Monash Bridge spans the Diamond Creek at Hurstbridge. It was built in 1917 for the Shires of Heidelberg, Eltham and Whittlesea. It is considered Nillumbik Shire's finest engineered bridge and was construced by the engineering company of Sir John Monash. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p117 Monash Bridge is considered the Shire’s finest engineered bridge and was constructed by the engineering company of that great Australian, Sir John Monash.1 The bridge spans Diamond Creek on the Hurstbridge-Arthurs Creek Road, linking Hurstbridge with Yarrambat and Arthurs Creek. Monash Bridge, also called Hurst’s Bridge, was built in 1917, by the Reinforced Concrete and Monier Pipe Construction Company Pty Ltd, for the Shires of Heidelberg, Eltham and Whittlesea. Although Monash was probably in action overseas during World War One when the bridge was designed and constructed, he evolved the basic design in the 1900s and it was a standard design for the firm. However J A Laing, a designer at the firm, was probably the designer, as his initials are on bridge drawings held by the Eltham District Historical Society.2 The bridge is an excellent early Australian example of an open spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge and has a single span of 29 metres. It is unusual in Victoria, but similar to many reinforced concrete arch bridges in Europe and America, built from the late 19th century. In Victoria, Monash pioneered the use of reinforced concrete – then a revolutionary construction material. His company, Monash & Anderson, had the exclusive licence for the Monier patent for the system of reinforced concrete construction for Victoria and New South Wales. A well-known example of the Monier arch bridge is the Morell Bridge in South Yarra. The sweeping arch of the Monash Bridge combines grace and utility and blends with the surrounding rural landscape. Its design and construction have allowed it to carry increasing volumes of heavy traffic, but in modern times the one lane is considered by some to prevent easy passage through Hurstbridge. However others consider this an asset to deter too much more traffic, which would diminish Hurstbridge’s charming rural character.3 This is the third bridge across the Diamond Creek at this site. The original bridge was a log bridge upstream, constructed in the 1850s by early settler, Henry Hurst, after whom Hurstbridge was named. The bridge spanned the creek, where it divided his family’s property. In the 1880s a timber bridge replaced it, known as Hurst’s Bridge. However a more permanent bridge was considered necessary when the new railway arrived in 1912, bringing with it expectations of growth in the town and the surrounding fruit-growing district. Monash Bridge’s official opening on November 3, 1917 was a gala occasion, which took place before about 1000 spectators. Two who attended the opening had a particularly sound knowledge of the locality. One was Fred Hurst, Henry’s brother, who used to ford the creek at or near the bridge’s site more than 50 years before. The other was John McDonald of Arthurs Creek, who had built the old wooden bridge over the creek about 40 years earlier.4 Although John Monash was a fine engineer, his fame came from his brilliant war career, rather than from his engineering or his many other achievements. Monash was Corps Commander of the Australian Forces. His brilliance was recognised with his awards: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Knight Commander of the Bath. Monash was also decorated by the French, Belgian, and American Governments.5 After the war, Monash worked in many prominent civilian positions, the most notable as head of the Victorian State Electricity Commission. He was a leading and loved public figure, involved in many public and private organisations. He was president of the Australian Zionist Federation and involved in the Boy Scouts. Monash University is named after him. By the 1920s Monash was probably regarded as the greatest living Australian.6 Despite most of his life working as an administrator and leader, rather than a fighting soldier, he became integral to the ANZAC legend. Monash died in 1931.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, hurstbridge, monash bridge

Blue hard covered book with hand written reports from the Art Principal, H.H. Principal. Two letters are pasted into the front, one from Frank Tate of the Victorian Education Department. 26 April 1918 - Proposed pottery industry in Ballarat 31 May 1919 - Erection of pottery kiln, with Selkirk bricks. 28 June 1918 - Daylesford Technical Art School. 30 August 1918 - Resignation of C. Campbell, instructor of Photography. 25 October 1918 - Returned Soldiers Classes in Art Metal and Signwriting. 25 October 1918 - Herald Shield Trophy 28 July 1922 - Ragged Boys Home, Tennis Court 22 August 1924 - Letterhead of the Attorney General Victoria concerning the transfer of the Ballarat Supreme Court to the Ballarat School of Mines. 15 October 1924 and 20 May 1925 - Carvings of 24 panels decorated with Australian birds, animals and flora to form part of the decoratve scheme for the Villers Bretonneux school. 21 April 1926 - White Flat is available for the use of the school. 29 February 1928 - Donation of a linotype machine by The Courier. 27 June 1928 - Internal Sewerage to the Ballarat Technical Art Schoolballarat school of mines, ballarat technical art school, h.h. smith, returned soldier teachers, harold herbert, ponsonby carew-smyth, f.h. hoskin, carpentry workshop, donald i. johnston, herald shield, kenneth moss, hilda wardle, miss bell, margaret bell, millinery, j.y. mcdonald soldiers memorial, john rowell, repatriation building, stained glass classes, dressmaking fees, ballarat supreme court, m. baird, carvings, villers bretonneux school carvings, ethel kift, m.c. young, macrobertson scholarship, elvie ford, edwin robinson, annie hauser, robina mackie, e. quick, tennis court, w.e. gower, colin hunt, white flat, frank hall, effie holmes, mavis beacham, henry harvey, plaster casts, pearl frickie, w.r. dean, marjery henderson, sewerage, laura crouch, ballarat teachers' college, gertie gough, gwen nagle, lynda clark, jack walker, cyril gibbs, repatriation, donald johnston, ceramics, kiln, c. campbell, photography, jean maude, sylvia copperwaite, olga dulfer, may pollock, margaret bailey, stella clarkson, may norrie, nellie nicholls, nancy govan, edith curnow, kathleen windsor, betty johnson, edna pearson, elvie thege, gwen neagle, effie george, gwen tunbridge

Township of Eltham, Parish of Nillumbik, County of Evelyn / lithographed at the Department of Lands & Survey Melbourne 5th June 1888, amended 2 October 1929 This amendment from the 1888 original shows the reserve for the the State School marked as permanent with dimensions added to Main Road and block frontages along Main Road between Mount Pleasant Road and Dalton Street and Metery Road Possibly photocopied from a copy held at PROV by Harry Gilham whilst resaerching Eltham Primary School history in 1995.a. armstrong, a. lavard, arthur c. allan, arthur c. allen, b. bowatere, baxter street, benjamin oliver wallis, bolton steet, c. souter, c.s. hain, cemetery reserve, charles brown, charles newman, charles symons wingrove, christopher caldwell, church of england, d. anderson, dalton street, david ballard, e. james, e.m. peck, edward dumaresq, eltham town, ely street, f.e. falkiner, f.m. peck, falkiner street, flint street, g. buckingham, g. drabble, george stebbing, godalmin street, h. peck, h.c.whess, h.h. farquharson, h.j. bews, henry stooke, j. goer, j. mcdonald, j. mclaren, j. roberts, j.b. knagers, james irish, jane bailey (nee matthews), john l. smith, john mason, john scott, john smith, joseph stevenson, joseph verse, k. wingrove, k.e. dunstan, kerby street, kirby street, location tbd, m. coman, map, michael o'shea, o.b. mccutcheon, p. & g. tumbull, p.k. mccaughan, p.p. cotter, porter street, pound reserve, robert hepburn, roman catholic church, s. evans, samuel dagley, samuel phillips, samuel ramsden, t. upton, t. watkins, t.a. stark, t.c.b. batt, t.p. cross, thomas grant, thornton street, w. adam, w. blain, w. long, w. watkins, w.f. ford, w.h. hull, w.r. belcher, w.t. schultz, william thomas, eltham primary school, eltham state school, eltham state school no. 209, quarry reserve