Melway
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| Melway | |
 The front cover of the Melway 35th (2008) edition. |
|
| Author | Melway Publishing Pty. Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Country |  Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Road atlas |
| Publisher | Melway Publishing Pty. Ltd. |
| Publication date | May 1966 (1st (1966) edition) |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 1202 (35th (2008) edition) |
| ISBN | 0909439281 |
Melway (also commonly referred to as Melways or The Melways) is the most ubiquitous street directory for Melbourne, Australia[1] and its immediate surrounds, including the city of Geelong. It is currently in its 35th edition, released on August 10, 2007.
Contents |
[edit] History
Melway was conceived by Merv Godfrey and Iven Mackay in the 1950s. The first edition of Melway was released in May 1966, after five years of work and research. All of the 106 original maps were hand-drawn in ink. Many detractors claimed it would be unpopular due to its high price at the time - $2.50 AUD, twice that of its most expensive competitor.[2]
By the early 1980s Melway was the most popular street directory in Melbourne, holding in excess of 80 per cent of the market; indeed "Melway" had begun to be used as a generic term for any street directory.[3][4] The current RRP for a 2008 Melway is $52.95,[5] but many retailers sell the Melway for around $40 AUD.[6]
In 1982, after the fourteenth edition of Melway had been released, it was awarded the International Cartographic Excellence Award, as well as the inaugural award for Cartographic Excellence from the Australian Institute of Cartographers.[2] Ausway won the Australian award again in 1994 for its first edition of Sydway.
Almost every car driver in Melbourne has a copy of Melway,[7] as will every taxi driver, bus driver and some hire cars. It is officially used by the Victoria Police, fire brigade, ambulance service, Victorian State Emergency Service, St. John Ambulance Victoria and for the State government car fleet. Its main competitor is the UBD, which has a strong footing in Sydney and Brisbane, but is rare in Melbourne in spite of a dramatically lower price,[8][1] (partly due to being printed overseas, while the Melways is still published and printed locally)
[edit] A comprehensive directory
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, and "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 directory.
[edit] Grid references
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.
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 have kept the need for this to an absolute minimum over the years and have 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) in order to protect the integrity and continuity of the original 1966 grid references.
The company who produces Melway show the location of their offices within the Melway street directory. They are located at reference 70 F6, and would appear to be the only private business whose logo appear next to their map location.
[edit] Unique cartography
One of the distinguishing differences of a Melway-style map to 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.
This difference has been copied by UBD in their Melbourne directory,[11] in a bid to capitalise on familiarity of Melway. Interestingly, UBD have only attempted this in the Melbourne directory, retaining their usual format for their other directories.
The original founders of Melway were not only master cartographers, but incredibly fussy about typography. This obsessive attention to detail, which included the development of custom typefaces, resulted in mapping that was not only technically accurate but visually pleasing from a design perspective. The map design was first fully completed by computer in 2000.[2]
[edit] Expansion into other Australian markets
Melway is produced by the company Ausway, which also produces Sydway, Sydway: Central Coast and Brisway directories for Sydney, central coast suburbs between northern Sydney and southern Newcastle, and Brisbane respectively. Although neither is as omnipresent in its target city, Sydway is gaining more recognition after many Sydney taxi companies officially switched to using them.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Melway Publishing Pty Ltd - vs - Robert Hicks Pty Ltd (15 MARCH 2001) Despite some aggressive marketing and promotion of their products by its competitors, UBD and Gregorys, the appellant's Melbourne directory continued to maintain its dominant share of the wholesale and retail market for street directories in Melbourne
- ^ a b c History of Melway (Ausway site)
- ^ Melway Publishing Pty Ltd - vs - Robert Hicks Pty Ltd (15 MARCH 2001)
- ^ Google Books: Paul Smitz (2005) Lonely Planet Australia
- ^ Ausway Online Store
- ^ Maps Downunder
- ^ Melway Publishing Pty Ltd - vs - Robert Hicks Pty Ltd (15 MARCH 2001) So popular was the directory that 60% of the national sales of street directories by the large retail chain K-Mart comprised sales of the appellant's Melbourne directory.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Australian House Hunters Real Estate Blog
- ^ Compare a Google search for UBD reference Melbourne (38,900 results) to Melway reference melbourne (161,000 results)
- ^ Universal Press (2003) UBD 2003 Melbourne & Surrounds Street Directory 38th Edition
