’s and women’s hockey, golf – whatever time of the year it was.
In those days everything was hand set – each print letter had to be picked up and set in a ‘stick’ which was two inches wide – the width of a column of reading matter. This was many years before a lino-type was in operation.
When you had done a lot of hand setting you sometimes ran out of some type so you had to change to another type space. This made a difference to the layout of the paper. When the lino-type was installed it did the work of several people – it only needed one operator and you never ran out of type.
I well remember one Monday evening when we set fire to the back of the office. When the ‘Advocate’ had been printed you took the ‘form’ out back and washed the type with a mixture of petrol and kerosene to get the ink off. On this particular night it was dark so George Doak got a rolled wrapping of the paper and lit it so that we could see what we were doing. Yes, you guessed it – there was a loud boom and everything was alight. There was a lot of smart work done before we had the fire under control.
On another occasion, Fred Higmen, who had a moustache about five inches long like a bike handle caused us much mirth. George Doak was a great believer in old time remedies and soaked his cigarettes in eucalyptus to cure a cold. He told Fred to try it; he did – and soaked his cigarettes well, but instead of letting the cigarettes dry out he first put it in his mouth and lit it. That was the last of Fred’s moustache.
The ‘Advocate’ was a very popular paper with the local people. It had a double column headed ‘Sense and Nonsense’. The jokes and humour in that column were much appreciated by all.
After printing the paper on Monday we all had to hop in and wrap them for country areas. I remember when Arthur Mcshane, who had an auctioneering business next door to the ‘Advocate’, would come and help wrap – he always said he wrapped about 10 000 papers on his own.
When I did my apprenticeship, we worked a 68 hour week. On Monday publishing night we mostly did not finish until 9 o’clock. It was a good working life in those days. I had the good fortune to have thorough training and experience in the printing trade with George Doak and the Southern Districts Advocate.
In 1936, when the ‘Advocate’ ceased publication, I went to the Great Southern Herald and later became Foreman of the Printing Department.”
George Doak was more than a journalist. He was involved in so many of Katanning Districts community affairs. He was a committee member of ‘Katanning Days at Albany’. This was a wonderful organisation which gave so many young folk the opportunity of a holiday at the seaside. Many of today’s older generation Katanning Districts people look back with nostalgia at those happy and exciting ‘Katanning Days at Albany’.
Sport in Katanning Districts in those earlier days was outstanding in its high standard and variety – cricket, golf, tennis, football, men’s and women’s hockey and trotting. For many years George Doak was actively and administratively involved in trotting in the Great Southern. In his earlier years he umpired Katanning local football matches. (He was also a champion axeman – ed.)
When the ‘Advocate’ ceased publications in 1936, George bought a farm property out of Manyemy where he was able to continue his joy of gardening – particularly his beloved vegetable garden.
This life of semi-retirement continued until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. With the call up of manpower George Doak was called upon to fill a gap in the newspaper world. The Editor of the Albany Advertiser was soon in the Services and George became Editor of that paper for the duration. The Directors of the Albany Advertiser were most appreciative and complimentary of his expertise in those war years.
So it was now back to retirement – but the printers ink was too thick in George’s veins. At ten years of age, and not content with being idle, George applied for and was successful in a position with the ‘Collie Miner’ newspaper. His life long skills with the printing trade was put too good use.
Today the newspaper media is so vastly different to those days of hand setting of printing – everything now being computerised – but the expertise, dedication, integrity, humanity, humour and newsworthiness of men of the calibre of George Doak and country newspapers such as the Southern Districts Advocate contributed so much to the life of people in the Katanning Districts.
After some four years at Collie, George Doak came to live in Perth with, his youngest daughter. He was still able to have his small vegetable patch and enjoy the company of his children and grandchildren. He was mentally and physically active until he reached 90 years of age when the Editor 0 the Sky called him.
Today in Katanning Districts, third and fourth generation Doaks’ remain active in business and farming, so continuing many years of involvement in Katanning.
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George Doak’s son, George Doak was the Champion axeman.
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