These minutes contain information on attendees, meeting chairs, apologies, correspondence, subscriptions, donations, legacies and general business. Reports are also included from Auxiliaries, Auditors, Library and Home teacher, Directors, The Black and White committee, Victor Maxwell House, Helen Keller Hostel, The Victor Maxwell Kindergarten, The Sandy Robertson Kindergarten, Alexis Albert House, Lighthouse, Silver Lighthouse committee, Sheltered Workshops, Newcastle and Wollongong branches, 'Heathfield' and other Woollahra properties. 25/3/1968 it was resolved that Braille services be reorganised to Library, Transcription and Braille instruction for blind persons. This plan created 2 new positions for blind persons. 20/7/1969 it was resolved that a Burwood Building Fund would be opened with the donation of $2,000 by Mr. W. G. Waterhouse. 27/10/1969 it was resolved that sheltered workshop employees who retired after 25 years service would be presented with a gold Braille watch. 19/1/1970 it was resolved that the Society agrees to accept a first mortgage on the security of the William Street property. 22/3/1971 The General Manager had reported that Burwood Council had arranged to purchase the Palatial Theatre and had agreed to lease the building to the Society for 12 months. 1 volume of sheets glued to pagesroyal blind society of nsw, annual reports

These minutes contain information on attendees, meeting chairs, apologies, correspondence, subscriptions, donations, legacies and general business. Reports are also included from Auxiliaries, Auditors, Library and Home teacher, Directors, The Black and White committee, Victor Maxwell House, Helen Keller Hostel, The Victor Maxwell Kindergarten, The Sandy Robertson Kindergarten, Alexis Albert House, Lighthouse, Silver Lighthouse committee, Newcastle Branch, 'Heathfield' and other Woollahra properties. 22/3/1965 it was noted to assist blind persons with the transfer to Decimal Currency an application had been made to the Commonwealth Treasurer for early release of specimen coins and notes. 24/1/1996 it was resolved that a dollar note gauge be supplied to all blind persons in N.S.W. 30/11/1966 it was noted the Management Committee had recommended to Council that the Society should transfer all its activities currently conducted at Williams Street to Mitchell Street and that the William Street be offered for sale at not less than $700,000. 1 volume of typed sheets glued to pagesroyal blind society of nsw, annual reports

August Meeting (Newsletter No. 241, Aug. 2018) How do you consider designing an extension to a church that was built in 1861, just where do you start, especially when it is a church of local significance and listed by Heritage Victoria? The church in question was designed by architect Nathaniel Billings, built by well-known pioneer builder George Stebbing on land donated by Henry Dendy and is St Margaret’s Church in Pitt Street, Eltham. Adjoining this church is a large mud brick hall known to many of our Society members. It was also the venue for our 50th anniversary celebration dinner on 21st November 2017. At our Society meeting at 8.00pm on Wednesday 8th August 2018 architect David Wagner from Atelier Wagner will speak about the opportunities and challenges experienced in designing and constructing a contemporary style extension to this revered historical building, valued by the local congregation. Prior to becoming involved with St Margaret’s the Atelier Wagner architectural practice has, among an extensive range of projects, renovated and extended several churches. With this project there was also the challenge of incorporating, modifying and connecting the adjacent buildings that shared an entrance foyer.0:57:51 duration Digital MP3 File 20 MB audio recording, david wagner, eltham district historical society, jacqui wagner, meeting, society meeting, st margaret's church

October Meeting (Newsletter No. 242, Oct. 2018) At our Society meeting at 8.00pm on Wednesday 10th October 2018 we will explore ideas about what is considered to be the ‘Spirit of Eltham’. We will view a video produced for the Shire of Eltham in response to the 1985 Victorian Local Government Commission Report titled ‘The Restructure of Local Government in Victoria – Principles and Program’ (the Morris review). The recommendation was to amalgamate the Shires of Eltham and Diamond Valley, something that Eltham Council did not support as being appropriate for the shire or compatible with the ‘Spirit of Eltham’. We will also be fortunate to have a presentation on this theme by Lynnsay Prunotto, a local architect, who is also involved in community planning activities, as well as some insights from Hamish Knox on his experience of growing up and working for many years in the region.1:29:41 duration Digital MP3 File 32 MB audio recording, eltham district historical society, hamish knox, lynnsay prunotto, meeting, society meeting, spirit of eltham

June Meeting (Newsletter No. 240, Jun. 2018) Prior to Shillinglaw Cottage (c1878-80) being relocated to where it is now operated as a popular cafe near the Eltham Library, it was within Josiah Holloway’s 1850s subdivision known as Little Eltham, which later became the centre of the first Eltham township. Originally a farmer’s cottage it is historically significant because it is one of the Shire’s oldest dwellings and a fine example of the work of the well-known pioneer builder George Stebbing. In 1964 the then Shire of Eltham purchased the Shillinglaw property with the intention of demolishing the cottage and constructing new Shire offices on the site. However extensive community action resulted in funds being raised to have the building saved and relocated further south to the Eltham Common, where it was joined by the Eltham Library 1994. New Shire offices opened in 1965, but following municipal restructure in 1994 these were demolished and the land sold to a developer, which precipitated a dramatic trail of community angst, threats of legal action, the sacking of a newly elected council and several unsuccessful development proposals, by subsequent councils. After all these years the vacant site there is still guarded by the three trees that were outside the front of the Shillinglaw Cottage. At our Society meeting on Wednesday 13th June 2018 Jim Connor will speak about the dramatic tale encompassing the history of the former Eltham Shire office site and the adjoining War Memorial Buildings complex, which are now being considered for sale or redevelopment by the current Nillumbik Shire Council.1:17:57 duration Digital MP3 File 27 MB audio recording, eltham district historical society, jim connor, meeting, shire of eltham office site, society meeting

Audio Recording of 11 October 2017 Society meeting. Description from Newsletter No. 236, Oct. 2017 : A 50th Anniversary Panel of EDHS Members As this meeting is close to the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the Shire of Eltham Historical Society, on 24th October 1967, we will appropriately look back on our own history. This will include a panel of members who will highlight some of our experiences and achievements along the way. As a special 50th anniversary treat we will have the opportunity to view, for the first time, a video reflecting on the first 50 years of our Society. This video, produced by Gerald Ashcroft from www.storiestobetold.com.au, is based around interviews with Russell Yeoman and Doug Orford about their recollections. The first speaker is meeting MC Jim Connor, EDHS President who gives a report on current EDHS bussiness and past and upcoming events of interest. The second speaker is Secretary Russell Yeoman. Topics include new panel artworks "Our Eltham Artisitic Recollections" at Eltham Cemetery and Shillinglaw farm walk and other business. The history presentation starts about 15 minutes into the recording. 1:24:45 duration Digital MP3 File 30 MB society meeting, 50th anniversary, audio recording, meeting, eltham district historical society, jim connor, russell yeoman, our eltham artistic recollections, doug orford

Panel Presentation at Eltham District Historical Society meeting November Meeting - A Virtual Eltham Literary Tour (Newsletter No. 225, Nov. 2015) The topic for our November meeting is inspired by a literary tour of Eltham organised by the Eltham Library a few years ago. Of course at a meeting we cannot actually visit sites associated with local writers but we will discuss their lives, writings and Eltham connections. The starting point for this presentation was a long list of local writers, including many present day authors, with quite a few being members of our Society. To keep the presentation to a manageable length we will deal only with writers and literary figures who have passed away. The presentation by a panel of members will include a number of readings relevant to each of the subjects. A particular feature will be the life and work of Alan Marshall who had a long association with Eltham and is our most famous and well known author. In 1971 he wrote Pioneers and Painters: One Hundred Years of Eltham and its Shire. In the chapter Educationalists and Writers, he writes “Writers came to Eltham for the same reason as did the painters: their neighbours had similar interests and the surroundings attracted them.” His stories about local writers have informed the preparation for this meeting.Compact Disc Sony CD-R 700MB MP3 file; 78.8MB, 1:26:08alan marshall, audio recording, eltham district historical society, literature, local writers, panel presentation, society meeting

EDHS Newsletter No. 265 August 2022 We are fortunate to have in our collection a wide range of early images of the Eltham district. Some of these are part of the Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection (SEPP) held in partnership between the Eltham District Historical Society and the Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library). Some are part of the group of photographs collected when the Pioneers and Painters book was published to commemorate the 1971 centenary of the Shire of Eltham. A prominent photographer of some of these early images is John Henry (Harry) Clark, whose background story is detailed in the article on page 7 of this newsletter. We are indebted to him for recording places and people that now are treasured reflections of days gone by. At our meeting at 2.00pm on Saturday 13th August 2022, we will explore some selected Clark images from our collection and with some try to show the current locations where these were taken.1:07:53 duration Digital MP3 file; 23.3MB Also PowerPoint presentation (compressed)audio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, j.h. clark photo, peter pidgeon

In previous years for our first meeting of the year, we have investigated some treasured pictures from our archives. In this meeting, Vice President Peter Pidgeon showcases some of the highlights from new acquisitions and donations throughout 2019, as well as some of our other collections digitised during the year.1:27:00 duration Digital MP3 File 37.2 MBaudio recording, eltham, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, victorian collections, peter pidgeon

Details of the Eltham Courtthouse restoiration undertaken by Nillumbik Shire Council in 2021. This AGM and meeting was held online via Zoom, EDHS' first online meeting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was recorded and both audio only and MP4 files were saved.1:03:06 duration Digital M4A file; 57.4 MB, Digital MP4 file; 610.6 MBaudio recording, eltham, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham courthouse, nillumbik shire council, agm, jim connor, video recording

At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker Mark Cauchi, who is an active railway historian and a long-term member of the former Australian Railway Historical Society. Mark will provide a glimpse into the extension of the railway from Eltham to Hurstbridge, using various historic and current-day railway images.1:18:42 duration Digital MP3 file; 27.0 MBaudio recording, eltham, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, agm, hurstbridge line, mark cauchi, railway line

This significant historical link in Melbourne’s water supply system is perhaps something we have taken for granted, or not even really noticed…it is just there! Built between 1886 and 1891 to transfer water from the Watts River near Healesville to the reservoir at Preston this aqueduct was 66 km in length and included open channels, tunnels and the use of inverted siphons to keep water flowing, to eventually service Melbourne and suburbs. At this meeting Jim Connor will talk about the challenges and achievements involved with this extraordinary project.1:09:10 duration Digital MP3 file; 23.7 MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, jim connor, maroondah aqueduct

October Meeting (Newsletter No. 230, Jun. 2016) Community groups are the backbone of any community and the former Shires of Eltham and now Nillumbik are no exception. In our area there are some groups with a long history of consistently contributing to the development, enrichment and benefit of our local communities. Some we are well aware of, others not so much. At our next meeting we are pleased to have representatives from three long established community groups to talk to us about their histories, how they have been a part of the Eltham scene for many years and how their contributions have supported many other local organisations and initiatives.1:03:34 duration Digital MP3 File 75 MB audio recording, community groups, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 233, Apr. 2017) Our meeting at 8.00pm on Wednesday 12th April 2017 is our Annual General Meeting, which includes the presentation of annual reports and the election of office bearers for the coming year. The official notification of the Annual General Meeting and Agenda are on page 8 in this Newsletter. At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker Dr. Andrew Lemon, a great friend of EDHS and a Fellow and the immediate Past President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Andrew is an independent Melbourne historian, author of numerous books on local history, shipwrecks, biography, schools and sport and winner of national literary awards. He has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Melbourne for his published works. Andrew edited the Victorian Historical Journal throughout the 1990s and served on the Library Board of Victoria and the Heritage Council. Andrew is a very entertaining presenter and in our 50th Anniversary year he has chosen to speak about ‘Fifty years of the EDHS - and why it matters.’1:03:34 duration Digital MP3 File 75 MB andrew lemon, audio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

1:04:31 duration Digital MP3 File 76 MB 50th anniversary, audio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 239, Apr. 2018) Our Annual General Meeting includes the presentation of annual reports and the election of office bearers for the coming year. At this meeting we are pleased to be able to show a film of the early activities of the Briar Hill Timber and Trading Company, in Sherbourne Road, Briar Hill. This film details the various operations involved in this business during the 1950s/60s, from sourcing trees from the forest, to machining the timber and then manufacturing various building materials and components. A copy of this film has been generously donated to our Society by Bob Manuell, who was an active part of this family owned business, established by his mother-in-law Mrs Hazel Squire. We are fortunate that Bob has agreed to attend our meeting to add his comments and insights about some of the scenes shown. Bob Manuell was a former Shire President and Councillor at the Shire of Eltham, from 1980 until 1994, when following municipal restructure the Shire ceased upon the establishment of the Shire of Nillumbik. Bob’s father-in law Fred Squire was also a former Eltham Shire President and Councillor, having served between 1945 and 1953.1:26:38 duration Digital MP3 File 30 MB audio recording, bob manuell, briar hill timber & trading, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

Collection of records of Bendigo and District Old Peoples Welfare Society Inc/large brown file folder - Annual Meeting 23.10.96 notes.document

Document. Temperance Hall, View Street, Bendigo, June 10th, 1907. Dear Sir, Your are hereby requested to attend the Annual Meeting of the above Society on Friday, June 21st, 1907, in the Temperance Hall. E.H.LEGGO, President. W.J.CAMPBELL, Hon. Treas. A.L.BOLTON, Hon. Sec.organisation, community, abstinence society

September Meeting (Newsletter No. 224, Sep. 2015) On 4th October 2014 Nillumbik Shire Council launched a publication titled ‘Nillumbik Tales - Voices of our Elders’, which is a collection of colourful and personal snapshots of our local community. The unique Nillumbik based stories have been written by a variety of authors, including some who are members of our Society. At our meeting on Wednesday 9th September 2015 we will be having some of our members reading their own ‘Nillumbik Tale.’ In collating and publishing this historically important collection Nillumbik Shire Council has documented many aspects of our area and of the people who contributed to our community. The original print run of ‘Nillumbik Tales’ was sold out and there has been a reprint.1:22:15 duration Digital MP3 File 116 MB audio recording, eltham district historical society, nillumbik shire council, nillumbik tales voices of our elders, society meeting

August Meeting (Newsletter No. 235, Aug. 2017) Blanche and Jack Shallard were involved in many activities in the Montmorency community throughout their lives. They observed Were Street grow from a one shop street to a bustling shopping village. Jack was a local solicitor and on the Board of the Diamond Valley Community Hospital, while Blanche was a member of the Hospital Auxiliary and both were involved with our Society. They were also connected with Montmorency State School and St Faith’s Church in Montmorency. At this meeting we are pleased to have their daughter, Professor Margaret Deighton, speak about her family and her recollections of growing up in Montmorency.0:47:43 duration Digital MP3 File 67 MB audio recording, eltham district historical society, margaret deighton, meeting, montmorency, shallard, society meeting

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 245, Apr. 2019) At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker a representative from the Eltham Cemetery Trust, who will talk about their connections to our local history and how current practices and projects continue to support the artistic connections in the Eltham region.1:11:42 duration Digital MP3 File 24.6 MB audio recording, eltham cemetery trust, eltham district historical society, julia drew, meeting, society meeting

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 245, Apr. 2019) At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker a representative from the Eltham Cemetery Trust, who will talk about their connections to our local history and how current practices and projects continue to support the artistic connections in the Eltham region.1:11:42 duration Digital MP3 File 24.6 MB audio recording, eltham, eltham district historical society, jim connor, meeting, society meeting, street names

October Meeting (Newsletter No. 248, Oct. 2019) It was intended that Dr. Andrew Lemon AM would be our guest speaker at our last meeting on Wednesday 14th August 2019, to talk about Heritage Advocacy - the role of historical research and historical societies. Unfortunately, due to a clash of commitments Andrew apologised for not being able to attend and we are delighted he will now be our speaker at our next meeting on Wednesday 9th October. As mentioned in our last newsletter, this presentation was very well received when Andrew was the keynote speaker at the recent Regional Conference of the Association of Eastern Historical Societies. Andrew is an independent professional historian who has published many commissioned local and institutional histories since his first book, Box Hill, forty years ago. He has now written sixteen books, four of which have won prizes, on subjects ranging from local history, sport, education and biography. Andrew received his doctorate of letters from the University of Melbourne in 2004 because of the excellence of a body of work, not one single piece, as in a thesis. He has been a consistent supporter of our Society and a long term member, who has spoken at a number of our meetings, over many years.1:20:57 duration Digital MP3 File 27.7 MB andrew lemon, audio recording, eltham, eltham district historical society, heritage advocacy, meeting, society meeting

Presentations by Harry Gilham and Jim Connor of Eltham District Historical Society and Noel Withers and Sue Ballantyne of Greensborogh Historical Society. EDHS Newsletter No. 207 November 2012 Following on from a suggestion by Harry Gilham, our Society will host a joint meeting with members of the Greensborough Historical Society at the Eltham Courthouse on Saturday 8 December, between 2.00pm and 4.30pm. We are pleased to have developed a good working relationship with the recently established Greensborough Historical Society and look forward to welcoming their members to Eltham. This meeting will focus on the Eltham Courthouse and its former use. We encourage all EDHS members to attend and share time with our visitors. Afternoon tea will be provided.15 Born Digital images (on CD-R)adrian jones, alan butler, alison delaney, doug orford, eltham courthouse, eltham district historical society, greensborough historical society, harry gilham, jim allen, jim connor, joan castledine, maureen jones, noel withers, richard pinn, society meeting, sue ballantyne, sue law

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 227, Apr. 2016) At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker Jane Woollard, who has just published a book titled ‘Laughing Waters Road: Art, Landscape and Memory in Eltham.’ Jane was the local history officer at the Shire of Nillumbik so has a detailed knowledge of the history of our area. She has an extensive background as a writer, theatre director and teacher. As well as directing over 50 productions Jane has been a tutor and guest director at the Victorian College of the Arts and La Trobe University and was Artistic Director of the Union House Theatre at the University of Melbourne. Since 2001 more than eighty artists have been in residence at Laughing Waters in Birrarung House and Riverbend. In her book Jane has woven together their experiences and art making, together with Wurundjeri, European and family histories to create an evocative account of a very special place in Eltham.0:47:13 duration Digital MP3 File 66 MB audio recording, birrarung house, eltham district historical society, jane woollard, laughing waters, riverbend, shire of nillumbik, society meeting, wurundjeri

June Meeting (Newsletter No. 228, Jun. 2016) Shortly after the First World War Ivan Thompson, a pharmacist in Fairfield, expanded into the Diamond Valley by opening pharmacies at Eltham, Greensborough and Watsonia. A small item in the Hurstbridge Advertiser on 20th July 1928 states that ‘Mr. Ivan J Thompson, well known chemist, has opened a branch at Eltham where all prescriptions will be dispensed.’ In the early 1950’s Norm Williams considered he was fortunate to be able to serve an apprenticeship with Ivan Thompson at his Eltham pharmacy. He was with the business when it moved in 1952 to the present site at 964 Main Road, Eltham, which was the first brick shop built in the Eltham Town Centre. In 1958 Ivan Thompson decided to sell his pharmacies. Harry Brown and Norm Williams were able to purchase the Eltham business and they continued in partnership until Mr. Brown’s death in 1971. By that time they had expanded with pharmacies in Fairfield and Lower Plenty. At our June meeting Norm Williams will speak about how Thompsons Pharmacy developed, while continuing to supply a range of services for generations of Eltham families. His stories, supported by a collection of personal photographs, will entertain as well as give an insight into how the Eltham shopping centre has changed over the years.0:46:09 duration Digital MP3 File 65 MB audio recording, eltham district historical society, ivan thompson, norm williams, society meeting, thompson's pharmacy

September Meeting (Newsletter No. 152, Sep. 2003) This meeting is one in an occasional series where we get together a panel of speakers to talk about a particular aspect of Eltham's history, its character or its people. As has been the case for past speaker panels, we have organised a buff et dinner to precede the meeting and details of this are given below. Eltham has a well-known tradition of building with mud brick, second hand materials and other innovative or uncommon materials. Although this trend dates mainly from the 1930 's there are examples from the pioneer days of Eltham. Part of the Brocksopp house at Eltham South is an 1850' s mud brick construction by George Souter. But the alternative building tradition in Eltham really began at Montsalvat in the 1930's. Justus Jorgensen's building complex of earth construction, stone and items from wreckers' yards inspired a number of builders and owner builders, particularly in adopting mud brick or adobe as their building medium. The tradition continues today with our area remaining home to a relatively high proportion of builders using these alternative materials. The panel we have selected to talk on this subject are either builders in the Eltham tradition or have had close contact with builders of the past. The panel will be introduced by Russell Yeoman who will talk briefly about George Stebbing, an early Eltham builder responsible for many of our remaining historic buildings, but known for traditional buildings of his time rather than the later buildings which give Eltham its particular character. The panel members are as follows:- • John Pizzey, architect. John will speak on the work of Alistair Knox designer and builder in mud brick and the person who has most contributed to the environmental building traditions of Eltham. • Peter Jarvis who will talk about his own work as a builder in mud brick and his views on traditional and modern construction methods. • Leigh Wykes, a present day builder of stone houses, will talk about his own work in the district and its relevance to Eltham traditions. • Diana Bassett-Smith will talk about her experience with owner-builders constructing their earth houses in Eltham in the 1950's. Pise and mud brick presented a cheap building material provided that you could do it yourself or persuade your friends to help. Prior to the meeting there will be a buffet dinner of casseroles and other courses prepared by some of our members. We will be starting at 6.00pm with dinner scheduled for 6.30. Harry Gilham will be providing drinks, including wines from his personally made collection. Cost of the dinner will be $10 which can be paid on the night. However, for catering purposes we need to know numbersCompact audio cassette Sony EF 90 Type I / IEC I Cassette labelled "Eltham Builders Historical" Converted to MP3 file; 100MB, 1:18:57 alistair knox, audio cassette, audio recording, building construction, diana bassett-smith, eltham, john pizzey, leigh wykes, peter jarvis, society meeting