The Penrith Museum of Printing is aiming to raise $5,000 by 30 September in a bid to raise funds for the relocation of an antique Heidelberg press that was used to print Australia’s last letterpress newspaper, the Don Dorrigo Gazette.

To date (and at the time of publication), it has raised $1,975, still needing the industry’s support to hit its target.

The Don Dorrigo Gazette, which was servicing the NSW mid-north coastal town of Dorrigo since the 1910s, recently ceased operation after running for more than 110 years because of the digital age taking over and mechanical failures.

The Heidelberg cylinder printing press used to print the Don Dorrigo Gazette is planned for relocation to the Penrith Museum of Printing, where it will continue to operate as a working press.

However, due to the high costs of decommissioning and relocating the 1939 Heidelberg cylinder letterpress machine, the museum has set up a crowdfunding website with the help of Wide Format Online’s Andy McCourt.

“The machine needs to travel 575km from Dorrigo to the museum, where it will be lovingly restored. As you know, the Penrith Museum of Printing is run by volunteers and is a not-for-profit that regularly runs courses and site tours at this working museum,” McCourt said.

“Raising $5,000 will help the museum enormously. This is what it will cost to decommission, freight the five-tonne press and relocate it inside the museum.

“This press has an amazing history, which I am still researching. In the photo is the late John English who bought the press from a dealer in 1970, but it actually arrived in Australia in 1954 and Seligson & Clare installed it in South Australia.

“Please donate to our relocation costs campaign and share it with your friends and family to help us raise the funds for this project. All helpers will receive a letterpress-printed certificate of gratitude once the Heidelberg machine is in the museum and working.”

Click here to donate to the cause.

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