Maitland's relationship with the Monopoly board is storied.
Back in 2015, the Maitland Mercury (a sister title of the Newcastle Herald) went in hard to campaign for a city square on the game's World Edition.
Their efforts went viral and gained international support from the unofficial fraternity of Maitlands around the world as folks cast their vote on a wildcard regional city to be added to the board.
Then Merc journo Jessica Brown even made an appeal on the weekend Today show to rally support, but the state's second city of the second city was ultimately outdone by somewhere called Giethoorn.
Maitland was robbed. Robbed by a place whose most common Google search questions include - and this is true - "Is it worth going to Giethoorn?".
We'll save you the trouble, Google: No.
Giethoorn is made mainly of Dutch consonants, has no roads, and is almost entirely flowers.
It's nowhere near as good as Maitland. Do you want to know how we know? Because now Maitland has a whole gosh-darn Monopoly board, and Giethoorn still only has a square.
Of course, it's not the first time we've had local sites on the board. In 2017, Maitland was added to a Community edition of the Hasbro game funded by a Community Drug Action Team (CDAT) grant, which aimed to teach children and teens life skills and how to make positive choices.
Then, of course, in 2019, Newcastle got its board as Hasbro started rolling out custom regional editions, and included iconic spots like Newcastle, Bar and Merewether beaches; King Edward Park; Blackbutt Reserve; Fort Scratchley; Newcastle Ocean Baths; Darby Street and Hunter Street.
Then, in 2023, the Valley got its Monopoly treatment, developed by Cessnock City Council to promote the region and local government area.
The Hunter is steeped in Monopoly lore.
And now, to bring this history full circle, Maitland is getting its own edition (of the entire game, Giethoorn. Beat that!)
According to a statement by Maitland City Council, which released the special edition this week, Tocal, The Levee, and the historic Walka Water Works are on the list of properties, as well as the famous Maitland Gaol.
Maitland Mayor Philip Penfold said it was "only fitting that Maitland as one of NSW's fastest growing regional cities has its own version of Monopoly that celebrates our rich history, heritage and culture".
'Maitland is a fantastic place to live, work and play - and fun initiatives like this spotlight our landmarks and lifestyle including our lively arts community, colourful events calendar, burgeoning culinary scene and boutique accommodation options," Cr Penfold said.
"This edition is a great keepsake for locals and visitors as it retains all the beloved elements of the traditional game, with the added charm that comes from capturing Maitland's riverside locale and historic locations."
Maitland Monopoly is now available at the Maitland Visitor Information Centre, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland Gaol and via the MyMaitland website.
Justice at last.
Monopoly, incidentally, dates back to 1903 when it was called 'The Landlords Game' and was initially intended to be a cautionary lesson on the dangers of a single tax system. The Landlords Game was created by American anti-monopolist Lizzie Magie, who sought to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies. Monopoly, which was inspired by Magie's version, emerged around 1935.
It's estimated that there are hundreds of versions of the game in various reprints and localisations among the 103 countries where Monopoly is licensed, and versions have been created in 37 languages.
In Australia, Bunnings notably has its version, as do Supercars (don't mention the war!) and the AFL. To say nothing of the three Hunter whole-board showings while Giethoorn has (*checks notes*) none.
