The first question we usually get from anyone that
hears our name is “where did you get the name from?” Well
we thought we would supply a little info on "Stoney Monday". The
owner Rell Hayes was travelling through Canada in the early eighties and spent
several months in Ottawa (Canada 's Capital). During this time he spent
numerous drunken nights in a very funky pub called Stoney Mondays located in the
“Market Area” (the Byward Markets). That was where the name came from. (or so
we thought). During a little net browsing one of
our staff came across a site on the Byward Markets of Ottawa. This site traces
the history of the markets from the early 1800's. Whilst reading the history we
discovered the real origin of the Stoney Monday name. The
Byward Market is where Ottawa was born. The market is very close to the Rideau
Canal which forms part of the St Lawrence Seaway which runs though Canada . It
was known as Bytown and was a very divided area in its early days. They had an
Uppertown (the wealthier part) , a Lowertown (a very poor part) and a French neighbour
town of Hull . Some very serious riots in Montreal in the late 1840's culminated
in the torching of Parliament house. This forced the then Governor General
Lord Elgin to search for a new site for the Parliament. Bytown was suggested and
Lord Elgin agreed on a visit to check the town out. A town meeting was called
in the Byward Market building for the following Monday to discuss the upcoming
visit. The town was incredibly divided on the issue and a bloody riot broke out
between the Uptowns and Lowtowns during a meeting. One person was shot dead and
stones were thrown. The event is known as STONEY MONDAY. Should
you like the full story visit www.ottawakiosk.com/ByWardMarket/index.html
Now to our company history. Stoney
Monday (formerly Rell Hayes Promotions & Marketing) has been operating for
over 15 years. It was started by and is still owned
by Rell Hayes in Perth , Western Australia The
company was originally in the area of instore promotions for retail outlets such
as Archie Martin Vox, Dymocks, Chandlers and Myer. This division was sold shortly
after we went into amusements. We currently have
two Australian divisions; Digitizing and Pool Tables. We also have a Hotel Resort
division and a spa in Thailand . The Pool table Division
has been running for 13 years and the Digitizing Division was added in March 2001.
Over the previous 5 years we have had major growth
in our company and look forward to this continuing for many years to come. |