Showing 773 items
matching the life of homer
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Orbost & District Historical Society
book, The Complete Home, 1879
Mrs. Julia (McNair) Wright was an American author and writer of temperance tales. She was born in Oswego, New York on May 1, 1840 and died on Sept. 2, 1903. "The Complete Home" sold over one-hundred-thousand copies. It is an encyclopædia of domestic life and affairs. It takes an in-depth look at the household of the 1870's.This book is a contemporary in-depth look at the household of the 1870's. It reflects the role of women in the Late 19th and early 20th century society.A thick hard back588 pp book with an ornately designed dark brown leather cover. It is a decorative gilt embossed cloth binding. All edges are gilt. There are illustrations of various domestic scenes in gold. Below the title, " The Complete Home" is a sketch of the birth place of Howard Payne. Below this is a sketch of the hearthstone of the author of Home Sweet Home.At the foot of the cover is a banner with "God Bless Our Home" and copyright details. it contains chromolith plates, some in black & white, some in color.inside cover - " Presented by Uncle & Aunt Horne to Catherine Isabella Horne - 10 May 1893 as a token of our affection"julia-mcnair-wright the-complete-home domestic-science-late 19th-century -
Orbost & District Historical Society
book, The Second Catechism, ? early 19th century
Isaac Watts is most well-known as a Nonconformist hymn-writer. Many of his compositions are still in common use today and his Divine Songs, first published in 1715, is considered the first hymn-book for children. Watts’s non-hymnal writings include catechisms composed for children of various ages: the first set for children under seven years of age and the second set for children from seven to twelve years of age. Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and made it his home for the remainder of his life. Watts died November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields. (Ref: hymnary web-site)This item is an example of an early religious text book for children.A small brown covered paperback book. Text on the cover is black - Improved Edition With Excercises ; The Second Catechism ; With Prayers and Graces for Children. There is also a gold paper bookmark.religious-text watts-isaac catechism -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, early 20th century
This is a photograph of Samuel Smith, aged 92, with his dog outside his home, Gloucester House, near Cann River. He was the keeper at CapeEverard (Point Hicks) for five years.He retired from the lighthouse position in 1904. His life story was written in The Snowy River Mail, Orbost, Wednesday Evening – 27 January 1937 as "LIFE STORY OF SAMUEL SMITH". He was born in Gloucestershire in 1844 and died in 1937 at the the Orbost Hospital. There was an obituary in The Argus (Melbourne) on Saturday 18 February, 1939. Samuel Smith, of Noorinbee, East Gippsland, was the last survivor of the original crew of the frigate Victoria, the first vessel of the old Victorian Navy. When the Victoria arrived in Melbourne in 1861 after having landed soldiers in New Zealand for the Maori War, the crew was given a civil reception, and each member was presented with a sovereign in honor of the birth of the Victorian Navy. A black / white photograph of a bearded elderly man sitting and holding a cane. A dog is sitting at his knee. The photograph has ben taken outside in a garden.on back - "Samuel Smith, Head Lighthouse Keeper at C. Everard, retired 1904"cape-everard point-hicks smith-samuel -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, 1919
Ian and Jean McDonald were the children of Mr and Mrs Norman McDonald of 42 Gladstone Street, Orbost. This photograph was taken in late January, 1919 on Jean's first day at school.. It was taken at the home of John Rowe, the former headmaster of Orbost Primary School. He was then living opposite the school. Norman Alexander McDonald was a book-keeper at Macarthur‟s and was very musical. He was proprietor of the Capitol Cafe, Nicholson Street, Orbost, selling the business to Mr Coad on 4th December 1947. This photograph record an important event in the life of an Orbost family in the early 20th century.A black / white photograph of two young children, a boy and a girl, sitting on the verandah of a house.mcdonald-ian mcdonald-jean education-orbost -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Spring Balance Scale, George Salter & Co, 1930s
... and measures especially in the home kitchen. The firm began life... in the home kitchen. The firm began life in the late 1760s ...Scales such as the subject item were used in a domestic situation. Salter has been a name long associated with weights and measures especially in the home kitchen. The firm began life in the late 1760s in the village of Bilston, England when Richard Salter, a spring maker, began making the first spring scales in Britain. He called these scales "pocket steelyards", though they work on a different principle from steelyard balances. By 1825 his nephew George had taken over the company, which became known as George Salter & Co. George later established a manufacturing site in the town of West Bromwich, about 4 miles (7 km) from Bilston. West Bromwich Albion football club was formed from workers at this works site. From here the company produced a wide variety of scales including the UK's first bathroom scales. Other items were added to the range, including irons, mincers, potato chippers, coin-operated machines and the first typewriters made in the UK. The business thrived throughout the 1900s, and by 1950 it employed over 2000 people, still in the same area and owned by the same family.Salter is a British housewares brand developing products that span a wide range of core product categories, including scales, electrical, cookware. It is a market leader in kitchen and bathroom scales and one of the UK’s oldest consumer brands. Established in 1760, Salter has been developing precision products for over 260 years. It was acquired by Manchester-based consumer goods giant Ultimate Products in 2021 after they had previously licensed the brand for cookware and kitchen electrical since 2011."Scale Salter's Spring Balance brass cylinder with ring at one end and a hook at the otherSalter trademark stamped on front. Made in England stamped on back. Weighs 0 to 4LBS showing ¼lb increments.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, salter balance scale, weight measuring scale, weighing dry goods, domestic object, kitchen scale -
Federation University Historical Collection
Book, Barbara Hughes, Nurses on Wheels: A Journey of 100 Years, 2011
In 2011 the Ballarat District Nursing Society celebrated 100 years of service. They provided home, district nursing and podiatry services across Ballarat and northern Golden Plains ShireBlack hardcovered book wiht blak and red dust jacket. Contents include: Begginings (1911-1921), Matron Annie Florence Roberts, First Car, Elsie Isobel Walsh, World War Two, Committee, Lena Tevenen, Sr Phyllis Dean, New Headquarters, Sister Joan Aked, Stomal Therepy, Staff Freeze, Hospice, Expansion, No Lift Policy, Frances Zala, UNITI, Dereel, Centenary, Excerpts from Annual Reports, 2006 staff, 2008 staff, Ballarat District Nursing Society Life Members, Ballarat District Nursing Society Presidents and Chairpersonsmatron annie florence roberts, elsie isobel walsh, world war two, lena tevenen, sr phyllis dean, new headquarters, sister joan aked, stomal therepy, frances zala, uniti, dereel, centenary, annual reports, ballarat district nursing society, district nursing, nursing -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Book, Printed in England by Redwood Burn Ltd, Trowbridge and Esher. ISBN 0-85664-698-9, Silent Sisterhood. Middle-class Women in the Victorian Home. Author Patricia Branca, Printed 1977
Study of the place and life of middle-class Victorian era women.Black paperback with gold text. Front cover depicts Sepia toned photograph of six women having tea. Back cover is black with recommendations and information about contents of the book.non-fictionStudy of the place and life of middle-class Victorian era women.victorian, middle-class, women, nineteenth century, women’s health education, modernization, warrnambool -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Book, Basil Watson, March 2015
This book gives details on the life and work of Basil Watson (1893-1917), a pioneer aviator in Australia. From 1914 to 1916 he worked in England for the Sopwith Aviation Company, receiving training in the workshops and becoming a test pilot. Back in Australia Watson commenced building his own plane in the billiard room at his parents’ home in Brighton, Victoria. He flew this plane to Bendigo, Warrnambool, Hamilton, Camperdown, Casterton and Mount Gambier and carried the first official airmail to these places. He also gave exhibitions of aerial flying stunts at these towns. He died when he crashed into the sea near Point Cook in March 1917.This book is of some importance to Warrnambool as it tells the story of Basil Watson who was the first person to fly to Warrnambool in January 1917. On this occasion he performed aerial stunts in front of a large crowd at the Warrnambool Racecourse and brought three letters to the Mayor of Warrnambool, thus being the bearer of the first aerial post to this city. The book includes several photographs and posters of Watson’s time in Warrnambool. The Warrnambool and District Historical Society has several mementos of Watson’s flight, including one of his original letters and the seat This is a paper back book with a plastic-laminated cover. There are 61 pages with diagrams, photographs, illustrations, advertisements, posters and newspaper cuttings. The cover is mainly grey and white in colour with printed material in a red insert and two photographs superimposed over the background.Front cover: Basil Watson – Pioneer Aviator- Carole Winter Back cover: Printed material (summary of book’s contents) PenFolk Publishing, Blackburn, March 2015 ISBN 978 1 875894 95 6 basil watson, warrnambool and aviation pioneer -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Book, Spurgeon the people's teacher, Late 19th century
This is the biography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), a famous and influential English Protestant preacher who attracted a great following throughout the British Empire and U.S.A. He reached the masses by producing many religious tracts costing one penny and publishing his sermons and his John Ploughman books with their simple homilies. It appears that many of his books were in Warrnambool homes in the 19th century.This book is of interest as it details the life of Charles Spurgeon, a person whose sermons and writings were familiar to many people in Warrnambool in the 19th century. The Warrnambool Examiner newspaper frequently carried news items about Spurgeon’s eloquent preaching and the crowds he was drawing. It also published some of his sermons and reported at length his final illness and death. One of the photograph albums in the collection of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society includes a photograph of Charles Spurgeon and his wife, thus appearing to indicate his popularity and influence extended as far as Warrnambool and district. This is a hard cover book of 330 pages. The cover has a mauve background with gold lettering on the front cover and spine. The front cover has an image in gold of the Spurgeon’s home and an image in black and grey of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The spine has an image in gold, black and grey of Charles Spurgeon. The book has 19 chapters and 20 black and white illustrations. There are several pages at the back of the book advertising books by the publisher (Walter Scott Press). charles spurgeon, history of warrnambool -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Lamp, Spirit Lamp, Early 20th century
There is no known history connected to this item. A spirit lamp was an essential household item in the 19th century and the first three decades of the 20th century until electric lighting became a common feature of most homes. This lamp has no particular significance and is suitable for display as an example of family life in the past.This is a spirit lamp with a milk glass base in two sections (two pedestals in rings). The bowl is made of green glass emulating the shape of the base. There is a brass section connecting the bowl to the wick holder with the wick exposed. There is a small knob or handle external to the bowl for controlling the wick’s use. The clear glass lamp mantle is slim-line bulbous shaped. history of warrnambool, social history, spirit lamp -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Tray, Stan Sharkey 1978-79, C 1978
Bushfield is situated on the outskirts of Warrnambool . The local Bushfield recreation reserve has been home to a number of local football and cricket clubs which play in various leagues in the Warrnambool district. Litle could be The Bushfield Cricket club has possibly been combined with another local team It is home to the Woodford Cricket Club which is the closest club to Bushfield and which uses the Bushfield oval as its home ground. It is a member of the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association. We have little information on Stan Sharkey who was obviously associated with the club in the late 1970's.Cricket is an important part of sporting life in Australia and especially in country regions where clubs often form part of the social network of the towns and districts. They rely heavily on the contributions of volunteers such as Stan Sharkey to operate. Many have recorded their histories through the years but nothing could be found on the Bushfield club.Oblong stainless steel tray with rounded corners . It has ornate handles screwed into either end , a raised lip around all sides and a circular brushed pattern on the flat surface of the tray. There is an inscription in the centre of the tray.Engraved in centre of tray," Stan Sharkey. In appreciation of servicesfor season 1978-79. From President & Players Bushfield Cricket Club."Marked stainless steel on back.warrnambool, bushfield, bushfield cricket club -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Negative - Photograph, Smart family home in Bridge Street, Eltham, c.1903
Believed to be Mrs Jane Bailey (nee Matthews) (d. 1904) and her grand-daughter Ruby Jane Bertha Smart (1890-1903) in front of the Smart family cottage in Bridge Street, Eltham, c.1903 Located on the north side of Bridge Street at the intersection with Bolton Street, facing Bolton Street (now part of present day Brisbane Street and occupied by the Kitchen Design Centre). Ruby Jane Bertha Smart born abt 1890 died in 1903 in Eltham. Her brother Alfred Francis Smart was born abt 1887 and died 1966 in Mont Albert, Vic. (Accessed via Ancestry.com) Show's an original early settler's cottage in Bridge Street. The cottage was built by Mrs Mary Jane Smart's parents, Edwin Bailey and Jane (nee Matthews). Mary Jane Smart was born in the cottage. She married an Englishman, Alexander Wilson Smart who disappeared to Western Australia in the early 1900s in search of gold. He ultimately married again in W.A., committing bigamy and then committed murder and was hung in 1911. This photo was taken c.1903 not long before both Mrs Bailey and her grand daughter both passed away. Jane Bailey died 2 Dec. 1904 and Mary Jane Smart and Ruby Jane Bertha Smart died July 1903 are all buried in Eltham Cemetery. SMART'S HOME AT ELTHAM. HIS WIFE AND SONS. In a little bush cottage surrounded by tall gum trees, through which appear glimpses of a willow fringed creek, of road ways hedged by masses of snowy flowering hawthorn, of growing crops and vividly green grazing paddocks, lives Mrs. Smart, the lawful wife of the man who is now in the hands of the police of Western Australia on suspicion of having committed a dreadful crime. Here, about half a mile out of the picturesque village of Eltham, she was born, and has lived her whole life — about 50 years. Smart himself lived here till the time when many years ago, the "lure of gold" got into his blood and he cleared out to Western Australia, to follow the digging rushes, gradually becom ing more and more estranged, till at length all communication ceased and be became lost to his wife and children. "I did not want him to go away," said Mrs. Smart, "because I had heard of so many men who had forgotten their homes in the excite ment of gold seeking, and of many others who died unknown and uncared for. But he would go, and when I saw his mind was set on it I placed no obstacles in his way. My parents built and lived in this cottage, where I was born, and they died in it. When I grew up I met my husband, a young Englishman, and married him. His name is Alexander, not Alfred, and his age is 52. We were very happy here, and although we were not well off we were comfortable, for he was a steady, sober, industrious man and had constant employment. He was just a manual worker, but could turn his hand to anything. We had five children, but one died. Four sons grew up in this little cottage. Thus three generations lived in it, somewhat unusual in an Australian bush home, I think. My eldest son is married and has a family; one is in Western Australia— not with his father— another is away working for him self, and one (indicating a young man by her side) has always stuck to his mother. He is my sole support, and he is as good to me now as his father once was. Yes, his father was a good, home-loving man in our younger days. He was fond of his children and was highly respected in these parts.' "It is fifteen years since my husband went away first. He had then been work ing for the Metropolitan Board of Works, and was engaged in the tunnel under the Yarra near Queen's-bridge when it col-lapsed. After he went to the West he sent me money regularly and wrote constantly. He came home three times — twice for a week or two at a time, the third time, eight years ago, when the Eitham railway was nearing completion. I induced him to stay till the railway opened, and he re-mained with me several months. I tried to get him to leave the West and settle down in his home, but he would not; he seemed restless and anxious to be off. One day when we were in Collingwood together he left me, saying he wanted to see what boats were going West. I implored him not to go away, and he said he would see. However, he returned to me soon after wards and said he had taken his ticket and would go by the next boat, and he went. For a year he wrote at irregular intervals, and then his letters ceased and I heard no more of him. For seven years I have not known whether he was alive or dead. Before that time my two sons in Western Australian used to see him some times, though they did not live with him; they used to tell me in their letters that he was well. It was a hard blow to be forgotten by him, but as my sons grew up I became more reconciled, and now I seem to look back at my life with him as some thing that happened a long time ago and is only a memory. Of his life and doings in Western Australia I know nothing. The last time I heard of him he was working in a foundry at Midland Junction. He was at Cue working on the railway when it opened there, and he caught the fever, but all that time he sent me money. When he returned the first time he took our eldest son with him, and the other boy followed later. They did not stay with him, how ever, and as far as I know they did not know how he lived." 'Mrs. Smart is a quiet, toil worn woman who has the respect of everyone who knows her.This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book,"Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as the 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital image 4 x 5 inch B&W Neg Original print 10.5 x 16.5 cmFor postcard print: Inscribed on envelope: "Return to Mrs H. Butherway, 22 Bridge St, Eltham." Also "Photo Mrs Clark Hampton (nee Smart), original Smart's house - Bridge Street, 95 years ago." Also "Right - Mrs Clark's grandmother Mrs J Smart Left - Her daughter Ruby dies soon after photo taken. Brother Alf Smart died about 6 years ago." Inscribed on back of photo "247 Vincent St, Leederville" It is believed that this inscription may be somewhat mixed up.sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, eltham, bridge street, alexander wilson smart, bigamy, bush cottage, early settlers, houses, jane bailey (nee matthews), mary jane smart (nee bailey), murder, ruby jane bertha smart, smart family home, smart home -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Yeoman and Co, Mary Shillinglaw, c.1898
Mary Shillinglaw born November 5, 1880 at Bundoora, Victoria was the sixth child of Phillip Shillinglaw and Sarah Ann (nee Kidd). She commenced school at Eltham State School No. 209 (Register No. 423) in 1885 at age 4 years. Mary did not marry and spent most of her life at Wattle Brae (Shillinglaw Cottage). In his Will, Phillip Shillinglaw provided that any of his unwed sisters would be able to live at Wattle Brae, rent free. When Eltham Shire Council aquired the property in 1963 to build new Shire Offices, both Mary and her sister Lizzie (also unmarried) were still living at the cottage. Council paid for the women to relocate. Mary moved to Elizabeth House, a nursing home in Ivanhoe but found it very hard to adapt to her new surroundings and living consdtions. She died there only a few months after departing Eltham on October 29, 1963 at age 83 years. Lizzie died June 28, 1972 at age 93 years."Mary Shillinglaw"marg ball collection, 1883-1918, 1898, mary ann shillinglaw (1880-1963), yeoman & co photographer prahran -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Stewart & Co, Elizabeth and Mary Shillinglaw, c.1908
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ann Shillinglaw born August 15, 1879 at Bundoora, Victoria was the fith child of Phillip Shillinglaw and Sarah Ann (nee Kidd). She commenced school at Eltham State School No. 209 (Register No. 391) in 1883 at age 3 years, her final year being 1892. She was engaged to a local Eltham lad who enslisted in the First World War and presented her with a gold ring with Lizzie inscribed on it. He never returned from war and Lizzie never married. Lizzie was quite involved with the local Methodist church where father Phillip was a Lay Preacher. She also had a dress making business in Smitrh Street, Collingwood. At the time of her father's death in 1914 she was living at 18 Stanley Street, Richmond. She returned to Wattle Brae in Eltham where she and her unmarried sisters, Mary and Ada and brother Ernest Samuel continued to live. Mary Shillinglaw born November 5, 1880 at Bundoora, Victoria was the sixth child of Phillip Shillinglaw and Sarah Ann (nee Kidd). She commenced school at Eltham State School No. 209 (Register No. 423) in 1885 at age 4 years. Mary did not marry and spent most of her life at Wattle Brae (Shillinglaw Cottage). In his Will, Phillip Shillinglaw provided that any of his unwed sisters would be able to live at Wattle Brae, rent free. When Eltham Shire Council aquired the property in 1963 to build new Shire Offices, both Mary and her sister Lizzie (also unmarried) were still living at the cottage. Council paid for the women to relocate. Mary moved to Elizabeth House, a nursing home in Ivanhoe but found it very hard to adapt to her new surroundings and living condtions. She died there only a few months after departing Eltham on October 29, 1963 at age 83 years. Lizzie died June 28, 1972 at age 93 years."Mary Shillinglaw"marg ball collection, 1908, elizabeth (lizzie) ann shillinglaw (1879-1972), mary ann shillinglaw (1880-1963), stewart & co photographers bourke st melbourne -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Elizabeth Shillinglaw in middle, possibly sister Mary on right, c.1925
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ann Shillinglaw born August 15, 1879 at Bundoora, Victoria was the fith child of Phillip Shillinglaw and Sarah Ann (nee Kidd). She commenced school at Eltham State School No. 209 (Register No. 391) in 1883 at age 3 years, her final year being 1892. She was engaged to a local Eltham lad who enslisted in the First World War and presented her with a gold ring with Lizzie inscribed on it. He never returned from war and Lizzie never married. Lizzie was quite involved with the local Methodist church where father Phillip was a Lay Preacher. She also had a dress making business in Smitrh Street, Collingwood. At the time of her father's death in 1914 she was living at 18 Stanley Street, Richmond. She returned to Wattle Brae in Eltham where she and her unmarried sisters, Mary and Ada and brother Ernest Samuel continued to live. Mary Shillinglaw born November 5, 1880 at Bundoora, Victoria was the sixth child of Phillip Shillinglaw and Sarah Ann (nee Kidd). She commenced school at Eltham State School No. 209 (Register No. 423) in 1885 at age 4 years. Mary did not marry and spent most of her life at Wattle Brae (Shillinglaw Cottage). In his Will, Phillip Shillinglaw provided that any of his unwed sisters would be able to live at Wattle Brae, rent free. When Eltham Shire Council aquired the property in 1963 to build new Shire Offices, both Mary and her sister Lizzie (also unmarried) were still living at the cottage. Council paid for the women to relocate. Mary moved to Elizabeth House, a nursing home in Ivanhoe but found it very hard to adapt to her new surroundings and living consdtions. She died there only a few months after departing Eltham on October 29, 1963 at age 83 years. Lizzie died June 28, 1972 at age 93 years. Post Card printed on back with photographer's details: W. Mason & Co., 144 Bridge Road, Richmond. W. Mason & Co. operated from this adress from 1903-c.1932 POSTCARD 1905-1940s Like the carte-de-visite, postcards enjoyed a collecting craze by large numbers of people, and were often kept in albums through which the interested visitor could browse. Postcards were posted or exchanged in huge numbers. Postal authorities in Australia only allowed the private printing of postcards from 1898. At this time the back of the card was reserved for the address and postage stamp, and the front was used for the message and a picture. In 1902 British authorities allowed a "divided back", so that the left side could be used for the message, the right side for the address and stamp, and the whole of the front was devoted to the picture. France followed suit in 1904, Germany and Australia in 1905, and the United States in 1907. - Frost, Lenore; Dating Family Photos 1850-1920; Valiant Press Pty. Ltd., Berwick, Victoria 1991marg ball collection, postcard, 1925, elizabeth (lizzie) ann shillinglaw (1879-1972), elizabeth docherty (nee shillinglaw 1861-1942)*, mary ann shillinglaw (1880-1963), reading -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Film - Video (VHS), Phil Burke et al, Shire of Eltham Grants Commsission Submission (Series 69, Item 7), 1993
Shire of Eltham Archives: Series 69, Item 7 Opens with aerial views of the Shire, 85% of the shire covered by the Green wedge principal. Discusses the obligations required of the Shire to maintain the Green Wedge. The Shire covers over 27,000 hectares with a population in excess of 45,000 residents, more than 70% living in the southern 10% of the Shire in suburbs of Eltham, Montmorency, Lower Plenty and Research. 85% of the Shire in the more sparsely populated northern area which is covered by the Green Wedge. Council is committed to providing a parity of services to all residents such as garbage collection and maintenance of roads. Views of rubbish collection trucks in Montmorency. It is emphasised that the cost of these services in highly populated areas is relatively low whereas in the sparsely populated Green Wedge areas, considerable. There are hundreds of kilometres of roads throughout the Shire, many unmade and maintenance is high to check overhanging trees and erosion especially on the steep hills is expensive and disproportionate to servicing the population in the dense urban areas. Shows views of hilly gravel roads and graders at work maintaining them. Shows scenes of assessing planning applications in these rural areas which takes significantly more time as well as other services provided such as Meals on Wheels, building permits, Ranger services. Provision of recreational facilities in hilly areas requires the acquisition of expensive river flats (views of cricket ground surrounded by hills) and where not possible, costly earthmoving required. Also, views highlighting extensive tracks of natural habitat home to significant bird, animal and plant life. Shire emphasises its commitment highlighted by the Eltham Copper Butterfly which the Shire maintains small pockets of bushland to ensure its survival at significant expense (views of Pauline Toner Copper Butterfly Reserve.) Short interview with Pat Vaughan, Environmental Officer for the Shire discussing the Eltham Copper Butterfly who also mentions many other species in the Shire of high significance from bats to mammals to plants as well as the importance of the Green Wedge to Melbourne – the lungs of Melbourne - and ensuring the protection of very important habitat which requires a great deal of planning and management to look after. Views of Wingrove Park to emphasise this maintenance by machinery in some areas is too damaging and introduced species, etc must be removed by hand. Balancing the services and facilities expected by the community with the needs of the environment requires careful planning demands requires careful planning and the principals of the Green Wedge require constant attention in the face of growing need for housing. Director of Planning & Environment, Richard Allen advises there are approximately 1,300 planning permits and development applications each year ranging from simple subdivision, boundary realignments to further complicated non-urban developments for agricultural pursuits and the level of expertise required from architectural and engineering to land degradation, flora and fauna. Video finishes with aerial views and parklands, streetscapes and rural areas. VHS Video cassette Converted to MP4 file format 00:07:39; 89MBshire of eltham, video recording, shire of eltham archives, eltham shire council, eltham, building permits, cricket ground, development applications, eltham copper butterfly, garbage collection, graders, green wedge, lower plenty, meals on wheels, montmorency, pat vaughan, pauline toner reserve, planning applications, planning permits, ranger services, recreational facilities, research, richard allen, roads, rural areas, wingrove park, victoria grants commission -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Book, Picture Nillumbik, 2012
A community-led project to contribute to a vision for the Shire of Nillumbik. Between October 2011 and June 2012, Nillumbik Shire Council undertook a community information gathering project to ask residents "what is your vision for your local community?” Picture Nillumbik represents a collection of responses from community groups, schools and households via online submissions, photos, interviews and workshop contributions. The resulting document provides a snapshot of the values, ambitions and resilience of Nillumbik communities. The project aimed to inform community planning and identify how Council can work better with residents. The resulting document provides a snapshot of the values, ambitions and resilience of Nillumbik communities. Aimed to inform community planning and identify how Council can work better with residents. Further that the document be inspiring, stimulating and a reminder that the future is worth planning for. Includes a number of case studies of local organisations and projects including: Christmas Hills - Butterfly Studios, Strathewen Tree Project, St Andrews mosaic seat, Eltham & District Woodworkers Inc., Edendale Farm - Home harvest, Hurstbridge, Bend of Islands, Bendigo bank, Dunmoochin - Cottles Bridge, Artists Open Studios Program, World Matters and Past Matters, Nillumbik Reconciliation Group, Boots for all. Chapters include: Deep connection and resilient community, local village life, Balance with nature, a sustaining and evolving economy, creative expression, art and cultural exchange, experience discovery and fulfilment and stewarding the Nillumbik way. Each chapter includes further questions for discussion.Spiral bound document printed in landscape format. Includes text and colour photographs. 196 pagesSmall piece of paper headed "DRAFT" included at the front of the document when bound.shire of nillumbik, planning, future, christmas hills, strathewen tree project, st andrews, eltham & district woodworkers inc., edendale farm, bend of islands, dunmoochin, artists open studios program, nillumbik reconciliation group, community groups, vision, strategy -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Albert Jones, Photographer, c.1910
Photo supplied by B. Heddle reproduced on p137 of The Diamond Valley Story by Dianne H. Edwards, Shire of Diamond Valley 1979. "Albert Jones, photographer. Born in 1879, Albert Jones owned the property Golden Glen at Wattle Glen. He was an orchardist and a very busy photographer, travelling over the Diamond Valley area recording everyday events, street scenes, and visiting homes to take family groups. With the help of Claude Burrows, cousin of Mrs Arthur Jones, he built hides from which to photograph local bird life. His hundreds of glass negatives lay forgotten in the basement darkroom until A,J. Spark of Balwyn purchased Golden Glen from Albert Jones's widow in the 1970s. His unclassified negatives are gradually being sorted by Mr Spark. All photos in this book from the Spark/Jones Collection are the work of Albert Jones."Black and white copy of photo printed on glossy photographic paper 30.5 x 40.5 cm (12 x 16 inch); image size approx. 18.5 x 28 cmalbert jones, diamond valley story, golden glen, photographer, wattle glen -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Newspaper clipping, Romantic, charming . . . ''SUNNYBROOK', Diamond Valley Local, 31 March, 1954, p4, 1954
Romantic, charming . . . ''SUNNYBROOK'' ON the slope of a hill on the East side of Bolton street and overlooking willows that trail gracefully in a creeklet which shows no great haste to blend with Diamond Creek and so to the Yarra, there stands a great old-fashioned home. Outwardly it speaks of past opulence rather than beauty of design, but the velvet green lawns and the formal neatly weeded rose gardens, the well established trees, tennis courts, wisteria covered pergolas and the great curved fronds of old palms produce an atmosphere that cannot be built-up in less than decades. Here is irresistible old-world charm. The jangle of today cannot penetrate ... it is a place to remember ... a place where events to be remembered have a perfect setting ... it is "Sunnybrook." From the neighbouring ‘Beranto Lodge’ Mrs. Lenne can catch glimpses of ‘Sunnybrook,’ but the old home is well hidden from all quarters and only the faultlessly kept lawn can be seen by the curious. Like many other people, Mrs. Lenne was curious. Who can blame her. ‘Sunnybrook’ is a name to conjure with in Eltham. When the elderly men of the township were young bucks ‘Sunnybrook’ stood alone, a proud home that was known and established. Amongst the simple homes of the valley of the Diamond Creek, ‘Sunnybrook’ was Queen. In the roistering days of the Diamond Valley, when Kangaroo Ground was the seat of the Shire and when five pubs dotted the road from Lower Plenty to the civic centre, ‘Sunnybrook’ was off the track of the boisterous and tipsy. ‘Sunnybrook’ is still off the beaten track . . . but only slightly so; it no longer looks over cow pastures, but the neat, newly built houses which dot the length of the Main Road. They are still no closer than half a mile and while these houses have sprung up the fine trees and shrubs have quietly closed in around the boundaries of ‘Sunnybrook' as if to keep the old place to itself. That is how it has become something to whet the curiosity. When the course of events put the place on the market Mrs. Lenne bought it. When a modern house is bought it is pliable in the sense that the owner moulds it according to personality. It can remain severe, utilitarian and with a little neglect soon run to an ugly shabbiness. But with old 'Sunnybrook' it is different. There is in existence a character indelibly written into every line of the place . . . it is a LOVE OF ENGLAND. Upon ‘Sunnybrook’ has been lavished the devoted love of England to such a degree that it must be seen. The gardens and lawns are formal, and though lovely and speaking of the leisure of past years they are not English . . . they are just lovely, with the beauty that only the long established seem to possess. It is inside ‘Sunnybrook’ that the intense love of England is seen. Years ago the home was bought by a Mr. Martin, who was getting on in years, as a home for his much younger wife. The couple spent thousands of pounds as well as endless care and imagination in the complete redecorating of their home. Oak panelling imported from England was built in. Huge fireplaces shed their Colonial appearance to be become the fireplaces of England . . . and they were so in every sense because they were also imported from England. One lovely specimen whose gracious lines are remarked upon by all who see it, is a certified antique of finest English Oak. Care was taken to see what hand made wrought iron light fittings were in keeping. The old place has three lounge, dining or living rooms according to taste and requirements, and all are bigger than the biggest attempted in a “big” modern home. This does not include an outside living space of ample proportions, all fine flywired in and enclosing a fernery. A turn of a tap and spray as fine as mist is released over the rockery. On a scorching summer day when no relief short of a swim could help ordinary people, the resident of ‘Sunnybrook’ found the coolness of a dell in which to sit and enjoy their evening meal. What is more, the temperature of the whole house could be reduced by merely turning on this extensive spray water system. Yes, comfort to luxury standard is built in. And what happens to 'Sunnybrook' now? Mrs Lenne is famous to thousands for her quite fabulous catering. Her home and her "Wanda Inn" at Hepburn Springs have long been a Mecca for those who want the different in catering . . . different in the sense that every client is treated as a friend, not a customer and the hospitality and attention one would give to an honoured friend is accorded. And the food! – ask anyone who has enjoyed the privilege. Ask those who attended the reception given to Mr. Menzies by Eltham Shire Council; ask those members of the Diamond Valley Chamber of Commerce who enjoyed it! [See EDHS_04736-1/2 https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5d4c2fb521ea6727d892df72] There is only one word anyone ever uses . . . “unbelievable!” it must be seen and eaten to be believed. And ‘Sunnybrook’ will ring to the laughter, and offer its spaciousness for the fun of all who join in the happiest occasion in the life of those just married, whose wedding reception is intended to be “remembered.” Mrs. Lenne is a dynamic ball of energy whose enthusiasm is not to be brooked. She has acquired the home of her dreams. 13 March 2020 Note: Historian Stella M. Barber via the GSV members Forum cites that Clair Samwell and Doris Good ran a nursing home in Balwyn called Penquite (1946-1952). Prior to that the women had run a rest home called Beranto in Eltham. Single newsprint page separated rest of paperberanto lodge, bolton street, houses, mrs. lenne, prime minister, properties, robert gordon menzies, sunnybrook -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Joy Chapman, Miss Eltham, April 1965, Apr 1965
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Joy Chapman parading before the judges, Miss Eltham 1965, Apr 1965
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Joy Chapman, Miss Eltham 1965 with other contestants, Apr 1965
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Peter Pidgeon, The original Miss Eltham 1965 sash, 17 May 2019
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Born digitalalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Joy Chapman in rear playground of Eltham High School, 1959
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Joy Chapman (left) with Dianne Bell in HMS Pinafore, 1960
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Rodda Parade looking towards the creek, 1960. Chapman home to the right, 1960
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Joy Chapman at the river junction, February 1962, Feb 1962
My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days". SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Negative - Photograph, Mary Jane Smart (nee Bailey) ouside the Smart family home in Bridge Street, Eltham, c.1915
Located on the north side of Bridge Street at the intersection with Bolton Street, facing Bolton Street (now part of present day Brisbane Street and occupied by the Kitchen Design Centre). Show's an original early settler's cottage in Bridge Street. The cottage was built by Mrs Mary Jane Smart's parents, Edwin Bailey and Jane (nee Matthews). Mary Jane Smart was born in the cottage. She married an Englishman, Alexander Wilson Smart who disappeared to Western Australia in the early 1900s in search of gold. He ultimately married again in W.A., committing bigamy and then committed murder and was hung in 1911. This photo was taken c.1903 not long before both Mrs Bailey and her grand daughter both passed away. Jane Bailey died 2 Dec. 1904 and Mary Jane Smart and Ruby Jane Bertha Smart died July 1903 are all buried in Eltham Cemetery. SMART'S HOME AT ELTHAM. HIS WIFE AND SONS. In a little bush cottage surrounded by tall gum trees, through which appear glimpses of a willow fringed creek, of road ways hedged by masses of snowy flowering hawthorn, of growing crops and vividly green grazing paddocks, lives Mrs. Smart, the lawful wife of the man who is now in the hands of the police of Western Australia on suspicion of having committed a dreadful crime. Here, about half a mile out of the picturesque village of Eltham, she was born, and has lived her whole life — about 50 years. Smart himself lived here till the time when many years ago, the "lure of gold" got into his blood and he cleared out to Western Australia, to follow the digging rushes, gradually becom ing more and more estranged, till at length all communication ceased and be became lost to his wife and children. "I did not want him to go away," said Mrs. Smart, "because I had heard of so many men who had forgotten their homes in the excite ment of gold seeking, and of many others who died unknown and uncared for. But he would go, and when I saw his mind was set on it I placed no obstacles in his way. My parents built and lived in this cottage, where I was born, and they died in it. When I grew up I met my husband, a young Englishman, and married him. His name is Alexander, not Alfred, and his age is 52. We were very happy here, and although we were not well off we were comfortable, for he was a steady, sober, industrious man and had constant employment. He was just a manual worker, but could turn his hand to anything. We had five children, but one died. Four sons grew up in this little cottage. Thus three generations lived in it, somewhat unusual in an Australian bush home, I think. My eldest son is married and has a family; one is in Western Australia— not with his father— another is away working for him self, and one (indicating a young man by her side) has always stuck to his mother. He is my sole support, and he is as good to me now as his father once was. Yes, his father was a good, home-loving man in our younger days. He was fond of his children and was highly respected in these parts.' "It is fifteen years since my husband went away first. He had then been work ing for the Metropolitan Board of Works, and was engaged in the tunnel under the Yarra near Queen's-bridge when it col-lapsed. After he went to the West he sent me money regularly and wrote constantly. He came home three times — twice for a week or two at a time, the third time, eight years ago, when the Eitham railway was nearing completion. I induced him to stay till the railway opened, and he re-mained with me several months. I tried to get him to leave the West and settle down in his home, but he would not; he seemed restless and anxious to be off. One day when we were in Collingwood together he left me, saying he wanted to see what boats were going West. I implored him not to go away, and he said he would see. However, he returned to me soon after wards and said he had taken his ticket and would go by the next boat, and he went. For a year he wrote at irregular intervals, and then his letters ceased and I heard no more of him. For seven years I have not known whether he was alive or dead. Before that time my two sons in Western Australian used to see him some times, though they did not live with him; they used to tell me in their letters that he was well. It was a hard blow to be forgotten by him, but as my sons grew up I became more reconciled, and now I seem to look back at my life with him as some thing that happened a long time ago and is only a memory. Of his life and doings in Western Australia I know nothing. The last time I heard of him he was working in a foundry at Midland Junction. He was at Cue working on the railway when it opened there, and he caught the fever, but all that time he sent me money. When he returned the first time he took our eldest son with him, and the other boy followed later. They did not stay with him, how ever, and as far as I know they did not know how he lived." 'Mrs. Smart is a quiet, toil worn woman who has the respect of everyone who knows her.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 3 strips Associated print from negative (Copy of original print)Fuji 100bridge street, cottage, smart home, houses, mary jane smart (nee bailey), smart family home, alexander wilson smart, bigamy, bush cottage, early settlers, eltham, jane bailey (nee matthews), murder, ruby jane bertha smart -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Newspaper - Newsclipping, Roger Sanders, A WINDOW ON THE PAST, 11 Aug 1976
Published in "The Sun", Wednesday, August 11, 1976, pp 38-39 [Text of article:] A WINDOW ON THE PAST by Roger Sanders. A fascinating window has been opened on the early life of the Eltham district. It is a rare collection of 3,000 perfectly preserved glass plate photograph negatives. The collection is the work of the late Albert Jones, a Diamond Creek orchardist and amateur photographer. About 500 of the negatives have been printed and 100 are on display at Gallery 4, Eltham, as part of the Eltham Festival, which started on Friday. They capture in fine detail rural and village life around Eltham, Hurstbridge, Kangaroo Ground, Yarra Glen and Diamond Valley from 1900 to 1930. While the natural beauty of the district was painted in this period by Arthur Streeton (later Sir Arthur), Tom Roberts and Charles Conder, among others, photography was relatively new. Yet Albert Jones used the new medium to compile a weighty album of pioneers at work, at home, at sport and on holidays. He was at the first Yarra Glen race meeting, early Diamond Valley football matches and photographed soldiers from the district leaving for war. He photographed early gold mines, men with horses laying the Diamond Creek-Hurstbridge rail track and the arrival of the first steam train at Hurstbridge. He took his cameras on holiday around Victoria and the collection includes scenes from St. Kilda and Portsea and many country towns. The Jones collection of negatives was found by Mr A. J. "Ned" Spark, of Balwyn, under a house he bought from Mr Jones' widow. The plates almost went to the tip with a pile of rubbish before Mr Spark realised their potential value. Mr Spark, who is retired, will continue the identification and recording of the photographs when he returns from holidays. The exhibition of the Jones' photographs is open each afternoon until August 21 at Gallery 4, 1016 Main Rd., Eltham. [Captions of photographs included in article:] • The priceless collection of glass plate negatives were found under this house in Eltham [actually Wattle Glen], home of Albert Jones and his wife. • A quiet country pub - Panton Hills Hotel. • Teams of draught horses were used in the building of the Diamond Creek-Hurstbridge railway in 1910. • Chinaman Jimmy using a gold cradle in Wattle Glen Gully. • The photographer and orchardist Albert Jones. His work is on show as part of the Eltham Festival • St Kilda Pier – several of the houses are still standing, but the waterfront has changed dramatically since this was taken before 1920. • A picnic was a dressy affair at the start of the century – the women in this family group are decked in lace and pearls.Newspaper articlealbert jones, golden glen, wattle glen -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Jock Read and Doug Orford, 2010
Presentation of a certificate of Distinguished Life Member to Jock Read at his aged care home, Chatsworth Terrace, 430 Main Road, Lower Plenty, July 2010. Jock had previously been appointed a Life Member at the Annual General Meeting in 2003. He and fellow Life Member, Peter Bassett-Smith were made Distinguished Life Members in July 2010. Present were Jim Connor, Harry Gilham, Russell Yeoman, Peter and Diana Bassett-Smith, Doug Orford and Jock Read.One of four images from an A4 inkjet printactivities, eltham district historical society, jock read, doug orford