Launched on 3 October 2024, this book is an RHSV publication (in partnership with the State Library of Victoria) which expands on the popular but now well out-of-print book by historian Weston Bate, Essential but Unplanned. The Story of Melbourne’s Lanes (1994).  The new book (280 pages) more than doubles the size of the old with extra chapters by MHW team Andy May and Nicole Davis to bring the story of Melbourne’s lanes up to date. The new production is co-authored with Richard Broome and Helen Stitt, and includes a multitude of new photos – both contemporary and historical, colour and black-and-white – as well as more comprehensive appendices.

Interview with Richard Broome on 11 September 2024 (ABC Radio Melbourne, Afternoons with Trevor Chappell).

Interview with Andy May on 1 October 2024 (Radio 3RRR Breakfasters with Daniel Burt, Nat Harris & Monique Sebire).

Interview with Andy May on 2 October 2024 (ABC Radio Melbourne, Evenings with David Astle).

Richard Broome, Nicole Davis and Helen Stitt chat with Philip Brady and Simon Owens about the new book “The Story of Melbourne’s Lanes” (3AW 13 October 2024)