Melway Commemorative 1966 First Edition

Melbourne’s urban development has swelled over the past four decades, and there has been one iconic publication that has tracked this progress over the years.

The Melway Street Directory has become a Victorian emblem, and it shares a strong connection with the City of Melbourne, having mapped its development since the first edition was published back in 1966.

Melway celebrated this strong bond with the release of a Commemorative 1966 First Edition with some notable Melbourne identities recently. The launch coincided with the release of the 2013 Edition 40, showcasing how far the city and surrounding areas have come.

The event was held at a landmark Melbourne venue, the Melbourne Town Hall on Monday, August 27th, and the iconic venue has its own association to the street directory with Melway-inspired artwork decorating the walls of the Town Hall.

Former Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett and City of Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor, Susan Riley were among the notable guests, and shared their praise for Melway and its representation of the city.

Mr Kennett spoke to the crowd, sharing his personal association with Melway.

“My association goes well back to the early days when Merv Godfrey and Iven Mackay came together to create the Melway as we know it now. My family knew the Mackay family very well, and we were witness to Iven driving for three or four years all over the streets of Melbourne collecting the data for the street maps” Mr Kennett said.

Melway has enjoyed a colourful evolution and has been firmly entrenched in Melbourne’s history. The street directory has become as synonymous with the city as local icons like the Westgate Bridge, the MCG and Flinders Street Station.

But it started out with humble beginnings, in the garage of Merv Godfrey’s family home, where members of the Godfrey and Mackay families endured hours of laborious work to compile the comprehensive maps. There has been much change since then.

Mr Kennett said Melway had stood the test of time in a lucrative market and held “intrinsic value” for Victorians.

“This is a special occasion because in this day and age, for any organisation to survive this period of time is a sign of good administration and success, and continual innovation to stay somewhat ahead of the game. Particularly within print media, which we know, is going through some dramatic changes as younger generations are turning towards different sources.

“Melway has become a bible of all things Melbourne, full of relevant information. Whether it be golf clubs, or whether it be schools, that is so detailed that makes it such an important volume.“

Over the years, Melway has evolved into an unrivaled publication, developing with changing technologies, and surviving the advent of the internet, personal navigation devices and Google maps, as well as entering the iPhone age. But its one constant has been that it has remained the most up-to-date and comprehensive street directory on the market.

Melway Mapping Managing Director, Dean Godfrey attributed this success to a continual dedication to produce the most superior street maps around.

“This is a commemoration of Melway’s progress over the years. I’m excited that our company has a chance to showcase the product that started it all. The First Edition really was a product that was a step up from anything else available at the time and took street mapping to a new level,” he said.

“For our company the Commemorative Edition signifies retrospectively all the hard work that goes into each and every subsequent edition since that First Edition. There is a huge amount of research required to stay up-to-date with our growing city.”

City of Melbourne’s Deputy Lord Mayor, Susan Riley agreed that over the years as new dimensions were added to Melbourne’s landscape, Melway matched this with a new edition.

“Melway is important to Melburnians, because it is both, a functional object and a historical growth of our city. It’s an important part of our collective consciousness,” she said.

“Melway’s history and the City of Melbourne’s is intimately linked,” Councillor Riley finished.