Corporate Profile
The ENG Media story began in 1920 when a young Charles “C.D.” Lanyon joined the fledging newspaper Sunraysia Daily.
On October 1, 1920 The Mildura Cultivator together with the Mildura Telegraph and the Merbein Irrigationist were bought out by Clement De Garis, a young publicity agent, who had a vision of a daily newspaper in the district.
At this time De Garis had organised an Australian wide competition for the Australian Dried Fruits Association to find the best name for the dried fruits grown in the region. The winning entry “Sun-raysed” was altered to “Sunraysia” to describe the area from where the fruit came and he used the new word for the first time on the first issue of Sunraysia Daily on October 16, 1920. It was the first time a daily newspaper had been published to serve such a small population.
Several years after the paper began De Garis ran into financial problems and in May 1923, Sunraysia Daily was placed in the hands of a Melbourne firm of financiers. Sunraysia Daily continued to be published until it was bought out, in 1924, by a company consisting of Mr Percy Stewart MP, Ethal Page, wife of deputy Prime Minister Dr (later Sir) Earl Page and Mr R. D. Elliott, later to become a senator.
The New Sunraysia Daily Pty Ltd was formed in December 1924 and the paper was on sound financial footing for the first time.
Mr Elliott eventually bought out his two partners and formed the Elliott Provincial Newspaper Group (EPNG) in 1935. The period between 1924 and 1939 was one of healthy growth for the group with the acquisition of other regional newspapers.
During the period, EPNG acquired small papers: the Ouyen Mail, Woomelang Sun and Mallee Harvester, Castlemaine Mail, Shepparton Advisor, The Guardian - Swan Hill and Wentworth Evening News.
Influential in the expansion of the EPNG was C.D. Lanyon, then Company Secretary, who started with the business in 1920 as assistant accountant. Mr Lanyon was appointed manager of Sunraysia Daily in 1939. C.D. Lanyon was instrumental in obtaining the licence and establishment of Radio 3MA Mildura in 1933 and was a shareholder.
Following R.D. Elliott’s death in 1950, Mr Lanyon secured a controlling interest in the company and became its managing director, while R.D.’s wife, Hilda, became Chairman. It was during this time that C.D. was instrumental in encouraging Hilda to bequeath to the City of Mildura the magnificent “Elliott” art collection – once described as “without doubt”, the finest private collection of British contemporary art in Australia. It became the inspiration for the building of the Mildura Art Gallery and is headlined by a Edgar Degas pastel titled Femme a la Baignoire se Coiffant (www.milduraartscentre.com.au/Visit/Gallery/Mildura-Arts-Centre-Collection.aspx).
The group bought further interests in regional newspapers in Gippsland, at this time dropping the word “provincial” from its name and becoming Elliott Newspaper Group.
C.D.’s son Bill joined the business in 1956 with “hands-on” experience in several of the newspaper’s departments before becoming Company Secretary in 1958. Together with C.D. they were Chairman and Company Secretary of Sunraysia Television Ltd. which formed in 1963 and was the company that obtained the licence and started television in Mildura in 1966.
Hilda Elliott passed away in 1969 and the Lanyon family became the sole proprietors, which they continue to own today.
Ross Lanyon joined the business in 1984 after completing an accounting degree and working at the Herald and Weekly Times in Melbourne and became Company Secretary in 1985 .
C.D. Lanyon passed away in April 1988. He was awarded a Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal in 1978 for services to the newspaper industry. Bill became Chairman and Managing Director.
C.D.’s passing triggered a number of “cross-media” ownership issues for the company and it moved to dispose of its television and radio interests.
In 1971, Bill helped establish Sunraysia Permanent Building Society, which later merged with Bendigo Building Society in 1995, which later became the Bendigo Bank. Bill served on the board of the Bank until 2002.
In November 1997 Ross’ brother Jamie joined the business as an accountant after completing his degree in Melbourne and working at the “Big 4” accounting firm Deloitte.
Ross Lanyon became Managing Director in 2008 while Bill remained Chairman until his passing in September 2013.
After Bill’s passing the remaining family decided to apportion the business between the Lanyon family in Mildura and their cousins the Ellen’s. The Lanyon family retained the publishing interests in Mildura, Swan Hill and Kerang, while the Ellen’s took over ownership of the publications in Central Victoria and Gippsland.
In 2020, the Company decided to drop the “Newspaper” from its name and become ENG Media, better representing the media market it now works in.
Today the group publishes newspapers and websites in Mildura, Swan Hill, Kerang, Cohuna, with a newly opened newspaper and website the Broken Hill Times in Broken Hill commencing in October 2024.
ENG Media is proud of its record of story-telling in the communities it has served for over 100 years. Quality journalism and the publication of local news has always been – and remains – its core purpose.
In an increasingly challenging media market, ENG Media continues to explore ways to meet the changing needs of our audiences and customers, whether through traditional platforms (like printed newspapers and magazines), or through innovations in digital, mobile, outdoor and social media.
ENG Media is committed to strengthening its relationship with the communities it serves, and continuing to seek out more effective ways for advertisers to connect with customers.