Мельбурн карталарының тарихы және «Melway» анықтамалығы

Melway, colloquially referred to as Melways or The Melways, is a street directory for 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.

Merv Godfrey and another partner conceived Melway in the 1950s. That partner died in 1961. Godfrey set out to secure a new partner, and found Iven Mackay. Together, they developed the first Melway. After five years of work and research, the first edition was released in May 1966. Some sceptics felt that Melway would fail to sell because its price at the time was $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 for $150. 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; indeed "Melway" had begun to be used as a generic term for any street directory. The current RRP for a 2017 Melway is $62.95, but many retailers sell Melway for around $40. 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. as do many taxi drivers, bus drivers and some 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.

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.

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. 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. 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.