Bellarine brought to life by map-making duo

AFTER successfully producing and releasing an illustrated map of Melbourne in 1990, legendary
map makers Melinda Clarke and Deborah Young Monk have their sights on the Bellarine.

The duo is undertaking a large-scale project to produce a detailed illustration of the Bellarine
Peninsula, a task Melinda said they were both familiar with.

“We met by chance back 30 years ago. I did a lot of backpacking around Europe and America and collected a lot of beautiful illustrated maps.

hen I arrived back to Melbourne, I looked for an illustrated map and there was none,” she said.“I decided I’d make one and began research and planning.

I was looking for an artist to illustrate and I met Deborah through a friend, she was as passionate about the city of Melbourne as I was.”

Melinda said the pair set up shop in her mother’s garage where they worked on the first Melbourne Map over four years. The map now resides in the National Library of Australia.

“That was in the pre-digital era. We had to take the photos on film then have them developed. It was a feat to do a drawing of that size, we published it and it was really popular,” she said.

“About five years ago we decided to reinvigorate the project, I met another artist Lewis Brownlie who was the chief illustrator for the Melbourne Map.”

The release of the update map inspired Melinda and Deborah to tap into another region of Victoria they love: the Bellarine.

Following on from the popularity of A Slice of the Bellarine, a quick sketch produced last year by the pair, the ladies are now actively undertaking the project on a larger scale.

“I moved here 22 years ago and Deborah built a holiday home here in 2001.

These kinds of projects are a labour of love, hugely time consuming and very expensive to produce, but it’s been an ambition of ours for some time to document the Bellarine in illustrative detail.”

Starting this week, you may see them cruising around taking photos of buildings and activities and people they discover when they’re on the road.

“Our other maps are full of quirky and fun illustrations and a lot of these make it on to the grid reference and the ‘Can You Find’ list that accompanies the map,” Melinda said.

“The Bellarine Map project is independently funded and advertisement free however, as many Bellarine businesses and locations will be included as possible.

We want to capture the Bellarine’s fabulous wineries, produce, activities and transport. “As with previous maps, there are many ways lovers of the Bellarine can contribute to the project.

There will be an opportunity to pre-order a map at discounted prices and we welcome ideas and thoughts about what should be on the map.”

For more information head to themelbournemap. com.au.