General News
22 July, 2026
Advocate on the move
THE Ararat Advocate is heading to a new home. West Vic News recently negotiated the purchase of 90 High Street Ararat with plans to move the newspaper into the building later this year. The building – formerly Sertori Accounting – will give West Vic News more room after outgrowing current offices in Barkly Street.
90 High Street will house the staff who produce the Ararat Advocate, Stawell Times-News and Pyrenees Advocate.
Publisher Craig Wilson said the purchase followed almost a year searching for the right location.
“We have looked at numerous premises around Ararat and were unable to find something that ticked most of the boxes until now.
“While 90 High Street isn’t in the middle of town like our current office, it is close to everything and will give our staff more room to work.
“I have to thank David Jennings from Elders for the work he has put into this. David showed us through multiple properties and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t getting sick of us.”
Mr Wilson said the new premises would cement the newspaper in Ararat.
“This is a big deal for us, buying premises instead of renting, but we are confident the business will survive in an ever changing media climate,” he said.
“Once some renovations have taken place we’ll start to move people across.
90 High Street is directly opposite Ararat Railway Station and is next door to Services Australia (Centrelink).
West Vic News started the Ararat Advocate in May 2020 when the Ararat Advertiser went into recess at the start of the pandemic.
At the time, the company published the Pyrenees Advocate, and the Ararat publication was only meant to run for ten weeks.
But due to strong community support, the Ararat Advocate has become a permanent fixture in Ararat and continues to enjoy strong support.
In 2025, West Vic News purchased the Ararat Advertiser and Stawell Times-News mastheads from Australian Community Media.
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