The Age was launched on October 17, 1854 during the turmoil of Victoria 's gold rush era by brothers John and Henry Cooke, who ran a merchant company, Francis Cooke and Co. The first issues sold for sixpence and were filled with news of the latest gold rush and shipping arrivals. A competitor to the Argus and the Morning Herald, The Age would be “a journal of politics, commerce and philanthropy, dedicated to the record of great movements, the advocacy of free institutions, the diffusion of truth and the advancement of man''. They vowed it would be as good as the newspapers of London .
On December 26, 1854 the paper's closure was announced on the front page. Its radical views had not attracted support from the powerful and wealthy and its owners faced rising losses. Four days later a reprieve was declared as employees took the paper over as a "co-partnery". Each member contributed 25 pounds in capital and agreed to sacrifice a percentage of their wage to keep the paper in production. But within another 18 months the paper became insolvent and they were forced to sell. Co-partnery member and ex-Argus journalist Ebenezer Syme bought the paper for 2000 pounds on 6th June 1856 , his brother David Syme becoming a partner on 27th September 1856 .
Ill health and stress caused Ebenezer’s early death in 1860 leaving his brother running the paper. David Syme never used the title of editor or editor-in-chief, but by campaigning for land reform, protection for industry, full adult access to voting and parliament and reasonable working conditions he became known as the “king-maker’’ for his influence over Victorian political life and The Age was known as the “Thunderer’’. The paper became profitable as Syme reduced its price over a number of years, boosting circulation and attracting new advertisers. By 1868 circulation had grown to 15,000.
By August 1899 The Age circulation was 120,000 copies a day. When David Syme died in 1908, ownership of the paper was passed to his sons. Herbert managed the business and Geoffrey was editorial manager. The paper became more conservative under their control, resisting the trend to use photographs on the front page until the Second World War.
In 1948, David Syme and Co became a public company to bring in funds needed for new equipment, but it remained in the control of the family. In 1964, David Syme's 26-year-old great grandson Ranald Macdonald was appointed managing director. He instigated many changes, including Sunday and evening papers. Two years later, the trustees of the estate of David Syme entered into a partnership with John Fairfax and Sons Ltd. In June 1972, Fairfax had increased its shareholding to more than 50 per cent of the company, maintaining the partnership agreement of 1966. But the next year Fairfax announced a takeover bid, gaining control of more than 83 per cent of the company's shares.
In 1966 Graham Perkin was appointed editor at a time when some media critics were expressing doubts about the long-term viability of the print media under the onslaught of current affairs television. Under his leadership The Age returned to a level of power and authority that had not been matched since David Syme's era.
It was Perkin who finally established the independence of newspaper editors from their owners. Historically, Australian press owners, either directly or through boards of directors, had reserved the right to decide editorial policy, particularly at election time. In partnership Ranald Macdonald, Perkin won his battle with the David Syme board for total control of editorial policy. He understood that directors had the power to hire and fire editors. He made directors understand that editors had the right to preside completely over the editorial product. Editors around Australia have benefited from this victory.
Following the death of his father Sir Warwick Fairfax in 1987, Warwick Fairfax took over control of John Fairfax Ltd. But on December 10, 1990 the company collapsed and a receiver was appointed. This was a turbulent period in the modern history of The Age and sparked much debate about media ownership. In February 1991, more than 200 Age journalists went on strike for 24 hours calling for a charter of editorial independence. In December 1991, the Tourang consortium headed by Canadian media owner Conrad Black and US merchant bank Hellman and Friedman Partners, purchased the John Fairfax Group. Tourang was later renamed John Fairfax Holdings. In March 1992, a $208 million public share issue was announced and on May 8 that year John Fairfax Holdings was floated on the stock exchange.
In January 1995, The Age became the first Australian newspaper to publish on the Internet. Initially it covered just 10 stories a day, but today the majority of what is printed in the newspaper goes online with stories updated as they break. In a major upgrade, in July 2003 a new $220 million printing facility, The Age Print Centre, opened at Tullamarine.