Melway, colloquially referred to as Melways or The Melways, is a street directory for Melbourne,Melway Publishing Pty Ltd – vs – Robert Hicks Pty Ltd (15 March 2001) Despite some aggressive marketing and promotion of their products by its competitors, the appellant's Melbourne directory continued to maintain its dominant share of the wholesale and retail market for street directories in Melbourne Victoria, Australia and its immediate surrounds, including the city of Geelong. Formerly a highly ubiquitous directory, Melway is currently in its 50th edition, the 2024 edition.
History Melway was conceived by Merv Godfrey and Ray Harrison in the 1950s. After Harrison died in 1961, Iven Mackay was recruited by Merv as the new partner for the project. Godfrey and Mackay developed the first edition of Melway, which was released in May 1966. Melway initially faced skepticism toward its market potential due to its selling price of $2.50, nearly twice that of its nearest competitor. All of the 106 original maps were hand-drawn in ink. First editions of Melway can sell for around $500 on the second-hand market. A reprint of the first edition was released in 2012, and can be purchased from Melway.Melway Commemorative 1966 1st Edition The original maps from the first edition can be viewed online via a clickable map.
By the early 1980s, Melway was the most popular street directory in Melbourne, holding over 80 per cent of the market, and "Melway" had begun to be used as a generic term for any street directory.
In 1982, after the fourteenth edition of Melway had been released, it was awarded the International Cartographic Association Excellence Award, as well as the inaugural award for Cartographic Excellence from the Australian Institute of Cartographers. Ausway won the Australian award again in 1994 for its first edition of Sydway.
As of 2001, most motorists in Melbourne had a copy of Melway,Melway Publishing Pty Ltd – vs – Robert Hicks Pty Ltd (15 March 2001) So popular was the directory that 60 per cent of the national sales of street directories by the large retail chain K-Mart comprised sales of the appellant's Melbourne directory. as did many taxi drivers, bus drivers, and hire cars. The Victoria Police, fire brigade, ambulance service, Victorian State Emergency Service, St John Ambulance Victoria and for the State government car fleet officially use Melway. Its main competitor is UBD-Gregory's, which is the most popular brand in all other states and territories. The development of section 46 in Australia: Melway and its likely impact on business – November 2000 Given the national scope of Universal Press's dominance in most city markets (except Melbourne) it is not improbable or even unlikely that it could, if it was worth its while, engage in an extensive advertising or marketing campaign to attempt to make more of an impact in this one market where it holds insignificant market share.
Features
While primarily a street directory, Melway editions also contain details on public transport (train, tram, and bus routes, tickets and prices), bicycle paths, suburb and postcode details, public parks and reserves, landmarks (such as commercial buildings, telephone boxes, pubs and restaurants), attractions, and also boat mooring details in recognised docks.
In addition to the blue-bordered and red-bordered street maps, there are yellow-bordered maps of university campuses and crematoria. Moreover, there are also green-bordered maps showing routes through the country to Adelaide and Sydney. Many versions of the street directory are obtainable, usually in standard or large-print editions, wall-charts, or an online catalogue.
Grid references In Melbourne it is common for a Melway reference (in the format Map—Grid reference, e.g., 59 K5) to be given along with directions on, for example, an event notice or real estate advertisement.Australian House Hunters Real Estate Blog It is generally assumed that everyone has, or has access to, a copy of the directory in Melbourne. By comparison, the UBD reference for a particular "Melways reference" (as it is colloquially known) can be significantly different, but is rarely (if ever) provided.Compare a Google search for UBD reference Melbourne (38,900 results) to Melway reference melbourne (161,000 results) It is generally assumed that all such references, regardless of whether it is explicitly stated or not, are from the Melway directory and not from the UBD. The reverse is true in all other states and territories.
Some organisations provide a Melway year of publication in addition to their map reference (e.g., (2006) 70 F6), to avoid confusion if map references change in newer versions of the directory. However, Melway has kept the need for this to an absolute minimum over the years. It has held off several cartographic features, including a more logical overall tiling of pages across the entire metropolitan area (which do appear in the Sydway and Brisway). That is to protect the integrity and continuity of the original 1966 grid references.
Cartography One of the distinguishing differences of a Melway-style map from other Australian street directories is in the rendering of roads. Rather than the traditional drawing of two lines with the road name printed in-between, (known as "double casing") Melway maps show a single line with the name above or below the road, in many colours reflecting the identity or usage of the road. This allows for much more detail to fit into the same size map, as well as showing dual carriageways, slip lanes, service roads, speed bumps, roundabouts, and other useful information.
UBD has copied this difference in their Melbourne directory,Universal Press (2003) UBD 2003 Melbourne & Surrounds Street Directory 38th Edition in a bid to capitalise on the familiarity of Melway. UBD has only attempted this in the Melbourne directory, retaining their usual format for their other directories. The map design was first fully completed by computers in 2000.
Editions There have been 50 editions of Melway since the mid-1960s. A new edition is typically released late one year and denoted as being for the following year. For example, edition 35 was released in August 2007 and denoted as the 2008 Melway. Despite this discrepancy, numerous roads and other features under construction or proposal are included (e.g.Eastlink in the 35th edition). Therefore, editions dating up to 5 or even ten years old could still remain useful.
List of editions +EditionYearAdditions and changesNotes11966All maps from this edition, as well as editions 2–5, can be viewed online for free via a clickable map. 21968Central Melbourne map introduced.31969Postcode boundaries, house numbers and 10 new maps4197011 new maps51971Over-dimensional route maps61973Enlarged university maps7197445 new maps including Mornington Peninsula, 4,000 new streets81975750 new streets91976Traffic lights, 20 new maps10197736 new maps including Bacchus Marsh and Geelong, as well as kindergartens and RSL clubs1119784m clearance bridges, taxi and car hire121979Rescaled to metric131980Public transport section and bus routes141982Inner city maps, bicycle paths, Bellarine Peninsula maps151984Inner Geelong maps, enlarged map of Victorian Arts Centre1619869 new maps including Warburton171987Revised and updated181988Large print edition first published19198928 new maps, Yarra Glen and Phillip Island201990Central Melbourne mobility map211991Bus routes reintroduced, 30 new maps including 18 touring maps, Australia map22199336 new maps. Enlarged maps for Dandenong, Frankston, and Melbourne Airport23199424 new maps including Sunbury, Craigieburn and Healesville, cross referencing, new council boundaries241996Enlarged CBD maps, 9 new maps, fire, water and electricity boundaries, CityLink251997Enlarged Southbank, Kensington and Footscray maps26199824 new maps including Greater Geelong, Doreen, Mernda, and Docklands boundaries271999Enlarged maps of St Kilda, new suburb boundariesFor 2000282000Every map computer generated, hook turns, official suburb names, boundaries and postcodesFor 200129200129 new maps, expanded coverage of Werribee, dog prohibited areasFor 200230200217 new maps including Lorne, Nar Nar Goon and Tynong, Queenscliffe enlargement, bicycle facilitiesFor 2003312003GPS compatible, enlarged maps of Box Hill and Moonee Ponds, marine parks, shared bicycle road routesFor 200432200412 new maps including Wollert and Eynesbury, Eastern Ring Road route, Avalon Airport facilitiesFor 2005332005New hierarchy of roads, Craigieburn BypassFor 2006342006Flemington Racecourse enlargementFor 2007352007eWay electronic street directory releasedFor 2008362008Petrol stations, speed and red light cameras, EastLink fully detailedFor 2009. Included Melway Ballarat edition 1.372009New maps for Beveridge, proposed Peninsula Link alignmentFor 2010382010Peninsula Link alignment under construction, proposed Outer Ring Road and rail corridorFor 2011392011New maps for Macedon, Mount Macedon, Riddells Creek and BannockburnFor 2012402012Completed link between Geelong Ring Road and Princes Highway, proposed link between Surf Coast Highway and Anglesea Road, new Geelong suburbs of Armstrong Creek and CharlemontFor 2013412013Includes Kilmore, proposed link between the Surf Coast Highway and Angelsea Road, and completed Peninsula LinkFor 2014422014Includes Koo Wee RupFor 2015432015Includes 900 more streets and the proposed West Gate DistributorFor 20164420161100 additional street listings and 500 updated mapsFor 2017452017Includes 2600 additional streets, 500 revised maps, updates on the West Gate Tunnel and the Metro Tunnel channelFor 20184620181000 more street listingsFor 2019472019500 revised maps totalling 2000 further street listings, updates on the Level Crossing Removal Project, Metro Tunnel, North East Link and Drysdale BypassFor 20204820201700 additional street listings and expanded coverage of Cardinia, Pakenham South, Wallan, Tynong and PakenhamFor 20214920221350 additional street listings and expanded coverage of Melbourne to Geelong, Healesville, Kinglake, Wallan, Wandong, Gisborne, Bacchus Marsh, Pakenham and PortseaFor 20235020232100 new street listings, further expanded coverage of Melbourne to Geelong, Healesville, Kinglake, Wallan, Wandong, Gisborne, Bacchus Marsh, Pakenham and Portsea, Mickleham extension, proposed government projects such as the Railway Crossing Removal Program, the under construction Pakenham to Koo Wee Rup Bypass, Metro Rail Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel, and the North East Link which will link the Metropolitan Ring Road in Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen. Also includes the proposed Frankston to Box Hill alignment of the underground outer suburban rail loopFor 2024
Expansion into other Australian markets
Melway has spawned an umbrella company known as Ausway, which started producing directories for other cities and towns from the early 1990s onwards. These other directories include: Sydway – Sydney, introduced 1994 Sydway: Central Coast – Central Coast, New South Wales region, introduced 1999 Brisway – Brisbane, Queensland introduced 2005 and most recent issue was 2017 Ballarat Special Edition Melway – introduced 2008 Melway Perth – Perth, Western Australia, introduced 2010
References
External links Official website View maps from the first edition View maps from the current edition