Miss Olive Codling was a Foundation Member and a Life Member of the Wodonga Historical Society. Many of her prize-winning photos are held in the Society Collection. She also held a range of roles and committee positions in a wide range of Wodonga community organisations. MELBA THEATRE, WODONGA operated in the Shire Hall building on the corner of High Street and Melbourne Road (Elgin Street), Wodonga. The Shire Hall was built in 1890. The date on the facade of the building represents the date of the formation of the Shire in 1876. In December 1929, Enterprise Pictures were screening films in the open air theatre adjacent to the Shire Hall or sometimes in the hall itself. In 1943 “Melba Theatre, Shire Hall” was advertised with that name for the first time. In 1948 Mr K Bounader, a picture proprietor from Holbrook with 39 years in pictures behind him assumed control of the Melba Theatre, Wodonga. The Bounader family continued to run the theatre well into the 1960s. The hall was also used for functions such as school socials and concerts. Competition from drive-in theatres and television had an impact on theatre audiences. Finally, the Melba Theatre screened its last film in 1968. A school speech night in 1969 is the last known event in the Melba Theatre. It was demolished along with the Shire Hall in 1971 and replaced with a supermarket and car park.These images are significant as they document an historic buildings in Wodonga which played an important part in the social life of the community.2 black and white photos of the Melba Theatre in Wodonga and its demolition Over doorway: "MELBA THEATRE"high st wodonga, melba theatre, wodonga buildings

On the crest of Stanhope Hill at Peter Street, Eltham, stands the former home of a couple, Clem and Nina Christensen who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War 2 Australia. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p109 On the crest of Stanhope Hill at Peter Street, Eltham, stands the former home of a couple, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. In 1946, Clem and Nina Christensen bought the house, which had been designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear, considered to be one of Australia’s most innovative architects in the first quarter of the 20th century.1 That year the stucco building with a metal roof, built in 1910, was extended to the north and south. The main residence was built of jarrah, with stucco walls, floors of Tasmanian hardwood and rooms panelled with Californian redwood (sequoia). The property included a cottage, former stables, a dairy and meat-house. From its beginnings the property has attracted artists and intellectuals. Official World War One artist, Will Longstaff, bought the property – then 15½ acres (6ha) around 1900. Famous for his painting The Ghosts of Menin Gate, now in the Australian War Memorial Canberra, Longstaff was the cousin of another well-known painter, Sir John Longstaff. Several leading artists visited Longstaff at Stanhope including Walter Withers of the Heidelberg School, who lived in Brougham Street, Eltham. In 1919, Theo Handfield, father of author and journalist John Handfield, bought the property from Mrs Longstaff. Then in 1924 the land was subdivided and most of the estate (80 blocks) was auctioned. The next owner was related to novelist Virginia Woolf. Bishop Reginald Stephen, Warden of Trinity College, bought the house and five acres (2 ha) in 1928. He was related to Sir Leslie Stephen, the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and Woolf’s father. Novelist and music critic John Harcourt, was the next tenant, while he and his wife Fay, built their mud-brick house Clay Nuneham, at the foot of Stanhope Hill. Dr Clem and Mrs Nina Christensen, lived in the house until their deaths. Clem Christensen – who died aged 91 in 2003 – was a poet, short story writer and painter. However, he is most noted for founding Australia’s foremost literary journal2 Meanjin (originally Meanjin Papers), which he described as ‘democratic left of centre’, in Brisbane in 1940. Clem brought Meanjin to Melbourne in 1945 and remained editor until 1975. Enormously influential, Meanjin spawned and encouraged many of Australia’s best literary talents and it had an international reputation. Meanjin was the first to publish such writers as Judith Wright and David Malouf and it encouraged writers like Patrick White and Peter Carey. Nina Christensen – who died aged 89 in 2001 – was founding Editor of the Melbourne Slavonic Studies Journal and pioneered the study of Russian in Australia. In 1946 she established the Department of Russian Language and Literature at The University of Melbourne, which she led until 1977. Nina’s graduates largely staffed subsequent departments, in other Australian universities.3 However Nina’s Russian heritage and Clem’s outspoken views caused problems. They were forced to defend themselves in the Petrov inspired Royal Commission on Espionage in the 1950s, but were exonerated. The Christensens attracted and hosted many distinguished Australian and foreign writers, artists and academics, including Nobel prize-winning novelist, Patrick White and the world’s then leading cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich.4 Other writers and intellectuals who visited Stanhope were: Vance Palmer, Alan Marshall, A D Hope, Xavier Herbert, Nevil Shute, Geoffrey Dutton, Martin Boyd, Judah Waten, Bruce Grant, Dorothy Hewett and Sir Herbert Read. Painters included: Danila Vassilieff, Arthur Boyd, Albert Tucker, Justus Jörgensen, Robert Hughes and Clifton Pugh. Academics included: Manning Clark, Geoffrey Blainey, W Macmahon Ball, Richard Downing, Geoffrey Serle and scientist Tim Marshall. Politicians included: Jim Cairns, Pauline Toner, Lance Barnard, Sir Paul Hasluck, Sheryl Garbutt and performance artists included: film star Olivia Newton-John, members of the Bolshoi ballet and the Russian State Ballet of Siberia.5 Nina Christensen was honoured in 2006 at the Eltham Living and Learning Centre with the building of an amphitheatre designed by V Sverdlin.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, clem christesen, eltham, nina christesen, peter street, stanhope

Contents: • 2023 – the year in review by Jim Connor • Our Next Meeting - 7.30pm Wednesday 13th December 2023 • Eltham Mudbrick House Tour • Tim Burstall – Pioneer Film Maker by Marguerite Marshall • The Prize: Marcys Skipper’s comments • Threats to Kangaroo Ground by Richard Pinn • Local Mother’s Incredible Support in WW2 by Terry Beaton • 60 Years Ago at Eltham East Primary by Stephen Corneille • Community banking – our local story by Malcom Hackett OAM The Shire of Eltham Historical Society was formed in October 1967. The first newsletter of the Society was issued May 1978 and has been published continuously ever since on a bi-monthly basis. With the cessation of the Shire of Eltham in late 1994, the Society's name was revised to Eltham District Historical Society and this name first appeared with issue No. 103, July 1995. The collection of the Society's newsletters provides a valuable resource on the history of the Society's activities, office bearers and committee members, guest speakers and subjects of historical interest pertinent to the former Shire of Eltham and the Eltham District.A4 newsletter distributed to members (Digital and A4 photocopy)newsletter, eltham district historical society

The property is a classic example of what made Eltham famous from the late 1940s to the 1960s. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p149 The first view of the large double-storey house at Yarra Braes Road, Eltham South, is of a jutting roofline over a balcony, reminiscent of a large sailing vessel or galleon – very appropriate, considering the name of one of the first owners, Le Gallienne. The Downing-Le Gallienne property is a classic example of what made Eltham famous from the late 1940s to the 1960s and attracted so many artists and intellectuals to the area. Set in a largely indigenous bush-style garden, the mud-brick and timber house was built by Alistair Knox. It was built for economist Richard Downing, to become a founder of the welfare state in Australia and Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and musician and composer Dorian Le Gallienne. Le Gallienne was a pioneering composer of modern music in Victoria before 1945, whose works included the Symphony in E.1 He wrote several pieces of film music for Eltham Films, including The Prize, working with its writer and artistic director Tim Burstall. Le Gallienne was also a music critic for The Argus and later for The Age. In 1967 the music critic Roger Covell argued that Le Gallienne’s Symphony, was ‘still the most accomplished and purposive . . . written by an Australian’. According to Alan Marshall the main inspiration behind the building that evolved from 1948 to 1964 was Le Gallienne. ‘He was able to see value in the simplest things and many who worked there had their eyes opened for the first time to the Eltham environment, to the bush and the trees and the fauna which lived there.’ The garden included no formality, no lawns, nor exotic plants. ‘Natural informal growth came right up to their doors and so did the indigenous birdlife.’ This informal style – consisting of mass and void – was to be developed and popularised by landscaper Gordon Ford from the 1950s. The large mud-brick and timber house, which was built in four stages and has three separate but linked sections, began as a small weekend retreat for the couple. In 1948, Downing and Le Gallienne (Dick and Dor to their friends), asked Knox to build the 36 x18 foot (11mx5.4m) building with a pitched slate roof. It was built on a concrete slab and included a fireplace, which is still in use. The second wing was built in 1954 after Downing had returned from working at the International Labour Office and the couple decided to live there full-time. The third section was built after the death of Le Gallienne in 1963, aged 48. He is buried in the Eltham Cemetery. When Downing married widow, Jean Norman (nee McGregor) and had to accommodate a large family, including her six children and one of their own, the last stage was built by 1964. At that time the house was considered one of the largest mud-brick houses in Victoria. It consists of five living areas, including a small ballroom. Several artists helped Knox build the Downing-Le Gallienne house, which was one of his first of mud-brick. They included painter Clifton Pugh, artist John Howley and actor Wynn Roberts. Ellis Stones had landscaped the first wing and Gordon Ford set the boulder steps and made a pool as part of the landscaping he completed. Inside, the mud-bricks are largely whitewashed with pine-lined ceilings and Oregon beams. A winding timber staircase in the front extends behind a glass window from the ground floor to the top. The property, of a little more than 0.5 ha, is bordered by Parks Victoria land, which extends to the Yarra River.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, dorian le gallienne, downing-le gallienne house, eltham, mudbrick construction, mudbrick houses, richard downing, yarra braes road

Illustrated book with dustjacket. The book has a light green cover with purple print. on the front cover is the letter 'M' inside a circle with a snake coiled around a staff. Title, author's surname and publishers name are printed on the spine. The dustjacket has been covered with a clear protective film. The dust jacket has a dark green background, on the front on a cream square the title, author's and illustrator's names are printed in dark green, there are also four illustrations in light brown ink of doctors in various roles (Rafaello Busoni) Title, auth's and publisher's name are printed on the spine. There is a brown and white photograph of the author on the back of the dustjacket. along with some information about himnon-fictionThis book chronicles the lives and careers of the Mayo family, particularly Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his sons Dr. William (Will) and Dr. Charles (Charlie). It tells the story of how Dr William started practicing in rural Minnesota and how with his sons (Dr Will and Dr Charlie) helped build the Mayo Clinic into a world-renowned institutionwlliam worrall mayo, william james mayo, charles horace mayo, mayo clinic