Nicholas Caire was born on Guernsey in the Channel Islands in 1837. He arrived in Adelaide with his parents in about 1860. In 1867, following photographic journeys in Gippsland, he opened a studio in Adelaide. From 1870 to 1876 he lived and worked in Talbot in Central Victoria. In 1876 he purchased T. F. Chuck's studios in the Royal Arcade Melbourne. In 1885, following the introduction of dry plate photography, he began a series of landscape series, which were commercially successful. As a photographer, he travelled extensively through Victoria, photographing places few of his contemporaries had previously seen. He died in 1918. Reference: Jack Cato, 'Caire, Nicholas John (1837–1918)', Australian Dictionary of Biography.An original, rare photograph from the series 'Views of Victoria: General Series' by the photographer, Nicholas Caire (1837-1918). The series of 60 photographs that comprise the series was issued c. 1876 and reinforced a neo-Romantic view of the Australian landscape to which a growing nationalist movement would respond. Nicholas Caire was active as a photographer in Australia from 1858 until his death in 1918. His vision of the Australian bush and pioneer life had a counterpart in the works of Henry Lawson and other nationalist poets, authors and painters.Albumen silver photograph mounted on boardprinted in ink on support l.c.: GIANT FERN TREES: SPLITTERS' TRACK, BLACK SPUR. / COPYRIGHT REGISTERED. printed in ink (vertically) on support reverse u.c.l.: J.W. FORBES, Agent, printed in ink (vertically) on support reverse c.l.: ANGLO-AUSTRALASIAN PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPANY, MELBOURNE. printed in ink (vertically) on support reverse c.: VIEWS OF VICTORIA. / (GENERAL SERIES.) / No. 8. / GIANT FERN TREES: SPLITTERS' TRACK, BLACK SPUR. / The scene which this illustration represents is situated on Morley's Creek, at the foot of the Black Spur, and is / about a mile and a half from the Township of Fernshawe. The Fern Trees in this locality are of gigantic growth, / measuring 50 feet in height, the fronds of which are from 12 to 15 feet long. This excessive growth is attributable / to the great number of springs flowing into the creek, thereby causing the surrounding soil to be in a continual / state of moisture. printed in ink (vertically) on support reverse l.c.l.: 10 Temple Court, Collins Street West.landscape photography, nicholas caire, black spur - victoria

This Farrand & Votey pump organ was manufactured in Detroit USA c1885. It was lovingly restored by the late Peter Frost of Tallangatta. The organ was gifted to Peter in 2000 in a state of disrepair and was not working. Peter was born in Devon, England in 1930 and completed an apprenticeship in joinery and cabinetry, specialising in ornate church and cathedral furniture. He migrated to Australia in 1957 and became a highly regarded woodwork and building science teacher as well as a Building Inspector. He was also a passionate musician. On completion of the refurbishment Peter gave the organ to his daughter at Georges Creek. Farrand & Votey started out as the Detroit Organ Co. in 1881. They started building pipe organs in 1888. Votey did pioneering work on piano players, developing the famous Pianola. However, in 1897 the company split up, Farrand remaining with the reed organs as the Farrand Organ Co., and Votey taking the pipe organ and player piano business. The Farrand Organ Co. later brought out its own piano player, the Cecilian, but went bankrupt in 1915.This organ is an example of a craftsmanship from the late 19th century and has been fully refurbished by a skilled craftsmen from the Tallangatta district near Wodonga.An upright Farrand & Votey Pump Organ which was originally manufactured in Detroit, USA. It has been fully refurbished and is in working condition. Ron Fudge, a pump organ restorer in USA has dated it at c.1885 based on its serial number 14404 83.Above keyboard: "Farrand & Votey"farrand & votey, pump organ, organ restoration

Stations of the Cross by Clifton Pugh is a contempooray art piece in four sections making up 11 stations of the cross. It was commissioned by the Catholic parish in Eltham (Our Lady Help of Christians) in 1961 Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p81 Art is an important means of nurturing faith at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Henry Street, Eltham. The Stations of the Cross by Clifton Pugh and The Crucifix with the Ascending Jesus by sculptor Charles Rocco are two of the fine works that enhance the parishioners’ worship. These two inspiring works of art were added in 2001 – long after Roman Catholics began worshipping in Eltham around 1864. This beautiful worship centre was built following hardship and change – for parishioners have endured their church being destroyed by fire and have built four churches since they first worshipped together. Before 1864, according to local legend, a visiting priest administered sacraments in the parlour of former convict-turned-respected citizen Thomas Sweeney at Sweeneys Lane, Eltham.1 The first church was blessed in September, 1865, by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Goold. It stood on an acre (0.4ha) of land in Little Eltham as that area was known then, near the present Fordhams and Main Roads and was part of the Heidelberg Church Parish. In 1912 the church was relocated to a new building on the present primary school site at 1 Henry Street. This was closer to the town centre, which had moved from Little Eltham after the railway line was extended to Eltham in 1902.2 In 1958 the church split from the Sacred Heart parish, Diamond Creek, to become a parish in its own right, with Father Tom Curran as inaugural priest. Not long after in 1961, a fire destroyed the church and huge working bees under the prominent Catholic builders, the Sibbel brothers, rebuilt and extended it, using the original altar from the first church. It was then that builder and parishioner Herman Sibbel asked his friend, artist Clifton Pugh, to paint the Stations of the Cross for the church. But the priest, Father Curran, neither approved of Pugh’s bohemian reputation nor liked the paintings, so they were hung in the corridor of Our Lady’s Primary School instead. The parishioners almost sold the paintings in 1989 to pay for major school renovations. However the paintings remained there for about 40 years, until 2001, when the church was extensively renovated by Father Barry Caldwell. Another change awaited the church, as it outgrew its building, later to be used as the school hall. So, in 1976, the present church was built across the road. Three beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the Passion, Death, Resurrection and the presence of Christ’s Spirit, link these with the church’s experiences. The first depicts a bushfire in Eltham, referring to their church damaged by fire. Another represents the Resurrection of Christ with new growth on a blackened stump and the Holy Spirit is represented by the Southern Cross. A window depicting Our Lady Help of Christians by parishioner Bill Peperkamp, was donated by parishioners to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Father Desmond G Jenkins’ ordination to the priesthood on July 27, 1977. This, with the statue of Mary, creates a Marian shrine. In the 14 Stations of the Cross painted on four masonite panels Pugh captures the pathos of the suffering Christ and his disciples.3 The figures are stylised, except intriguingly, that of Pontias Pilate, who looks like Clifton Pugh. Charles Rocco’s sculpture is an extraordinary Jesus figure being raised from the Cross. The delicate stainless steel mesh of the figure creates a sense of the power of God over death. The organ, built in 1868 by George Fincham and Sons, was first installed in the All Saints’ Anglican Church, East St Kilda, then in the St Andrews Church, Clifton Hill. It was rebuilt into a modern instrument with a donation from parishioner Jim Murray, in memory of his wife Gwendolene Mary.4 Church members created their own work of art in front of the entrance, by painting designs and messages on 700 tiles. This work indicates the strong church family and faith expressed in art, that awaits the worshipper inside.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, art, clifton pugh, stations of the cross, our lady help of christans, installation