Melway, colloquially referred to as Melways or The Melways,[1][2] is a street directory for Melbourne,[3]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[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] A reprint of the first edition was released in 2012, and can be purchased from Melway.[7] The original maps from the first edition can be viewed online via a clickable map.[8]
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.[9][10]
As of 2001, most motorists in Melbourne had a copy of Melway,[11] 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.[3][12]
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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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,[15] 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.[5]
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.
1350 additional street listings and expanded coverage of Melbourne to Geelong, Healesville, Kinglake, Wallan, Wandong, Gisborne, Bacchus Marsh, Pakenham and Portsea
For 2023
50
2023
2100 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 loop
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:
