The original postcards in this series (2013.002 to 2013.018) were generously loaned to Williamstown Botanic Gardens by a private collector for copying. The Curator’s lodge, designed by the Town Surveyor, HV Champion, was constructed in 1907 following the re-organisation of the north-east corner with the demolition of the old curator's cottage and erection of new gates. Both the lodge and lake (1904) were built during the curatorship of Mr Thake. The logo in the middle of the words ‘POST CARD’ indicates the card was printed by M. Schulz in Prague. Schulz was a long-established company from Prague and printed postcards for customers from worldwide. Schulz printed in photo-chromolithography. The postcards are evidence of the interest the gardens held as a subject for postcard publishers. The text and images provide a snapshot into fashions, social interests and concerns of the time. The professionally produced images provide a pictorial history of Gardens including changing planting styles, various structures and features of the Gardens eg the aviary, cannons, the fountain, the second Curator’s Lodge and gates. The images offer an opportunity to compare garden vistas with the present day.A colour image of the ornamental lake and part of the Curator’s Lodge. The lodge has a green roof, tall brick chimney, is brown timber with brick where the fireplace would be. The small island with a succulent is in the centre of the image. The image looks across the top of the lake where the rock edging can be seen. Reflections of the plantings and lodge can be seen.Front: ‘Williamstown Gardens’. Reverse: Reverse: Centre top ‘POST CARD’ with a logo [MS] in the middle of the words; left side vertical ‘O. Rippon Series’; left side ‘This space may be used for communication.’; right side ‘For Address only.’; left side bottom ‘Printed in Germany’. In pencil top right corner ‘1907 / $7’ (believed to be inserted by the vendor.postcard, gardens, post-card, williamstown-botanic-gardens, hobsons-bay-city-council, curator’s lodge, ornamental lake, succulents, 1907

The lake was built in 1904, during the curatorship of Mr Thake. Lee Heap Furniture Warehouse of Williamstown used the postcards to advertise. The postcards are evidence of the interest the gardens held as a subject for postcard publishers. The text and images provide a snapshot into fashions, social interests and concerns of the time. The professionally produced images provide a pictorial history of Gardens including changing planting styles, various structures and features of the Gardens eg the aviary, cannons, the fountain, the second Curator’s Lodge and gates. The images offer an opportunity to compare garden vistas with the present day.Sepia image of the ornamental lake and part of the Curator’s Lodge in the background on the left side of card. The small island with a succulent is in the centre of the image with a similar plant on the right side of it. The water is edged with rocks. Reflections of the plantings and lodge can be seen.Front: ‘The Artificial Lake, Williamstown Gardens. Vic.’ ‘0457/3’ ‘THE CROWN STUDIOS, SYDNEY’. Reverse: Centre top ‘POST CARD’ with a logo in the middle of the words. Left top corner a drawing of an artist’s board and brushes with a camera in the centre. Left side ‘MESSAGE ONLY.’ Right side ‘ADDRESS ONLY.’ Top right corner inside a dotted rectangle ‘STAMP HERE’. Bottom on card ‘BY THE CROWN STUDIOS, SYNDEY.’ Under the vertical line down the middle line ‘Neither the Address not the Message must cross this line’. In ink ‘With Compliments from’. An oval stamp with scalloped rim ‘LEE HEAP FURNITURE MANUFACTURER’ inside inner oval ‘FURNITURE WAREHOUSE, / WILLIAMSTOWN’.postcard, gardens, post-card, williamstown-botanic-gardens, hobsons-bay-city-council, ornamental lake, crown studios, lee heap furniture warehouse

Bennie Simcox first came to the Monbulk area about 1860, following the first important gold discovery at the end of 1858. As the gold rush was short lived Simcox returned to Collingwood but later came back to Monbulk, built himself a hut to live in and become its first known permanent resident. The hut was burnt in the 1913 fires. Monbulk was thrown open to selection in 1894, and that's when the first farmers including Bennie Simcox went into Monbulk. It was a big, timbered country in those days. Once Ben had cleared some of his land he started to grow raspberries on it. He would be up before daylight ready to start picking. Ben also picked for a local family, the Camms to help make ends meet. When Ben Simcox was virtually at the retired stage, he wanted to develop his bit of the gully as a tourist attraction, As his nephew Fred Gay who owned the 10 acres below Ben wanted to farm, he was happy to swap his treed block with Ben. At a time when most settlers were clearing their properties, Ben Simcox, by contrast, cultivated the native plants and planted most of the large trees seen on the property today. And so Nathania Springs was developed as a tourist resort, and a mini-botanical garden. He diverted the natural water supply to form ornamental garden pools stocked with trout and tame native black fish. There were many visitors came to the Dandenongs, Some arriving in motor cars others in converted furniture vans lined with seats or charabancs with the long extended chassis and the open canvas roofs. Identities such as Billy Hughes, Madame Melba would often come to look through Nathania Springs. Bennie sold Nathania Springs to Councillor Ferdinand Thomas Le Juge, a boarding house proprietor and later the town baker in 1909 then in about 1921 Ben’s nephew Fred and his wife and family continued to open Nathania Springs to the public. It was not unusual in around 1924-25 for up to a thousand people a day to arrive at Nathania Springs to go through the gardens. At sixpence a time, that was a lot of money in those days. This photo is part of a collection of historic and social significance of the early settlement of Monbulk. Copies of photographs can be purchased from the Monbulk Historical Society.simcox, nathania springs, monbulk, 1860, berries

Date is approximate. In 1920 this became the home of Mr and Mrs Robert Moore, whose daughter Mabel Annie married Norman Brodley Carter of Mont Albert. The house was named after 'Glenisla', a western District grazing property located between Hamilton and Horsham on the Henty Highway and on the edge of the Grampians National Park. This was established as a super-fine wool stud in 1860 and was passed down the family until it was sold in 1922. The family transferred from this property to Melbourne. Robert is listed as a grazier in the 1924 electoral roll at Chestnut Street. With him are Victor Cecil listed as a carpenter; Isabella, Mabel Annie and Edgar Gilbert listed as an orchardist. In 2003 the house was extant minus the verandas. This photo may have been taken from the rear of the property. Ref: History of original property - Age newspaper article: 'The Best - Glenisla: historic Grampians property', 7 January 1994. Moore family details: Robert Moore born 1857 on Isle of Man; died Surrey Hills 1940 Isabella Bateson born 1869; died Surrey Hills 1938 Married in 1894 in Miram, 10 km north-east of Kaniva in the northern Wimmera. All the children were born in Kaniva. Children: Lena Florence (1895-1980) Victor Cecil (1896-1984) - a builder Edgar Gilbert (1897-1976); died Surrey Hills; married Myrtle Emary, daughter of Henry John Emary of Surrey Hills Ernest Alan (1900-1900) Mabel Annie (1901-1957); died Surrey Hills married Norman Brodley Carter (1899-1984) Clarence Arthur (1904-2004). Norman Carter took many photos in the Surrey Hills and Mont Albert are from the 1920s; many is connection with Church of England events and activities. Robert and Isabella Moore are buried in Box Hill Cemetery. Black and white photo of a Victorian home with a veranda with a corrugated iron roof and lacework on 2 sides. It appears to have a later extension at the rear. It is surrounded by mature gardens with ornamental trees (cypresses) and an area with plants in rows, which may be a vegetable garden. There appears to be significant areas of open space around the house.glenisla, homes, victorian style, gardens, norman carter, robert moore, miss isabella bateson, mrs isabella moore, victor cecil moore, edgar gilbert moore, miss mabel annie moore, box hill cemetery

The grave of Thomas Sweeney, former convict turned respectable citizen. The Murray and Sweeney families were both early settlers of the Eltham district and connected by marriage. Their family plots are located side by side in the Catholic section of the Eltham Cemetery. Irish-born Thomas Sweeney is regarded as the first settler in Eltham. He was transported to Sydney in 1823 after being convicted of arson. He was granted his freedom in 1838 and married Margaret Meehan in the same year. They moved to Melbourne and in 1842 Thomas purchased 110 acres beside the Yarra River in the vicinity of present-day Sweeneys Lane. He called the property ‘Culla Hill’ and built a small slab hut (reputedly with Wurundjeri help; Margaret is said to have run an informal hospital for them in return). This was followed in 1846 by more substantial buildings consisting of a three-roomed Irish-style ‘longhouse’ and a barn made of stone and handmade bricks, with doors large enough to accommodate a fully loaded wagon. When the gold rush came, Thomas prospered by selling meat and potatoes to the prospectors, enabling him to purchase a further 308 acres in 1856. He promoted the construction of a bridge over the Plenty River and the establishment of a school at Eltham. Roman Catholic Church services were held at Culla Hill in the early years. When he died in 1867, he was regarded as a respected member of the community. Thomas and Margaret are buried in Eltham Cemetery with many of their descendants. Their first son John continued to farm Culla Hill until his death in 1909. Culla Hill passed out of the Sweeneys' possession in 1939. The house and barn remain today, though lesser outbuildings have gone. The facade of the house is much the same as it was in the 1840s. Sacred To the memory of Thomas Sweeney Who died Sep 6th 1867 Aged 65 years May his soul res in peace Also his wife Margaret Died Oct 3rd 1884 aged 73 years And their daughters Annie Died Aug 22nd 1860 aged 21 years Johanna Died Aug 19th 1872 aged 22 years Margaret Died 7th Sep 1913 aged 72 years R.I.P. Also In Memory Of John Sweeney Died 24th May 1909 Aged 65 years Also of his wife Ellen Died 8th March 1910 Aged 64 years R.I.P Also In Memory Of Caroline Infant daughter of John & Ellen Sweeney Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p55 From the piety and poverty of 19th century Eltham, 20th century artists and environmentalists, to today’s comfortable middle class, Eltham Cemetery records it all — and more. A visit to Eltham Cemetery reveals an important social record since its beginnings in 1858. The cemetery was situated on about six acres (2.4ha) (now around 4.8ha) at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Metery Roads.1* It is thought that Metery Road was originally called Cemetery Road, but in the early 1940s, a resident, possibly a councillor, objected to the name resulting in the change.2 Much can be gleaned about the developing Eltham community from burial styles and the names of former local residents. Originally the cemetery was divided into Christian denominations, like others of that time, following the United Kingdom burial system. In 1861 the cemetery included Church of England, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Wesleyans (later Methodist) sites. Graves also indicated social class. Some had grand tombstones, perhaps fenced with ornamental cast iron railing, but most in the 1860s and 1870s were constructed of modest stone slabs.3 This indicated the poverty of the district, which was largely inhabited by farmers on small landholdings. A poignant reminder of the high rates of infant mortality of those times, are the many infants and young children recorded on the headstones. Major changes occurred in the cemetery in the late 20th century as Christian adherence weakened and society became more egalitarian and informal. In the early 1970s a non-denominational lawn section for burials was established. Since then all new areas have been non-denominational to accommodate the more diverse local community. Now, instead of large ornamental headstones, some mourners have chosen boulders, reflecting the natural Eltham style, while others choose graves in the lawn areas or niches in walls. In the late 1970s, the University Donor Section was established north-west of Candlebark Lawn for those who donated their bodies for The University of Melbourne medical research. In the early 1980s the natural Australian garden style, popular in Eltham, was mirrored in a new section called Ashes Walk. Local landscape architect Gordon Ford, who had popularised this style, designed the Walk using boulders shaded by native plants beside curved pathways. Landscape architect Robert Boyle later redesigned Ashes Walk and developed other parts of the cemetery in keeping with this style.4 Appropriately Ford, who died in 1999, was interred in the Native Garden Section in a cluster of sites shaded by a large eucalyptus tree.5 By 2007, about 6400 interments were recorded in the Eltham Cemetery. Close inspection reveals notable names in the district’s history. The grave of Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who became a respected citizen, can be found in the Roman Catholic section near the path. Eltham Primary School’s first headmaster, David Clark, is buried in a modest grave in the Church of England section to the east of the path from the main entrance. Sir William Irvine, Victorian Premier from 1900 to 1902, whose grave is in the north-east Presbyterian section was at various times Victoria’s Chief Justice, Deputy Governor and Treasurer.6 Further south is the grave of social reformer Bertram Wainer, born in Scotland in 1928 and died in 1987. He campaigned to legalise abortion and exposed police corruption in allowing illegal ‘backyard’ abortions. Other prominent local residents interred in the cemetery include: Justus Jörgensen, who founded Montsalvat; Alistair Knox, the mud-brick housing pioneer and Eltham Shire Councillor from 1971 to 1975 and President in 1975; Clem and Nina Christensen, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. Others were: composer Dorian Le Gallienne; artist Peter Glass; Stephen Dattner, a prominent Melbourne furrier; ALP parliamentarian for Greensborough, Pauline Toner and political scientist and commentator, Professor William Macmahon Ball.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, annie sweeney, caroline sweeney, ellen sweeney, eltham cemetery, graves, gravestones, johanna sweeney, john murray, john sweeney, margaret sweeney, mary ellen drain, mary murray, thomas murray, thomas sweeney