Ever wonder how mail was sorted before all the big and fast machines? Neither had we, until we saw this photo in Postal Lane in the center of Melbourne.

We learned that as Melbourne grew rapidly in the 1800’s the number of postal sorters grew from three to dozens to 2,500. They were housed in a small street linked to the central post office that was covered to create a workspace. A common practice to support the growth. By the mid-1850’s there were 80 named lanes, dedicated to a variety of uses.

Today these lanes, alleyways and arcades (the covered ones) are a huge part of Melbourne’s shopping and dining charm. Winding through them is one of the things we love about being here for the third time (actually Jim spent six months here leading a consulting team 30 years ago). Today Postal Lane is mostly food. It is quite modest by comparison to many others, yet helped shape the trend then and now.

Like so much of Melbourne, these lanes and alleyways have been amazingly well preserved. They are all now covered by heritage status, which is widespread here and strongly protected.

Royal Lane, completed over 150 years ago in 1869, is the standard bearer for shopping.