The class of '84 – Happily Settled. "Barry Baker has been mixing wheat farming with theological studies for several years. And now from his Rupanyup farm he's moving to Cavendish. He's 48, married with three children. His wife, Helen, married a farmer, and is working through her new role as a minister's wife. Barry is looking forward to going back to the country. He found the five years of study, the first three as a private student, a pretty long drag, although he's immensely enjoyed the privilege of theological study. He considers the ministry will be very much a pastoral one. "I've go to know my people before I can preach to them," he told me. He's interested in cricket and music."B & W head & shoulders photo of Rev. Barry Baker, wearing a skivvy and jumper.C&N identification.baker, barry, theological hall graduates 1984

As a youth while working on his father's farm, Hugh Victor McKay became tired of the labour involved in winnowing wheat by hand. In 1884 he built the first machine in the world which did the winnowing in conjunction with the reaping. On Monday 21st August 1944, which coincided with the birthday of the late H. V. McKay, more than 2000 employees and friends of H. V. McKay Massey Harris Pty Ltd were entertained at the Melbourne Town Hall, in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the Sunshine Harvester Works.The event was planned to "turn it on for the boys' in a manner befitting the occasion." The compere was Eric Pearce (of later TV newsreader fame) and the entertainment was provided by leading performers of song (W.M.Laird and Mary Miller), of music (John Robertson, W.M.King, and the Sunshine Brass Band), and of humour (Charles Sherman). The accompanists for some of the performances were Betty Miller and Eric Fox. Two films depicting the activities of the Sunshine Works were shown, and the managing director Mr C. N. McKay, was presented with a book by Mr Fred Bult who had 50 years service with the company. The book contained more than 1000 signatures from invited employees who had completed more than 10 years of service, Supper was provided in the Lower Hall, and the MC for dancing to the Synco-Harvesters Dance Band in the Main Hall was James Patrick. The committee which organised the function were Messrs. L.W. King (Chairman), G. Baker, J. Downing, R. Stewart, F. J. Lee, V. Armstrong, F. Fields, J. Aird, G. Wilson, J. G. McKay, T. N. McArthur, and R. Webb, with secretaries Messrs. G. Shaw and D. J. McKay. The above information was compiled from the Souvenir Programme, and from The Argus of Tuesday 22 August 1944 which can be viewed at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11357700, and from the Sunshine Advocate of Friday 30 June 1944.The Souvenir Programme provides a historical record of how the Diamond Jubilee was celebrated, as well as the type of entertainment and the names of the entertainers and other people involved. It also lists the types of dances such as the 'Fox Trot' and the 'Pride of Erin' that were normal entertainment in 1944. The Souvenir Programme is also significant in what it does not tell us. There is absolutely no indication of what would be considered to be a supper for an event like this in 1944, especially in the Melbourne Town Hall. From a historical point of view it would be interesting to know.Beige coloured cardboard document which is folded in two, and has brown coloured printing on three of the four sides. The document provides a detailed list of the entertainment and the presentations held in the Melbourne Town Hall, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Sunshine Harvester Works.1884 1944 / SOUVENIR PROGRAMME / DIAMOND JUBILEE of the SUNSHINE HARVESTER / MELBOURNE TOWN HALL / Monday 21st Aug.sunshine harvester, diamond jubilee, h. v. mckay, massey harris pty ltd, 21 august 1944, 1884, 1944, melbourne town hall, sunshine harvester works, sunshine harvester, diamond jubilee, h. v. mckay, massey harris pty ltd, 21 august 1944, 1884, 1944, melbourne town hall, sunshine harvester works

Used on local district farm 1950’s to 1960’sTwo parallel wooden 4x2 beams bolted with a metal rod and hook attachment to back of wagon. Has metal footing bolted to wooden arms upon which a bag of wheat sits. A meatball rod attached under the wagon allows it to pivot and lift the bag . None

Crop Competitions have been held at local Shows dating from late 1800’s to todayCream card red and blue print. Hand printed details of winner and description of Crop Competition. Also has tractor and plough, silos, tractor and header logos on top and wheat head logos on sides and bottom.The Farm Competitions Association of Victoria. Special Certificate awarded to J C Thom, Winner of Open Wheat Crop Competition (40 acres) 1963. Variety exhibited - Olympic. Conducted by Yarrawonga Agricultural Society Signed by Deputy Chairman JW McCann, Hon Secretary R A Andrew

Crop competitions have been held at local shows dating from late 1800’s to todayCream card Red and Blue print. Hand printed details of winner and description of Crop competition. Also has tractor and plough, silos tractor and header logos on top and wheat head logos on sides and bottom.The Farm Competitions Association of Victoria. Special certificate awarded to J C Thom ad P Bruce Open Wheat crop competition 1957 Area 40 acres. Variety Sherpa Conducted by Yarrawonga and Border Agricultural and Pastoral Society. Signed by Chairman Wm B Miller, Hon Secretary JWC McCann

Black and white postcard with two oval photographs with "Greetings from Rutherglen" on a banner between them. The top photograph is of a wheat harvest. The bottom one is of the annual Regatta on Lake Moodemere.At bottom of top photograph: "Harvest Time. Rutherglen Farm." At bottom of bottom photograph: "Lake Moodemere. Gala Day."harvest, agriculture, lake moodemere, regattas, rowing

thrasher, agriculture, farm, wheat

Farm equipment, for taking wheat sampleswheat

Farm equipment, 261.1- Upholsters needles 2, 261.2- wheat chaff bag needles 4.needle, sewing, upholster, sew

""The public trial of reaping machines, under the auspices of the Port Phillip Farmers' Society, advertised to take place on Friday, last, but postponed on account of the weather, came off December 27. The place selected (Mr. Wade's farm, Belford, near Kew) is undulating ground, with a remarkably heavy crop of wheat upon it. This, taken in connection with, the state of the ground, still soft from the recent rains, made the trial an uncommonly severe one. ..."(South Australian Advertiser, 15 January 1859) Some bricks used in Kew buildings came from the brickworks on Wade's Farm at the end of Belford Road near the Yarra River (now part of the Kew Golf Club). (History of RSL by John Torpey)Wade's Farm, Kilby Road, Kew.wade's farm, farming (kew), kilby road, north kew, belford road, kew, kew golf club

One of the original bag hooks used on the farm at Ziebell’sHessian bags were used pre 1970 and bag hooks were used to lift heavy bags of wheat, and milled grains such as bran and pollardSmall instrument for hanging and moving bags, bifurcated hook with wood handlerural industry, agriculture, hook, farming, transportation, tool

Tyrie’s Farm at Greens Creek c1930’s with Horse Drawn Header. Charles Tyrie is seated on machine. Bags of wheat in foreground.stawell

SUMMARY - Ernest W (Bon) Barrie, 1909 – 1985 Profile Melton Mechanics Institute Member 1935 - 1982i Trustee 1952 - 1982 Life Member 1968 Years of service – 47 years He constructed and provided a public address system which was used at Melton and district halls and sports grounds for a wide variety of community events including school sports, gymkhanas, theatrical productions and processions. Fire Brigade Melton Fire Brigade (and predecessor Bush Fire Brigade) Apparatus Officer, 1945 - 1953 Captain, 1951 - 1965 Mt Cotterill Fire Brigades’ Group Elected Group Officer, on the formation of the Group, 1967. As Group Communications Officer he operated the VL3 LY base radio station from home on a 24 hour basis for fire brigades of Melton, Rockbank, Sydenham, Diggers Rest, Toolern Vale, Truganina and Werribee. With his brother Edgar, he built the first Melton Fire Truck. It was housed on the family property until a fire station was constructed in the Melton township. Recipient of the Queens Medal, 1979 Recognised for 44 years of service on the Melton Fire Brigade Memorial Wall Plaque, dedicated May 2013 Melton State School, no 430 Committee – School Correspondent (secretarial and financial role) 34 years of Service Provided his Amplifier Equipment for events and the annual district School Sports from 1939-1973. Donated the House Athletic Shield Melton and District Historical Society 1968 – 1985 President and foundation member Willows Historical Park – supported the establishment of the park and contributed many volunteers hours in the construction and landscaping of the precinct Member, Western Metropolitan Groups of Historical Societies, 1980s Shire of Melton Councillor South Riding, 1969-1971 Member of the Water Trust Melton Uniting Church Melton Uniting Church (and its predecessors the Methodist, Methodist-Presbyterian churches). A lifetime association which extended from childhood when he attended Sunday school until his death in 1985. Member of the Presbyterian Board of Management for more than 25 years in which he held positions of Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Board member of the Parish Council and Member of the Committee of Management. He was a Sunday school teacher 1933. Community development With Mr RC Butler met with Shire Council in 1937 to canvass residents to ascertain prospective Electric consumers in the district. Electricity was subsequently turned on at dusk on 20th December 1939. Melton Progress Association, including Melton Musical, Elocutionary and Vocal Competitions, Vice President 1939 1940 Melton Development Association, 1960s Volunteer Air Observers Corps (VAOC)ii Carried out plane spotting at Shire Office and spotting tower in Melton and later from home until 1944/45. Agriculture and farming Progress and Better Farming Association, Melton. Honorary Secretary, 1935 Member, Agricultural Engineering Society Australia c1960-1985 A successful grower of wheat, oats and barley, he planted experiment plots and held Field Days on the “Darlingsford” property. He later diversified into other grains and sheep (wool and meat). He took a enthusiastic interest in agricultural engineering and was keen to introduce innovative ideas that improved the productivity of farms and farming practices. In the mid 1950 he conducted trials during harvest on the family property of the original mechanical hay fork built on a British Bedford truck by Bill Gillespie. This design was further refined in collaboration with the Gillespie brothers and resulted in the construction the hydraulically operated tractor mounted hay fork. The innovative design of the hay fork created interest from far and wide and was quickly taken up by farmers because it significantly reduced hand labouring of loading sheaves of hay with a pitch fork. His father established chaff mills in Melton, Rockbank, Parwan, Diggers Rest in the first decade of 1900 and in 1915 went into partnership with JR Schutt to establish the Schutt & Barrie Pty. Ltd. Chaff Cutting and Flour Mill in West Footscray. When it ceased trading in 1968 the directors were: Ernest W Barrie and Thomas L Barrie, R, A, and M Schutt. Awards Queens Medal, 1979 Rotary Award for Community Service, 1980 Victoria 150th Anniversary Celebrations contributions, 1985 Service held at Melton Uniting Church local identities

SUMMARY - Ernest W (Bon) Barrie, 1909 – 1985 Profile Melton Mechanics Institute Member 1935 - 1982i Trustee 1952 - 1982 Life Member 1968 Years of service – 47 years He constructed and provided a public address system which was used at Melton and district halls and sports grounds for a wide variety of community events including school sports, gymkhanas, theatrical productions and processions. Fire Brigade Melton Fire Brigade (and predecessor Bush Fire Brigade) Apparatus Officer, 1945 - 1953 Captain, 1951 - 1965 Mt Cotterill Fire Brigades’ Group Elected Group Officer, on the formation of the Group, 1967. As Group Communications Officer he operated the VL3 LY base radio station from home on a 24 hour basis for fire brigades of Melton, Rockbank, Sydenham, Diggers Rest, Toolern Vale, Truganina and Werribee. With his brother Edgar, he built the first Melton Fire Truck. It was housed on the family property until a fire station was constructed in the Melton township. Recipient of the Queens Medal, 1979 Recognised for 44 years of service on the Melton Fire Brigade Memorial Wall Plaque, dedicated May 2013 Melton State School, no 430 Committee – School Correspondent (secretarial and financial role) 34 years of Service Provided his Amplifier Equipment for events and the annual district School Sports from 1939-1973. Donated the House Athletic Shield Melton and District Historical Society 1968 – 1985 President and foundation member Willows Historical Park – supported the establishment of the park and contributed many volunteers hours in the construction and landscaping of the precinct Member, Western Metropolitan Groups of Historical Societies, 1980s Shire of Melton Councillor South Riding, 1969-1971 Member of the Water Trust Melton Uniting Church Melton Uniting Church (and its predecessors the Methodist, Methodist-Presbyterian churches). A lifetime association which extended from childhood when he attended Sunday school until his death in 1985. Member of the Presbyterian Board of Management for more than 25 years in which he held positions of Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Board member of the Parish Council and Member of the Committee of Management. He was a Sunday school teacher 1933. Community development With Mr RC Butler met with Shire Council in 1937 to canvass residents to ascertain prospective Electric consumers in the district. Electricity was subsequently turned on at dusk on 20th December 1939. Melton Progress Association, including Melton Musical, Elocutionary and Vocal Competitions, Vice President 1939 1940 Melton Development Association, 1960s Volunteer Air Observers Corps (VAOC)ii Carried out plane spotting at Shire Office and spotting tower in Melton and later from home until 1944/45. Agriculture and farming Progress and Better Farming Association, Melton. Honorary Secretary, 1935 Member, Agricultural Engineering Society Australia c1960-1985 A successful grower of wheat, oats and barley, he planted experiment plots and held Field Days on the “Darlingsford” property. He later diversified into other grains and sheep (wool and meat). He took a enthusiastic interest in agricultural engineering and was keen to introduce innovative ideas that improved the productivity of farms and farming practices. In the mid 1950 he conducted trials during harvest on the family property of the original mechanical hay fork built on a British Bedford truck by Bill Gillespie. This design was further refined in collaboration with the Gillespie brothers and resulted in the construction the hydraulically operated tractor mounted hay fork. The innovative design of the hay fork created interest from far and wide and was quickly taken up by farmers because it significantly reduced hand labouring of loading sheaves of hay with a pitch fork. His father established chaff mills in Melton, Rockbank, Parwan, Diggers Rest in the first decade of 1900 and in 1915 went into partnership with JR Schutt to establish the Schutt & Barrie Pty. Ltd. Chaff Cutting and Flour Mill in West Footscray. When it ceased trading in 1968 the directors were: Ernest W Barrie and Thomas L Barrie, R, A, and M Schutt. Awards Queens Medal, 1979 Rotary Award for Community Service, 1980 Victoria 150th Anniversary Celebrations contributions, 1985 Photographs of Bon Barrielocal identities, pioneer families

Used in the late 18th or early 19th century.A small steel double curved pointy hooked bag hook with a turned wooden handle on the top. The handle is attached through a hole in the steel and riveted to the the hook. It was used to assist with lifting large bags of wheat, fertiliser and so on in the late 18th or early 19th century. agricultural equipment, farm equipment, bag hooks

Biscuit tin: late 19th century Swallow & Ariell operated continuously in Port Melbourne from 1858 to 1991. The former Swallow & Ariell’s factory buildings, now The Anchorage, continue to add interest and pleasure along Stokes, Rouse and Princes Streets. Thomas Swallow, born in Reading, travelled to California and Ballarat before setting up a business making ships biscuits in Port Melbourne. His business partner Ariell died in 1877. He then went into partnership with Frederick Derham, his son in law. Company farms around Shepparton provided much of its wheat, and after 1889 most was ground into flour on the Port Melbourne premises. For the year ending 1 May 1920, the factory used 51 tons of butter, 2,740 eggs and produced more than 66 lines of biscuits. They also made puddings, elaborate cakes and ice cream. S & A was a significant employer – locally referred to as S & A College. At the height of the South African war it employed 1900 workers but even in 1991 it employed 450 people.Pink and brown clover-shaped ornamental biscuit tin decorated with pictures of a girl (central panel), 2 dogs (lower section), 2 rabbits (upper left-side panel) and 2 birds (upper right-hand panel. It has floral designs around the outer edges of both the tin and the lid which is hinged at the top of the tin.Inside the lid: "Swallow & Ariell, Ltd. Biscuit Manufacturers, Port Melbourne. Prizes received at all international & inter-colonial exhibitions"biscuit tins, tins

These horse-drawn wagons were early transport vehicles used for hay or heavy loads of timber or related farming goods. Designed in the early 18th and 19th centuries, these items found within the Churchill Island heritage collection were used throughout the private ownership periods of the Island.Blue wooden wagon with red metal wheels suitable for one horse - a bag lifter is operated from side of wagon.farm machinery, wheat, horse drawn vehicles, wagon

Stuchbery Farm was situated on the Plenty River bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. Alan and Ada Stutchbery moved to the valley in 1890, first living in a tent where four children were born. Alfred built a home and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden and developed a dairy. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p179 The dramatic steep-sided Plenty Gorge lies along the divide of two geological areas, and separates the Nillumbik Shire and the City of Whittlesea. On the Nillumbik side are undulating hills and sedimentary rock, and in Whittlesea, lies a basalt plain formed by volcanic action up to two million years ago. This provides the Plenty Gorge Park with diverse vegetation and habitats, making it one of Greater Melbourne’s most important refuges for threatened and significant species. The park, established in 1986, consists of around 1350 hectares, and extends 11 kilometres along the Plenty River, from Greensborough to Mernda. It provides a wildlife corridor for around 500 native plant and 280 animal species.1 The area’s plentiful food and water attracted the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people and then European settlers. By 1837 squatters had claimed large runs of land for their sheep and cattle. The Plenty Valley was among the first in the Port Phillip District to be settled - mainly in the less heavily timbered west - and was proclaimed a settled district in 1841.2 But by the late 1880s, the settlers’ extensive land clearing for animal grazing, then agriculture, depleted the Wurundjeri’s traditional food sources, which helped to drive them away. Many Wurundjeri artefacts remain (now government protected), and so far 57 sites have been identified in the park, including scarred trees, burial areas and stone artefacts. Pioneer life could be very hard because of isolation, flooding, bushfires and bushrangers. Following the Black Thursday bushfires of 1851, basalt was quarried to build more fire-resistant homes. Gold discoveries in the early 1850s swelled the population, particularly around Smugglers Gully; but food production made more of an impact. In the late 1850s wheat production supplanted grazing. In the 1860s the government made small holdings available to poorer settlers. These had the greatest effect on the district, particularly in Doreen and Yarrambat, where orchards were established from the 1880s to 1914. Links with a prominent early family are the remains of Stuchbery Farm, by the river’s edge bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La Trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. The Stuchberys moved to the valley in 1890, and the family still lives in the area. In 1890, Alfred and Ada first lived in a tent where four children were born, then Alfred built the house and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden, and developed a dairy. The family belonged to the local Methodist and tennis communities. Their grandson Walter, opened the Flying Scotsman Model Railway Museum in Yarrambat, which his widow, Vi, continues to run. Wal was also the Yarrambat CFA Captain for 22 years until 1987. Walter sold 24 hectares in 1976 for development - now Vista Court - and in 1990, the remaining 22.6 hectares for the park. Remaining are an early stone dairy and remnants of a stone barn, a pig sty and a well.3 Until it was destroyed by fire in 2003, a slab hut stood on the Happy Hollow Farm site, at the southern end of the park. The hut is thought to have been built in the Depression around 1893. This was a rare and late example of a slab hut with a domestic orchard close to Melbourne. Emmet Watmough and his family first occupied the hut, followed by a succession of families, until the Bell family bought it around 1948. There they led a subsistence lifestyle for 50 years, despite encroaching Melbourne suburbia.4 The Yellow Gum Recreation Area includes the Blue Lake, coloured turquoise at certain times of the year. Following the 1957 bushfires, this area was quarried by Reid Quarries Pty Ltd for Melbourne’s first skyscrapers, then by Boral Australia. However in the early 1970s water began seeping into the quarry forming the Blue Lake and the quarry was closed. The State Government bought the site in 1997 and opened it as a park in 1999.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, ada stuchbery, alan stuchbery, dairy, stuchbery farm, farm buildings, yarrambat, plenty gorge park

A quarry was transformed into the Blue Lake. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p179 The dramatic steep-sided Plenty Gorge lies along the divide of two geological areas, and separates the Nillumbik Shire and the City of Whittlesea. On the Nillumbik side are undulating hills and sedimentary rock, and in Whittlesea, lies a basalt plain formed by volcanic action up to two million years ago. This provides the Plenty Gorge Park with diverse vegetation and habitats, making it one of Greater Melbourne’s most important refuges for threatened and significant species. The park, established in 1986, consists of around 1350 hectares, and extends 11 kilometres along the Plenty River, from Greensborough to Mernda. It provides a wildlife corridor for around 500 native plant and 280 animal species.1 The area’s plentiful food and water attracted the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people and then European settlers. By 1837 squatters had claimed large runs of land for their sheep and cattle. The Plenty Valley was among the first in the Port Phillip District to be settled - mainly in the less heavily timbered west - and was proclaimed a settled district in 1841.2 But by the late 1880s, the settlers’ extensive land clearing for animal grazing, then agriculture, depleted the Wurundjeri’s traditional food sources, which helped to drive them away. Many Wurundjeri artefacts remain (now government protected), and so far 57 sites have been identified in the park, including scarred trees, burial areas and stone artefacts. Pioneer life could be very hard because of isolation, flooding, bushfires and bushrangers. Following the Black Thursday bushfires of 1851, basalt was quarried to build more fire-resistant homes. Gold discoveries in the early 1850s swelled the population, particularly around Smugglers Gully; but food production made more of an impact. In the late 1850s wheat production supplanted grazing. In the 1860s the government made small holdings available to poorer settlers. These had the greatest effect on the district, particularly in Doreen and Yarrambat, where orchards were established from the 1880s to 1914. Links with a prominent early family are the remains of Stuchbery Farm, by the river’s edge bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La Trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. The Stuchberys moved to the valley in 1890, and the family still lives in the area. In 1890, Alfred and Ada first lived in a tent where four children were born, then Alfred built the house and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden, and developed a dairy. The family belonged to the local Methodist and tennis communities. Their grandson Walter, opened the Flying Scotsman Model Railway Museum in Yarrambat, which his widow, Vi, continues to run. Wal was also the Yarrambat CFA Captain for 22 years until 1987. Walter sold 24 hectares in 1976 for development - now Vista Court - and in 1990, the remaining 22.6 hectares for the park. Remaining are an early stone dairy and remnants of a stone barn, a pig sty and a well.3 Until it was destroyed by fire in 2003, a slab hut stood on the Happy Hollow Farm site, at the southern end of the park. The hut is thought to have been built in the Depression around 1893. This was a rare and late example of a slab hut with a domestic orchard close to Melbourne. Emmet Watmough and his family first occupied the hut, followed by a succession of families, until the Bell family bought it around 1948. There they led a subsistence lifestyle for 50 years, despite encroaching Melbourne suburbia.4 The Yellow Gum Recreation Area includes the Blue Lake, coloured turquoise at certain times of the year. Following the 1957 bushfires, this area was quarried by Reid Quarries Pty Ltd for Melbourne’s first skyscrapers, then by Boral Australia. However in the early 1970s water began seeping into the quarry forming the Blue Lake and the quarry was closed. The State Government bought the site in 1997 and opened it as a park in 1999.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, blue lake, plenty gorge park

Today’s Panton Hill Hotel was built around 1920. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p61 Panton Hill was originally known as Kingstown, and consisted of only one hotel when the Orams Reef was discovered in 1859. Kingstown was a quartz mining centre and many old mine shafts remain in the area.1 Orams Reef was one of the first reefs with a rich find of gold in the area. The Hotel Francais, which had been operating in 1861, was well situated on the way to Queenstown (later St Andrews). So was Herr Hirt’s Hotel and store at Smiths Gully. The Kingstown hotel, known as the Frenchman’s and in 1864 as the Hotel de France, was run by a Monsieur Emile Hude and his wife Jeanne, and known for its good food. They hosted social events, business conventions and debates, attracting patrons from as far as Melbourne. The hotel’s name was changed to Panton Hill Hotel in 1905.2 In 1883 Charles Caudwell built another hotel nearby, possibly in Long Gully Road,3 which it is thought, was burnt down early last century. Today’s Panton Hill Hotel, built around 1920, is the only one of the cluster of buildings in the main road, not to date from around the turn of last century. It was severely damaged by fire in 2003, then underwent extensive alterations. It is the township’s only hotel and is an example of a modest hotel building exterior, constructed early last century. In its early days the hotel also housed the first post office, newsagency and store. Orams Reef yielded a total of £100,000, and fossikers also found alluvial gold in the creeks and gullies, but there is no record of the total value of their finds.4 Gold greatly increased the Panton Hill population, which peaked between 1865 and 1885. On holidays large sports meetings were held with wood chopping contests and foot races and the day would end with a ball. Miners came from various countries to seek their fortune, including many from China. The Chinese became unpopular however, and gradually left the district, although some stayed and grew and sold vegetables.5 Panton Hill was named after Joseph Panton, who in 1862 was appointed Police Magistrate for the Woods Point, Heidelberg and Yarra districts. Panton was an outstanding man, who in 1852, was Commissioner of Crown Lands and Assistant Commissioner of Goldfields at Bendigo. In 1874 he was promoted to Chief Magistrate for the Melbourne Police. Panton was also an artist, becoming president of the Victorian Arts Society in 1888, and in 1913, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Despite Panton Hill’s prosperity, it still lacked many services as poor roads made access to Melbourne difficult. A horse-drawn mail coach travelled to Melbourne until 1890, when the railway came to Heidelberg. The nearest doctor was at Yarra Glen or Heidelberg, and the Indian hawker Singh’s annual visit was very welcome. A miner’s shack opposite the school was used as a post office. Today’s general store and post office in the main road dates from early last century, and has changed considerably. While most people searched for gold, the more enterprising ones established farms to feed the diggers. Farmers grew wheat, barley and oats, and sent animal skins to the Eltham tannery, to make furs in Melbourne.6 As gold became scarce from around 1880, miners took up farming on 19 to 20 acre (8ha) allotments. The first settlers in Cherry Tree Road included Purcell, Smith, Owens, Hughes and Shillinglaw. By 1900 all the land had been taken up around Panton Hill and Hurstbridge. The orchards in Panton Hill and the wider district, particularly of apple and pear, were very successful, and made Panton Hill a cohesive and successful community. About 1914 the Moores built the first cool-store and refrigeration plant at their orchard in Cherry Tree Road. Many settlers planted vineyards and made high quality wine, but in 1922 the blight destroyed them.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, panton hill hotel

Leopold Walter Twigg (1870-1935) married Mary Ann Lily (Lily) Douglas (1874-1952) in 1900. Bendigo Advertiser '' The way we were'' from 2003. Farm production: tanks built for Leo Twigg on his Newbridge property in 1908. Each silo held 25,000 bags of wheat. They were filled by an engine-driven elevator. The clip is in a folder.newspaper, bendigo advertiser, the way we were

merbein railway station, farm, wheat, millewa

A description in the newspaper near the illustration (page 210) reads as follows: "Eltham is a pretty little township on the Yarra Flats road, about 14 miles east north east of Melbourne, from which place there is communication by way of Heidelberg. It has a population of nearly 400 inhabitants, but in addition it is the centre of a large district extending over about 203 square miles, having a population of 2344. The land in the district is mostly used for grazing purposes, although as a rule the small farms grow a good deal of wheat, oats and other agricultural produce. A large quantity of fruit, especially raspberries and strawberries, is also produced, the rich alluvial flats along the creek upon which the township is situated being very well adapted for that purpose. Gold has also been found in the vicinity of the township, but not in remunerative quantities". 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 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 imageshire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, eltham, illustrated australian news