Mr Lane will be the guest speaker at the Historical Society’s next meeting – his subject will be ‘the changing face and place of High Street Maitland.

The street at the heart of the city has changed greatly over the decades.

Retail has boomed, withered and boomed again, the surrounding population has grown and the construction of the Les Darcy Drive bypass changed the way they moved about.

The Heritage Mall was built and, more recently, was drastically renovated. Today the construction continues on the Riverlink building – with restaurants and modern architecture just around the corner. 

John Lane’s family has witnessed the changes first hand –  his father started Ken Lane’s Menswear in 1948.

John was active for many years on the Maitland Chamber of Commerce and, on retirement, he became the chairman of the board of The Mutual.

His boots-on-the-ground experience and family connections make him uniquely placed to comment on the changing face and place of the city.

The Society asks for a gold-coin donation to cover the cost of refreshments.

The meeting will be held at the 5.30pm on Tuesday, May 2 at the Society Rooms at 3 Cathedral St, Maitland.