OPENING OF THE VIEWING PLATFORM AT KANGAROO GROUND Nillumbik Council has advised that the viewing platform at Kangaroo Ground 27km NE of Melbourne is to be opened to the public on Wednesday, March 26th 2008 (Melway 271 , G10). The function of the platform is to provide shelter adjacent to the War Memorial Tower whilst allowing all people to enjoy the stunning panoramic views. From the platform you. can see the Dandenongs, the city of Melbourne, the You Yangs, Mount Macedon, the Kinglake Ranges and the Mt Baw-Baw Ranges where the Yarra River starts. This landscape covers all the ancestral lands of the Wurundjeri and some of the wider Kulin nation land. The platform has been given the name Moor-rut, a name which described the fertile soils of the Kangaroo Ground area in contrast to the poorer (Silurian) country of its surrounds, which the Wurundjeri knew as 'Nillumbik' or less rich country. The full 360 degree view can be seen from the adjacent Tower of Remembrance which has 53 stairs. The viewing platform however can be accessed by wheelchair. Inside the viewing platform there are eight double sided interpretive panels giving the history and information regarding this special area. The viewing platform's interpretive panels set out the Aboriginal and European history of the area and also the geology and the local flora and fauna, so that the casual visitor comes away understanding more about this significant part of Victoria. The concept of the viewing platform is part of the refurbishment project for the Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park which has taken place since 1997 with the active approval and financial assistance of the Nillumbik Shire Council. This project has been guided by an Advisory Committee with volunteer community representatives from the local Historical Societies, the Country Fire Authority, the Returned Services League and the Wurundjeri people. Other allied groups such as the Nillumbik Reconciliation Group have been called upon for their expertise. The initial idea for the viewing platform came from Dean Stewart when he was the caretaker while living at the park. He discussed this idea with local author Mick Woiwod and Harry Gilham of Eltham District Historical Society when they were planning the refurbishment of the War Memorial Park in 1996. When the committee was formalised by the Nillumbik Council in 1997, Nicholas Pelling, representing the CFA and RSL, joined the group. Dennis Ward, local architect, then volunteered to develop the concept plan for the refurbishment of the park and later drew up the plans for the viewing platform. The Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park and its Tower of Remembrance is located on one of the highest locations in the Yarra Valley. The Tower of Remembrance is a unique war memorial constructed from local stone standing 14 metres high. It was built in the style of a Scottish watchtower reflecting the strong Scottish influence of the first European settlers of the district from the 1840s onward. The park was opened in 1921 and the Tower of Remembrance was dedicated in 1926 recognising the local people who served in the First World War. Those who served in the Second World War were recognised by plaques dedicated in 1951 and more recently those who served in Korea, Borneo, Malaya and Vietnam by plaques unveiled in 2001. Harry Gilham, Advisory Committee Convenor - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter N0 179 March 2008fay bridge collection, garden hill, kangaroo ground, memorial park, moor-rul viewing platform

Early stages - no display panels installed. OPENING OF THE VIEWING PLATFORM AT KANGAROO GROUND Nillumbik Council has advised that the viewing platform at Kangaroo Ground 27km NE of Melbourne is to be opened to the public on Wednesday, March 26th 2008 (Melway 271 , G10). The function of the platform is to provide shelter adjacent to the War Memorial Tower whilst allowing all people to enjoy the stunning panoramic views. From the platform you. can see the Dandenongs, the city of Melbourne, the You Yangs, Mount Macedon, the Kinglake Ranges and the Mt Baw-Baw Ranges where the Yarra River starts. This landscape covers all the ancestral lands of the Wurundjeri and some of the wider Kulin nation land. The platform has been given the name Moor-rut, a name which described the fertile soils of the Kangaroo Ground area in contrast to the poorer (Silurian) country of its surrounds, which the Wurundjeri knew as 'Nillumbik' or less rich country. The full 360 degree view can be seen from the adjacent Tower of Remembrance which has 53 stairs. The viewing platform however can be accessed by wheelchair. Inside the viewing platform there are eight double sided interpretive panels giving the history and information regarding this special area. The viewing platform's interpretive panels set out the Aboriginal and European history of the area and also the geology and the local flora and fauna, so that the casual visitor comes away understanding more about this significant part of Victoria. The concept of the viewing platform is part of the refurbishment project for the Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park which has taken place since 1997 with the active approval and financial assistance of the Nillumbik Shire Council. This project has been guided by an Advisory Committee with volunteer community representatives from the local Historical Societies, the Country Fire Authority, the Returned Services League and the Wurundjeri people. Other allied groups such as the Nillumbik Reconciliation Group have been called upon for their expertise. The initial idea for the viewing platform came from Dean Stewart when he was the caretaker while living at the park. He discussed this idea with local author Mick Woiwod and Harry Gilham of Eltham District Historical Society when they were planning the refurbishment of the War Memorial Park in 1996. When the committee was formalised by the Nillumbik Council in 1997, Nicholas Pelling, representing the CFA and RSL, joined the group. Dennis Ward, local architect, then volunteered to develop the concept plan for the refurbishment of the park and later drew up the plans for the viewing platform. The Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park and its Tower of Remembrance is located on one of the highest locations in the Yarra Valley. The Tower of Remembrance is a unique war memorial constructed from local stone standing 14 metres high. It was built in the style of a Scottish watchtower reflecting the strong Scottish influence of the first European settlers of the district from the 1840s onward. The park was opened in 1921 and the Tower of Remembrance was dedicated in 1926 recognising the local people who served in the First World War. Those who served in the Second World War were recognised by plaques dedicated in 1951 and more recently those who served in Korea, Borneo, Malaya and Vietnam by plaques unveiled in 2001. Harry Gilham, Advisory Committee Convenor - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter N0 179 March 2008 Black and white inkjet print on paper 14 x 21 cmmoor-rul viewing platform, garden hill, kangaroo ground, memorial park

A photo of a WW1 soldier sent to Una from Doc. on 22.04.1916A black and white photograph of a soldier in World War I sent to Una from Doc on 22 April 1916.on back written in ink: top LH side: Una / with best wished / from Doc / 22-4-1916world war 1, soldiers, armed forces, uniforms, clothing and dress, george evans collection

A coloured photograph of Cornish Street, looking west taken from Horne Street, with an avenue of pine trees on either side of the road. There is a roundabout at the first intersection and Mt. Holden can be seen in the distance.cornish street, horne street, mt. holden, george evans collection

The grave is that of Martha Williams and her father John and is the only existing grave in the old Mickleham Cemetery which was associated with the Wesleyan Chapel and is a reminder of the strength of the Wesleyan faith in the Mickleham district in the 19th century.A coloured photograph of a grave site with a concrete edge and low iron fence around it and a simple tombstone with a curved top. There are clumps of tussocky grass scattered across the grass and two sprawling eucalyptus are growing behind the grave.former mickleham cemetery, mt. ridley road, williams, martha, john, george evans collection

Aitkens Gap Police Lock up was originally constructed at The Gap which was south of the junction of Gap Road (Sunbury Road) and Calder Highway (Victoria St/Mt. Alexander Road). It was part of a police complex which was a changeover station for the gaol escort. The goal was relocated and rebuilt in the police station grounds in Sunbury in 1993.A coloured photograph of five men working on the removal of Aitkens Gap Gaol from its original site. Two end walls of the gaol are standing and the work is being done on the front and back of the building. Conifers and cypress trees are growing around the site.peter free, aitkens gap gaol, police historical association, sunbury police station, george evans collection

The photograph although recently taken shows the original settled area in Sunbury, which included Goonawarra Vineyard and Macedon Street which was once the business centre of Sunbury township before the railway was established.A coloured photograph of Sunbury Township looking west from above Jacksons Creek and Goonawarra Winery. Macedon Street can be seen in the middle distance and Mt. Holden and Burke Hill are across the skyline.sunbury township, mt. holden, burke hill, francis, james goodall, barnier, john, jacksons creek, goonawarra winery, george evans collection

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church was designed by the architect William Wardell. Prior to the construction of the church, mass was conducted at the Daniel Home 'Narbonne'. The foundation stone was laid on 13/11/1804 by the Catholic Bishop of Melbourne, Rev. Dr. J. Goold and the church opened in 1875 with later additions erected in 1890.A coloured photograph of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. It is an image of the front on west end of the church which highlights the rose window above the door and shows the skillion roofed room on the south side of the church. On the LHS of the photograph there is a board giving details of the mass times and clergy.wardell, william, our lady of mount carmel church, catholic church, george evans collection

A series of photographs were taken when heavy snow fell in Sunbury in August 1986. The snow began falling overnight and remained on the ground for 24 hours. Snow fell across the metropolitan area during that 24 hour period in a very unusual event for the area.A coloured photograph taken in the early morning after snow had fallen. The surrounding countryside around Mt. Holden is snow covered.snow falls, weather patterns, winter, mt. holden (mt. lion), george evans collection

The photograph was taken above Reservoir Road on the lower slopes of Mt. Holden. It is looking south down Wilson's Lane towards some of the early Sunbury developments which grew around the Gap Road area in the early 1980s.A landscape coloured photograph with rounded corners. It is a panoramic view of Sunbury taken from the southern slopes of Mt. Holden. In the foreground there is a small cluster of trees and in the middle distance there is some evidence of housing development. Bald Hill can be seen on the skyline.wilson's lane, mt. holden, bald hill, sunbury, george evans collection

The photograph shows the extent of Sunbury's development to the west of the town in the early 1980s. The settlement at this stage extended along either side of Gap Road for about 0.5 km beyond Elizabeth Drive.A coloured landscape photograph with rounded corners taken from Mt. Holden and looking towards the expanding town of Sunbury. The Melba Avenue drain which flows into Blind Creek is in the foreground. Sheoak Hill, the site of the former Sunbury Asylum is in the middle of the skyline.sunbury township, reservoir road, mt. holden, sunbury asylum, george evans collection

The Headland Estate housing development began in the early 1980s. It was situated west of Sunbury and was bounded by Elizabeth Drive, Reservoir Road, Phillip Drive and Stewart's Lane.A coloured landscape photograph with rounded corners of a view of Sunbury overlooking the Headland Estate before its development. There is a rocky outcrop on the LHS of the photograph and a lightly timbered area in the middle distance. Sunbury can be seen in the distance.headland estate, mt. holden, sunbury township, george evans collection

This school photograph contains 51 students sitting in front of windows.A black and white photograph of the students at St. Mary's Catholic School, Sunbury. Identified.st mary catholic school, schools, sunbury, our lady of mt. carmel, education, patterson, jack, leyden, brian, fitzpatrick, john, aherne, clem, ryan, tony, dillon, tom, mcgree, joe, hennessy, jim, farquer, michael, wickham, gerald, pearce, bill, palmer, vera, fawley, sheila, trask, roma, braithwaite, dorothy, scoles, violet, rahilly, minnie, mullins, mary, bell, quinn, molly, o'brien, gwen, florence, kathleen, frawley, clare, phoenie, millett, ethel, stewart, alice, margaret, sullivan, maisie, rita, byrne, eileen, nellie, lily, mcknight, frank, gilligan, max, cahill, bertie, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of the students at St Mary's Catholic School, Sunbury. 1913st mary's catholic school, sunbury, schools, education, our lady of mt. carmel, norris, j. (mr), ryan, margaret, deverall, eileen, wharton, frances, o'brien, molly, breen, millett, loretto, stanmore, vera, dolly, greelish, ann, johnston, joe, o'connor, felix, cyril, frank, farquer, mary, eric, smith, jack, evans, bert, mcgrath, jim, connie, george, leyden, des, mounsey, alice, murphy, susie, sweeney, pat, trask, alec, chris, burke, andy, eddie, fyfe, ken, mullins, rita, rose, josephine, shevalon, norman, george evans collection

This type of photograph was taken annually.A black and white photograph of the students at Our Lady's of Mt Carmel Catholic School, Sunbury Grades IV to VIII in 1953.st mary's catholic school, sunbury, schools, education, our lady of mt. carmel, anderson, yvonne, lupson, maria, kelly, marie, dillon, kathleen, o'brien, joan, millett, bernadette, dunn, anne, dickson, wade, smith, william, mclean, kevin, mccarthy, john, peters, simon, hall, vincent, thompson, vivian, gwenda, wendy, patricia, mckimmie, delaney, frances, pauline, muir, david, murphy, jimmy, dennis, staib, trevor, gordon, maurice, de vos, tom, leake, fay, stringer, vickie, lydia, mary, vicki, kay, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of the students at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic School, Sunbury. 1952st mary's catholic school, sunbury, schools, education, our lady of mt. carmel, cardillo, velma, delaney, joan, anderson, yvonne, lupson, maria, keily, patricia, smith, mary, william, de vos, tom, mclean, kevin, mccarthy, john, dillon, lawrence, millett, peters, simon, george, thompson, vivian, morrison, dorothy, mckimmie, ann, marie, murphy, lillian, dunn, lorraine, palmer, marlene, kathleen, o'brien, benny, dickson, wade, mctigue, terry, staib, trevor, muir, david, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of students in grades 1, 2, and 3 at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic School in 1953.our lady's of mt. carmel school, st. mary's school, education, schools, sunbury, lupson, nicholas, sleeman, brendan, curran, peter, potts, robert, sullivan, neil, dunn, tommy, mccarthy, ron, mclaren, roslyn, joan, horvath, elizabeth, gail, dickson, beth, o'brien, pat, callaghan, margaret, phillips, brooks, wendy, leonie, suta, elaine, john, clarke, bill, wertich, steven, de vos, hans, dale, denise, delaney, mcmahon, anne, czerwinski, donka, patterson, jeannene, murphy, maureen, dubrnic, maria, giselle, gwenda, frawley, shane, andrew, ryan, wasyl, bondon, terry, michael, keily, alan, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of students at St Mary's Catholic School in 1908.our lady's of mt. carmel school, st. mary's school, education, schools, whelan, tom, sunbury, dunn, bill, rigg, greelish, starkie, anthony, flintoff, charles, evans, george, fred, mcgrath, hugh, stanmore, eric, bert, breen, jim, cyril, mortimer, frank, kathleen, trask, nora, curtis, deverall, alice, ryan, winifred, daly, ruby, mona, gladys, mary, ligo, helen, hume, lily, reece, ada, sweeney, dolly, molly, mounsey, anne, mullins, rita, cahill, maggie, margaret, vera, eileen, byrne, minnie, may, wharton, queenie, nellie, millett, olive, frances, o'brien, o'halloran, josie, mollie, michael, jack, m., billy, vincent, healy, percy, shevalon, norman, cameron, irene, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of students of St Mary's Catholic School in 1940.st mary's catholic school, our lady of mt carmel, education, schools, sunbury, forbes, joan, flintoff, ethel, moore, betty, donnelly, pat, millett, maureen, williams, nolan, margaret, davies, gwen, muir, wain, june, robinson, kelly, moira, starkie, grace, mccormack, judith, payne, elliott, alma, delaney, anne, patterson, o'connor, eileen, kathleen, tyquin, peg, chubb, mcmahon, sullivan, moya, anderson, norma, hayes, mountney, sonya, callaghan, brookes, mary, dillon, crick, nola, margo, morrison, mercovich, o'brien, colleen, smith, tess, george evans collection

A black and white photocopy of the 5th grade class of 1942 at St. Mary's Catholic School.st mary's catholic school, our lady of mt carmel, education, sisters of st joseph, schools, sunbury, 1942, hayes, peter, elliott, jack, callaghan, vincent, payne, tommy, moore, john, donnelly, brian, mccormack, anderson, frank, dillon, deverall, barry, davies, margaret, nolan, kathleen, brookes, joan, millett, eileen, morrison, mary, mercovich, hall, patricia, st mary's catholic church, churches, george evans collection

May O'Brien rode her horse to school when she was young.A black and white photocopy of Mrs May Morrison (nee O'Brien) re-enacting her daily horse-back ride to Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School.1952 / Mrs Morrison (nee O'Brien re-enacts her daily horse-back / ride to the Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School / Photographed at the "Back to Sunbury" celebrations in 1952.back to sunbury, festivals and celebrations, mt carmel primary school, schools, sunbury, houston, joan, morrison, may (mrs), o'brien, may (miss), boardman, eric, forbes, john, dignam, william, 1952, horses, transport, george evans collection

This is a photograph of the entry submitted by Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School in the Back to Sunbury celebrations.A photograph of the winning float in the street parade in the "Back to Sunbury" procession. It shows the girls sitting on the decorated tray of the truck.1860-1952parades and processions, our lady of mt carmel, back to sunbury, schools, sunbury, social life and customs, flintoff, mary, dunn, lorraine, o'brien, joan, morrison, dorothy, leake, alfred, boardman, eric, forbes, john, dignam, william, 1952, george evans collection

The Jackson Creek flooded on 14 August 1909 when the creek was 32 feet above sea level.A sepia photograph of Powlett Street in the big flood of 1909. Unmounted postcardjackson's creek, powlett street, sunbury, floods, gregor, bob, billinghurst, beryl, francey, sandra, alex, our lady of mt carmel church, churches, 1909, george evans collection

A sepia photograph of a school group of thirty-three boys taken in front of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church.our lady of mt carmel school, schools, roman catholic church, hayes, frank, churches, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of Our Lady of Mt Carmel School after the construction of extra classrooms in the 1990sschools, catholic schools, education, our lady of mt carmel school, george evans collection

A sepia photograph showing snow on Mount Lion, Sunbury 10 October 1910.Handwritten on back: SNOW ON MOUNT LION SUNBURY 10 OCTOBER 1910 ERIC BOARDMAN Typewritten on front: SNOW ON MT LION 10 / 10/ 1910mount lion, sunbury, boardman, eric, 1910s, george evans collection

Infantry corp. c1917A sepia postcard of an unidentified soldier with a small female highlander saluting him.Printed on back: POST CARD MT SWISS STUDIOS, BOURKE ST MELBOURNEworld war 1, postcards, mt. swiss studios, photographers, soldiers, uniforms, clothing and dress, armed forces, george evans collection

On 4th August 1978 the construction of the Goonawarra Estate commenced. The estate was formerly known as the Goonawarra Farm and overlooked the Sunbury town and the Jacksons Creek valley. Plans for the development included a golf course, houses, community and recreational facilities..The golf course opened in 1980 and the housing construction continued throughout the last two decadesd of the twentieth century and into the twenty firsat century.A coloured photograph showing the signpost indicating the entrance to the Goonawarra Estate from Sunbury Road. Trees are growing on either side of the road and Mt. Holden can be seen across the skyline.goona warra golf club, goonawarra farm, goonawarra housing estate, sharkey, robert b., kilkenny homes, australian ideas homes pty.ltd., craftsmen homes., glamor homes, villa bella homes, mt. holden, george evans collection

A girls straw hat known also as a boater worn as part of the uniform at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic school in Sunbury in the 1970's. The petersham ribbon is in the school colours of brown, green and gold.A girl's straw boater with petersham ribbon in school coloursour lady of mount carmel primary school, hats, clothing, schools, sunbury, george evans collection