Media: Paperback - (167 pages)
Year: (1884) facsimile edition 1983

The 1884-1885 Directory was the first year of publication for the Middleton and Manings Gippsland Directory, and is an absolute treasure of information.

Beginning with a heap of advertisements from local businesses of the time, this is followed by a short gazetteer of places around the region, as well as general information on the districts of Gippsland.

The main part of the Directory consisting of about 100 pages, is the Alphabetical Directory. Listed alphabetically by surname under each region, this lists heads of household (mostly male but there are a few females mentioned), together with their occupation and address. Among this list you will find farmers, labourers, coach painters, dairywoman, teacher, saddler, brickmaker, merchant, laundress, hotel keeper, minister of religion, dressmaker, grocer, grazier, gasfitter, seedsman, coachbuilder, engineer, auctioneer, upholsterer, fowler, journalist, surveyor, musician, traveller, watchmaker, solicitor, restaurant keeper, blacksmith and miner ... just to mention a few. So in other word it is not just "business owners" mentioned in this directory it is everyone.

Truly a must for anyone with connections to this region in the 1884-1885 era, it also includes a tourists' guide and map to the Gippsland Lakes which shows some travel routes.