THE magical Mr Murray has done it again.

This remarkable picture was conjured up from the vaults of York's leading historian Hugh Murray.

It depicts "The Meeting Of All Yorks At York" and Hugh sent it across after reading the Diary item on Monday about our city and its international namesakes.

In this we noted that an attempt by ex-pat Ron Willis to bring the world's Yorks together for a mass knees-up had ended fruitlessly.

Only yesterday, the Evening Press carried a story suggesting that a further effort to bring Mother York closer to her offspring had ended sourly.

In January, a representative from York, Western Australia, gave a painting to our city to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Aussie town. But the belated acknowledgement of the gift led the artist to demand her picture back after being "snubbed by the Poms".

All this rancour makes the intercontinental celebration captured in this picture even more remarkable.

It dates from the York Great Historic Pageant, held from July 26 to 31, 1909. At the hub are the representative of old York, Mrs Edwin Gray, of Gray's Court, and a certain Mrs R Forbes-Polloxfen, of New York.

Mrs F-P can be clearly distinguished thanks to her impressive stars-and-stripes outfit. The two women brought the tableau to a close by exchanging a symbolic kiss of friendship.

Arrayed around them are folk representing no fewer than 17 Yorks, many of whom displayed banners declaring their location. Whether they actually hailed from the various cities named, or were locals, is not clear.

Most of the Yorks were from the United States, with Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio clearly visible. Another came from Toronto, Canada, a city originally called York and whose university still bears the name. (To this day post intended for one York University arrives thousands of miles away at the other.)

But there are also Yorks from Queensland, Tasmania and even Sierra Leone.

Hugh believes this is the last such occasion when the world of York united. Anyone up for organising a reprise, perhaps in time for the centenary in 2009?

Updated: 09:25 Wednesday, April 05, 2006