Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

Colour photograph of the Marysville locality from Nicholl Lookoutbushfire, black saturday, marysville, nicholl lookout

The Arthurs Creek Cemetery was originally the private cemetery of pioneers Agnes and Patrick Reid. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p11 The Hazel Glen property, at Middle Hut Road, Arthurs Creek, which includes one of Victoria’s earliest pioneer buildings, was the forerunner to the Arthurs Creek and Doreen townships. At one time the Doreen Post Office and school were called Hazel Glen. The Hazel Glen State School No 945, before it was moved to its present site, stood on land to the south of Chapel Lane, which had been donated by Hazel Glen owner, William Reid. In May 1895 the post office was renamed Doreen to avoid confusion with the Reid’s address. The Arthurs Creek Cemetery was originally the private cemetery of Hazel Glen pioneers Agnes and Patrick Reid. The Reids with their eight children, arrived in Melbourne in April 1839. In 1844 Patrick Reid took over the licence to the Stewart Ponds run of 5120 acres (2072ha). Reid renamed it Hazel Glen, after Hazelden, the name of the Reid estate at Mearns in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Reid built a small cottage from local stone and hand-made bricks, with walls one yard (91 cm) thick, a flagstone floor and a shingle roof. Today two rooms and a store room survive as part of a larger house. Agnes died in 1847 aged 49, and was buried on a hill overlooking Hazel Glen, where it is said she had asked to be buried as it had been a favourite picnic spot.2 In 1858 Patrick died aged 74, and was buried near her. Their son William was to become Whittlesea Shire’s first president. From 1868 he was a Whittlesea Roads Board member, then a shire councillor until shortly before his death in 1923 aged 88. In 1865 the Reid’s burial area was no longer on their property, so it was declared a cemetery site. In 1867 it became the Linton Public Cemetery, being in the Linton Parish. However, to avoid confusion with Linton near Ballarat, the cemetery was renamed the Arthurs Creek Public Cemetery in 1926. Arthurs Creek was named after Henry Arthur, a pastoralist and public servant, who ran 1000 sheep lower down the Creek, from 1836 to 1841. It is believed he built his home at the end of today’s Challenger Street in Diamond Creek.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. agnes reid, arthurs creek cemetery, nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, patrick reid, reid family

The Golden King Mine poppet-head stands at the school’s Yan Yean Road exit gate. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p23 Early Yarambat - Tanck's Corner Its early settlers, who in the 1840s were amongst the first non-Aboriginal people in the area, found life tough as they grazed their sheep and cattle. Yarrambat was then known as Tanck’s Corner or Reynolds Corner, after wood carter, Frederick Tanck, who owned land north of Ironbark Road, at the corner of Yan Yean Road, and Thomas Reynolds, owner of the opposite property. After Reynolds sold his land, the corner became known as Tanck’s Corner. In 1929 the district’s name was changed to Yarrambat, believed to mean ‘high hill’ in the Wurundjeri language. Tanck’s Corner was in the centre of gold-bearing country and the district is honeycombed with old tunnels and shafts. However although gold played a dominant role for decades, there was insufficient to develop a substantial township. Meat and agricultural produce made a greater impact. Until the mid-20th century the only substantial building was the primary school. The first gold rush occurred around 1860, the second after 1900; then during the Depression, the Government paid men to pan for gold. The first rush attracted hundreds of Chinese people to Smugglers Gully, who constructed round diggings to keep away spirits. Alluvial miners lived along the Plenty River in tents or humpies - some fenced with gardens - and some miners distilled their own ‘plonk’. It was a wild time and bushrangers - and later gangster Squizzy Taylor - were said to hide4 in the old Pioneer Tunnel in Dunne’s Gully between Heard Avenue and Pioneer Road. Mines opposite Tanck’s Corner included Beer’s Line, Golden Crown and Golden Stairs. Some of the big mines had batteries and stampers to process quartz. At first there was plenty of alluvial gold, as much as two ounces to the ton. At times gold was exposed after heavy rains so fossickers panned for gold around orchard irrigation trenches. Gold was mined until 1984 when Yarrambat’s last operating goldmine, the Golden King Mine, in North Oatlands Road, closed. The Clayton family operated it full-time, making a comfortable living and in the 1960s it was the only private family gold mine in Victoria.5 Gold was such an important part of Yarrambat’s history that a gold poppet-head is the Yarrambat Primary School’s logo. The Golden King Mine poppet-head stands at the school’s Yan Yean Road exit gate. However this school was built in 1988. The original school No 2054, at the corner of Ironbark and Yan Yean Roads, was opened in 1878 and modified to its present form in the 1920s. In 2000 it was relocated to the Heritage Museum at Yarrambat Park.7 The school, whose first head teacher was Charles Planner, consisted of one room with a three-roomed residence. The school was also the community centre. On Saturday nights it was crammed for dances or euchre parties, community singing or other social events. On Sundays, services for different denominations took turns each week. However the school had its teething problems. Parents accused Charles Planner of neglecting his duties and the school closed several times. When it closed in 1892, only church services continued. Social activities moved elsewhere, such as the tennis club to the Stuchbery tennis court opposite. A sports day and woodchop on Boxing Day around 1900 was held at the Evelyn Hill Hotel, also called Evelyn Arms and Tunnel Hill Hotel, on the Greensborough–Diamond Creek Road. An annual agricultural show in Diamond Creek paraded through the town, and New Year’s Day picnics at the Yan Yean Reservoir included highland dancing and competitions. Also popular were the Indian hawkers who visited every three months, selling trinkets, clothing and other items. One called Jimmy ‘Allem dem Bedi’, gave presents and told stories, played draughts and sold delicious curries he cooked over his camp fire at night.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, golden king mine, tanck's corner, yarrambat primary school

Original Yarrambat Primary School building at the Yarrambat Heritage Museum, Yarrambat Park. At the museum, visitors can gain an insight into Yarrambat’s past since non-Aboriginal settlement. The museum includes the original Yarrambat Primary School, which was moved to the site in 2000 and now serves as the Yarrambat Historical Society headquarters.The museum also includes a fully operational battery (gold-bearing ore crusher) driven by a McDonald 30HP diesel engine built in Richmond in 1938. The battery was relocated from the Golden King Mine in North Oatlands Road, Yarrambat, where it operated until 1984.1 Other exhibits include farming implements and machinery from the Yarrambat district. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p25This 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, yarrambat heritage museum, yarrambat historical society, yarrambat primary school

Originally a race course, the park has brought the community together with a variety of activities. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p45 Once used for horse racing, which attracted visitors from Melbourne, the Eltham Lower Park has brought the community together with a wide range of activities. Horse riding is now enjoyed as a recreation in the park as are other sports. The park also includes the Diamond Valley Railway miniature trains and a sanctuary for the rare and vulnerable Eltham Copper Butterfly. Eltham Lower Park, with other parks, forms an almost continuous green band from Eltham’s centre, along the Diamond Creek to the Yarra River.1 Before European settlement the Wurundjeri people met on this land, particularly at the junction of the Diamond Creek with the Yarra River, which they called Birr-arung. This is commemorated by the sculpture, Not just a Pretty Place by Aleks Danko, winner of the 2000 Nillumbik Art in Public Places Award. The first European to settle here was probably Henry Foley, who in 1841 used it as part of his pastoral run. Foley sold his leasehold to Joseph Wilson in 1845, who soon after sold it to Frederick Falkiner. During the 1840s the future park was part of a government square mile (2.6 sqkm) reserve, north of the Yarra, within the Parish of Nillumbik, later named Eltham. Soon the land was used for horse racing after nearby residents cleared ten acres (4ha) in the early 1850s. A three-quarter of a mile (1.2km) race secured the winner the £10 Publican’s Prize. In response to popular demand, the newly formed Eltham District Road Board petitioned the Surveyor General of the Colony of Victoria, in 1856, for 36 acres (14.6ha) of crown land for a racecourse and recreation. By 1858 the Eltham races had become an institution. ‘Many skirmishes occurred and the way home was paved with temptation, with sly-grog for sale.3 In the early 1870s, two jockeys were sons of the police officer in charge of the Eltham Police Station, Miles S Lyons. Another ten acres (4ha) was added to the area in 1866 and 12 acres (4.8ha) – Hohnes Hill – in 1870. In 1866, two acres (0.8ha) on the creek banks became an animal pound with William Walsh the pound keeper in 1870, but this was later incorporated into the park. By 1877 the area was called a public park but horse racing and training continued into the 1920s. In the mid-1900s trotters were trained on a circuit road. In 1953 the Eltham Pony Club was established and used a cross-country course on Hohnes Hill. From the mid 1950s the club held the Eltham Easter Fair at the park, later to include a procession along Main Road from the town centre to the park. The park also attracted picnic parties and campers from the inner suburbs as did Wingrove Park, and businesses catering for visitors, sprang up on the opposite side of Main Road. Bus-loads of school children visited the park for Gould League bird days in the 1960s. In 1979 the Eltham Shire Council bought Lenister Farm, linking the park with the Yarra River. The Lenister Farm wetland includes a bird hide, viewing platform and interpretive signs.5 Pioneer Henry Stooke, later Road Board chairman, bought the 11 acres (4.5ha) - later to become Lenister Farm - from the Crown in 1862. Stooke never lived on this site and the two houses at Lenister Farm were built in the 20th century. Since its formation in 1871, the Council has controlled this crown land, which it named Eltham Park. But in the 1920s Eltham Council bought land near the town centre for a park, which it named Eltham Central Park. To avoid confusion the Council renamed Eltham Park, Eltham Lower Park. Since 2004 the Yarra footbridge has linked the park with the Yarra Valley Metropolitan Park and the Main Yarra Trail.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, eltham lower park, eltham 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. 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. 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. 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. 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

Vassilieff dynamited rock from his own property to build his house. Stonygrad is reminiscent of a grotto and in parts, of a sculpture. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p135 Stonygrad, the home built by Expressionist painter and sculptor Danila Vassilieff, is reminiscent of a grotto and in parts, of a sculpture. Vassilieff, who amongst others influenced painter Sydney Nolan and Albert Tucker, was a member of the artists group the Angry Penguins. He was also a highly regarded art teacher at the nearby Koornong Experimental School and taught at Eltham High School. Art critic Robert Hughes described Vassilieff’s painting as ‘lyrical without social commentary’, and said Vassilieff was ‘the most oddly neglected artist in recent Australian History’. Vassilieff, who was born in 1897 in Russia, had an unusually adventurous life before he settled in Warrandyte. The 12th of 18 children, he lived on a farm in the Don Basin. Vassilieff trained with the Imperial Military Academy at St Petersburg and fought in World War One as an officer in the White Russian Army against the communists. In 1920 he was captured, then escaped from prison, stole a horse and rode bareback 150 miles to the Black Sea, helped at first by Tartar freebooters. He then travelled to India, Shanghai and arrived in Queensland as a refugee in 1923 where he began painting. He and his wife Anisia bought a sugar farm near Ingram, and later he constructed railway lines at Mataranka, in the Northern Territory.4 In 1929 Vassilieff went to Brazil for formal art training from former fellow-officer Dmitri Ismailovich, but he soon left to travel up the Amazon River. He then worked as a sidewalk artist in the West Indies and travelled for two years in England, France and Spain. In 1937 he arrived in Melbourne where he lived until his death in 1958. His first major Australian series was the Carlton streetscapes and from 1951 he sculpted in local hard limestone. Vassilieff rejected all dogma and regarded religious subjects as suitable only for decorative arts. In 1944 he helped defeat a communist attempt to take over the Contemporary Art Society. For a short time, from around 1955, Vassilieff taught at various Victorian schools. The Angry Penguins painted mainly between 1937 and 1947, and included Arthur Boyd, Albert Tucker, Sidney Nolan and Joy Hester. The group formed as they felt isolated from European thought and art (including Surrealism) from which their work was derived. They were also angry at what they considered to be the complacency and insularity of their society. They maintained Australians at first were scarcely aware of the threats of the Wall Street Crash and Hitler and were little interested in the Spanish Civil War. The Angry Penguins also objected to the White Australia Policy. Hughes said although most of the Melbourne Expressionists in the 1940s were unskilled and their work crude in style, they helped jolt Australian painting from its pastoral complacency. Their style influenced nearly every painting produced by significant figurative artists in Melbourne in the 1950s such as Charles Blackman. From 1939 Vassilieff built Stonygrad, mainly with local stone. The house stands at the end of a private road surrounded by trees with the quiet occasionally broken by the sounds of bellbirds. To build his house Vassilieff dynamited rock and cut trees from his own property. The original section of the three-level house is of irregular-shaped pieces of solid stone, exposed inside like the exterior. Vassilieff later built sections with timber and brick. Inside is rustic and cave-like, and several rooms are linked by arched openings with no doors. One undulating wall was carved out of rock from which two sculptured heads protrude. Several ceilings are of rough-hewn logs and the built-in table and bookcase are rough, as is a timber ladder leading to a bedroom. Not for the elderly or unsteady! Yet the general impression in the muted light is beautiful, with artistic originality.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, danila vassilieff, hamilton road, north warrandyte, stonygrad

Walter Withers once lived at the corner of Bolton and Brougham Streets, Eltham. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p105 Walter Withers, one of Australia’s most famous artists, once lived in Southernwood, the weatherboard house at the corner of Bolton and Brougham Streets, Eltham. Withers, one of the first prominent artists to live in Eltham, was known for his lyrical paintings of the Australian bush and is associated with the Heidelberg School of artists. Withers was born in 1854 at Handsworth, Warwickshire, England, the grandson of an artist. He studied art at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. But in 1882 his father, opposing an artistic career for Withers, ordered him to go to Australia. However, after working as a jackaroo on several country properties for 18 months, Withers resumed painting in Melbourne, where he enrolled in evening art classes at the Melbourne National Gallery school of painting under G F Folingsby. Employed as a draughtsman by William Inglis & Co, then by Ferguson & Mitchell, lithographic printers, Withers produced portraits in black-and-white for several periodicals. His work was exhibited in the Old Academy, Melbourne. At this time he met and became life-long friends with artists Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts and Louis Abrahams. In 1887 Withers went to England and married Fanny Finn. They lived in Paris for awhile, where Withers studied at the Academie Julian. After his return to Melbourne in 1889, Withers lived at the artist camp at Eaglemont, then moved close to the Charterisville mansion, where he established a studio and sub-let cottages to other artists. Around 1892 Withers opened a Collins Street studio, had his first exhibition, and started giving painting classes. One of his pupils was Norman Lindsay, also to become a prominent artist. Withers had long been attracted to Eltham, but had to wait until 1903 to live there, after the railway line was extended to Eltham in 1902. He could then commute to the painting classes he gave in Melbourne. Withers lived on the two and a half acres (1.0ha) Bolton Street property with his wife and five children. They were joined for a short time by prominent painter Sir Hans Heyson who took lessons from Withers. Withers added a studio to the Queen Anne/Edwardian style seven-bedroom home, which had been built in 1891. Each bedroom included a fireplace and most rooms had 12 foot high (3.6m) ceilings. The house retains several fine leadlight windows. Withers painted his largest canvas The Return from the Harvest in 1905, at his Eltham studio. He is represented in national, state and regional galleries, and in many private collections in Australia and abroad. In 1904-05 Withers was president of the Victorian Artists’ Society. Withers at times stayed during the week at his studio in Oxford Chambers, Melbourne, and on weekends and holidays with his family at Eltham. Withers lived in Eltham until his death in 1914, aged 60 years. He had been plagued by rheumatism and in later life by heart and lung disease. It is said he died of a stroke peacefully in a rocking chair in front of the lounge-room fire. He is buried at St Helena in the St Katherine’s Anglican Church cemetery. In 1983, the auction of the house sparked fears that it would be pulled down, or substantially altered. Fortunately the new owners decided to retain the house. Some security was given to the house’s future when it was later included in the Heritage Overlay to the Nillumbik Planning Scheme. The property is also important because it is one of only a few left in the district, which were once owned by noted artists. These include three in Warrandyte: one formerly owned by Penleigh Boyd, another by Frank Crozier, and the other by Danila Vassilieff; and two in Eltham: Percy Leason’s in Lavender Park Road and Justus Jörgensen’s Montsalvat. A small park at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham is named in Walter Withers’ honour.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, bolton steet, brougham steet, eltham, southernwood, walter withers house

Ferguson’s Paddock, Hurstbridge. A plaque on a boulder commemorates Peter Brock. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p167 On a rock in Ferguson’s Paddock, Hurstbridge, a plaque commemorates Peter Brock. It includes the words: ‘Boy from Hurstbridge without special privileges, grew to become champion of racetracks around the world but he never forgot his beginnings’. Brock came from a well-established local family. Born in Hurstbridge in 1945, he lived in Anzac Avenue as a child, attended the Hurstbridge Primary and Eltham High Schools and lived in the district most of his life. His father Geoff owned the Diamond Valley Speed Shop in Greensborough. Brock’s forbears were amongst the area’s earliest settlers. From Scotland, the Brocks arrived in Tasmania in 1830, to graze sheep. Family members moved to Sunbury, then Preston, grazing sheep in the Bundoora area. John Brock owned Janefield, possibly named after his wife. In 1855 he granted around two acres (0.8ha) of his estate for a school.1 In 1866 Lewis Brock bought 264 acres (107ha) in Nutfield, the first non-Aboriginal person to own that land. They planted an orchard, then from around 1935, Brock’s uncle Sandy and his grandfather Lewis, ran a dairy on the property. In the 1980s Brock and his then partner Bev, bought most of the property, which they sold after their separation in 2006. Brock’s father was a Hurstbridge Football Club President, but Brock’s uncle Sandy, of Brocks Road, Doreen, has been particularly active in local affairs. He was President of the Mernda Football Club (then Plenty Rovers), President of the Panton Hill Football League and he founded the Arthurs Creek and District Landcare Group. He also gave more than 50 years of service to the Whittlesea Agricultural Society, the Volunteers for Australian Football and the Doreen Rural Fire Brigade. Community service was important to Brock too. Brock, with his then partner Bev, established the Peter Brock Foundation in 1997, the year he retired from full-time V8 Supercar racing. The Foundation’s grants have included $100,000 towards the upgrade of a walking track in the Hurstbridge Parklands and other projects include a holiday house for the families of child cancer victims. Brother Lewis saw Brock as a spiritual person, who had a great affinity with people. He saw Brock as a role model of someone who could achieve their dreams. ‘The family didn’t have much money, yet that didn’t stop Peter realising his dreams. He was strong and didn’t let difficult times crush him.’ Despite his later successes, Brock’s most treasured trophy was for running 100 yards (91.4m)at his primary school in 1955, and he appreciated his head master Ted Griffiths’ encouragement of his sporting endeavours. At high school Brock became captain of Everard House. In his first year he bought a 1928 Austin 7 for £5. He cut the car into a box shape with an axe and enjoyed driving it – despite it having no brakes - at his grandparents’ farm at Nutfield. The turning point in Brock’s life came at age 23, when he built an Austin A30 in an old henhouse in Wattle Glen, using a Holden engine. He was laughed at until it won the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1968. Brock’s career then took off and he became a professional driver. Brock won Australian motor sport’s best-known event, the Bathurst 1000, nine times. Brock endured a bitter split from Holden in 1986 over control of his Holden-backed vehicle modification business and a car performance-enhancing device he called the ‘energy polariser’– despite it having no scientific evidence to support its claims. But Brock returned to Holden in 1994. Then in 1997, aged 52, Brock retired from fulltime V8 Supercar racing. However he continued to race at motor sport events. Brock won several awards, including an Order of Australia Medal in 1980, the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, and the Centenary Medal. On September 8, 2006, Brock died; after his car hit a tree during the Targa West Rally in Western Australia.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, ferguson's paddock, hurstbridge, peter brock memorial, peter brock

non-fictionblack saturday, herald sun, victoria, melbourne, bushfire, newspaper

This old apple tree situated beside the Plenty River Trail at Greensborough has been associated with Melbourne Founder John Batman. The concrete block is inscribed with the date 1841, when the tree was thought to have been planted. Known as Batman's Tree, this apple tree is on the bank of the Plenty River near Leischa Court, Greensborough. It is said that Melbourne Founder John Batman may have planted the tree and later signed his treaty here with the Aboriginal people. It still bears fruit and its recorded on the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees, as the oldest apple tree in Victoria. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p7This 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, greensborough, john batman tree, plenty river trail

The original house was built around 1850 was one of Kangaroo Ground's earliest homes, part of which remains today. Built by Scottish farmer Andrew Harkness who acquired the property in 1849 at the top of the hill with magnificent panoramic views as far as Kinglake, the same year he married Sarah Oswin. The property was known as Garden Hill from at least 1865. Andrew and Sarah had four sons and five daughters. Harkness was a founder of the Kangaroo Ground School and one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board (1858-71) of which he was a member, the pre-cursor to the Shire of Eltham (1871-1994). He was also a Trustee of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. His daughter Fanny married farmer Alexander White who purchased the property in 1893. Alexander White died in 1906 and ownership transferred to Fanny White. Son, Robert White was a Councillor of the Shire of Eltham at the time the Shire acquired two acres of land on the adjacent property from the Mess brothers for the creation of the Shire of Eltham Memorial Park (1921) in which the Shire of Eltham War Memoirial tower was erected (1926). Fanny White donated a small section of land from the Garden Hill property to facilitate entry access to the park. The White family sold the property to Sir Herbert Gepp in 1925. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p29This 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, kangaroo ground

Situated in King Street, Eltham, Alistair Knox built his home and office in 1962-1963 with mud-bricks made from the local soil and recycled materials blending the house with bush around it. Knox popularised the Eltham earth building movement, begun by Montsalvat founder, Justus Jorgensen. Alistair Knox (1912-1986) was also an Eltham Shire Councillor 1971-1975 and Shire President in 1975. He established the inaugural Eltham Community Festival in 1975. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p145This 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, alistair and margot knox house, alistair knox design, mudbrick construction, eltham, king street

Considered the best of the early mud-brick houses built by Alistair Knox. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p143This 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, alistair knox, alistair knox design, busst house, kerrie crescent, mudbrick construction, mudbrick houses, silver street

The Little Bank Building at the corner of Anzac Avenue, formerly a Commercial Bank of Australia branch, was moved to Hurstbridge around 1917. It was one of a few portable branch buildings, towed by horse or bullock team to a site as required. The branch operated until the early 1980s. In 1985 it was moved about 42 metres south to the Allwood House grounds to become part of the Hurstbridge Neighbourhood House. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p13This 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, cba bank, commercial bank of australia, hurstbridge, little bank building, portable buildings

Allwood - built in 1894 by Henry Hurst’s relatives, stands near the site of his house, which was demolisherd in the 1940s. Until 1924 Hurstbridge was known as Allwood. The building, one of the district's oldest is situated back from the corner of Arthurs Creek Road and Main Road. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p17 Hurst, who was a surveyor, came to Melbourne in 1852 by default, as on the way to Sydney he contracted typhoid and was off-loaded in Melbourne. Deciding to settle near Melbourne, he selected some land near the present Eltham railway station and was one of the first to grow crops there.2 But disaster struck again, when his shack was looted and burned, while he was carting goods for sale to nearby goldfields. It was then that Hurstbridge’s first settler, Cornelius Haley, asked Hurst to manage his 160 acres (65ha) grazing property and 9000 acres (3443ha) of leased land where the present Hurstbridge stands. Hurst proved equal to the tough conditions and he and his brother, Fred, cut a track with a bullock team from the property to Romsey, where Haley had selected some land. Hurst also put up a bridge across the creek near his house, after which Hurstbridge was named. He ran the property helped by two ticket-of-leave men and others, several of whom were sailors who had abandoned ship in search of gold, and were working there temporarily. In 1866, only 14 years after coming to Australia, Hurst met an early tragic death. One day a bushranger named Burke came to the house and demanded a horse. Hurst thought the bushranger might be an officer in search of runaway sailors3 and anyway, did not like the look of him, so he refused. A tussle followed and apparently Hurst shot first.4 He was shot and died five hours later from loss of blood. Later, troopers found Burke, who was subsequently hanged. The event is recorded in the Old Melbourne Gaol. The government offered the family £500 but the family refused it as ‘blood money’. Hurst’s father, Robert, even signed a petition against the bushranger’s death, claiming one life did not replace another. Hurst’s family continued to live in the district and saw a rise in their fortunes. They bought Haley’s cattle station and built the present Allwood House, using the original home as an orchard packing shed. The present Victorian style timber house had several outbuildings including a blacksmith’s shop. The property passed on to William Gray, an orchardist and nurseryman, who married Hurst’s grandniece, Frances. The business boomed from the early 1900s when it supplied most of the orchards in the area. Gray was Eltham Shire’s President for two terms and was asked to stand for parliament, but his wife’s illness and other family commitments prevented him from doing so. Then several calamities drove the family to bankruptcy. During World War One, Gray lost more than one million pounds on trees shipped overseas, which the Lloyd’s company had refused to insure. Other factors, including the Great Depression, ruined the family’s fortunes. The land was reduced from more than 640 acres (256ha) to 50 acres (20ha) and the older members married and left. After Mr Gray died, the house was leased, until his daughter Sheila Ferguson and her husband Gordon settled there in 1951, after buying it from other family members. However in 1975 the Shire designated the property as a passive recreation reserve. The Ferguson family sold most of the land, leaving the house on 0.6 hectares.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, hurstbridge, henry hurst, allwood house

Henry Hurst, after whom Hurstbridge was named, had a hard and adventurous life in the raw colony of the mid 1800s. His tragic end is recounted on his tombstone at the Hurst family cemetery, by Greysharps Road off Arthurs Creek Road erected ‘by a grateful public as a memorial to his heroic self-sacrifice.’ The memorial reads, ‘Sacred to the memory of Henry Facey Hurst (formerly of Hanford Dorset) who while defending his home fell near this spot by a ball fired by the bushranger Burke on October 4 1866 aged 34 years’. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p15This 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, hurst family cemetery, hurstbridge, gravestones, henry hurst, memorial

In 1848, Francis Rogerson form Dumfriesshire, Scotland purchased 80 acres of land at Kangaroo Ground on which he built a two-roomed bark hut. He named the property afterr the many Bronzewings and Wonga Pigeons in the area. Ewen Hugh Cameron moved to Pigeon Bank the same year he was elected to Parliament as the Member for Evelyn. At the time he moved in, Pigeon Bank had six rooms and the present water well. He made further extensive additions and lived there until his death in 1915. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p27 Pigeon Bank, on the Kangaroo Ground – Warrandyte Road, Kangaroo Ground, is one of the Shire’s oldest farm dwellings, and has been home to some of the district’s earliest and most distinguished families. Although close to the road, the white weatherboard Victorian farmhouse is ensured privacy by the trees and hedges around it. On 4.8 hectares of farmland, Pigeon Bank is surrounded by rolling hills, farmland and bush, the peace of which is punctuated by an occasional birdcall. Pigeon Bank’s first owner was Francis Rogerson, from Dumfriesshire, Scotland, who bought 80 acres (32.4ha) of land in 1848 on which he built a two-roomed bark hut. Today this is the centre piece of the 14-room home.1 Rogerson lined the rooms with tongue-and-groove boards and roofed them with wooden shingles and sapling frames, which remain under the present green corrugated iron roof. He named Pigeon Bank after the many forest bronzewing and Wonga Pigeons in the area at the time, and the name Bank was commonly used in Scotland. Rogerson was united with one of the oldest families in the area when his sister Janet married John Bell, son of William, the original Bell settler. When Ewen Cameron moved to Pigeon Bank in 1874 it had six rooms and the present water well. He made extensive additions to the house and farm buildings and lived at Pigeon Bank until his death in 1915. Cameron, who had arrived in Melbourne from Scotland in 1853, contributed an enormous amount to the community. He worked as a builder, as a miner at Andersons Creek, a storekeeper at Queenstown2 and as the first postmaster at Warrandyte. In 1867 he married Agnes Bell, daughter of local farmer, John Bell. Cameron was a member of the Eltham Road Board (which preceded the Shire Council) and for more than 50 years, from 1863, he was an Eltham Shire Councillor, being President three times. Cameron was the Member for Evelyn for 40 years from 1874. In the 1880s he became the Government Whip, in 1902 the Minister for Mines and Water Supply, and in 1904, the Minister for Health, Cameron was also an outstanding farmer, whose farm won the Agricultural Department prize for the finest in the district, three consecutive times. Not surprisingly Pigeon Bank became the centre of district life. Every New Year’s Eve, Cameron hired a highland piper, who marched from the Kangaroo Ground school house to Pigeon Bank playing his pipes.3 Distinguished visitors included opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba, Victorian Premier, Thomas Bent, Governor, Lord Hopetoun and artist, Longstaff. Following Cameron’s death, the property changed hands several times, then returned to the family in 1919 when bought by Gordon Cameron. As the car took over from the horse, Pigeon Bank entered difficult times because the farm had produced chaff and oats and bred Clydesdales and harness ponies. In 1926 Mr Matthews bought the property and made many alterations including pulling down the kitchen, which had been separate from the main house. The property again changed hands several times. One owner was Senator James F Guthrie, who added a sunroom. In 1968 the house again returned to the Cameron family, when Vera Jackson, a grand-daughter of Ewen Cameron, and her husband, bought the property. The Bishop family, who were sixth and seventh generation Bells and also descended from the Camerons, restored the house in the 1980s. Today tongue-and-groove boards still line part of the hall (which retains two fine arches), the breakfast room, and Ewen Cameron’s former room. Five original fireplaces in the bed and living rooms are still in working order. The wide veranda with a curved iron roof and ornate iron lace work bounds three sides of the house, and nearby a windmill stands beside the water well. Sue and Ron James, who bought the property in 2001, made extensive improvements to the homestead and meticulously restored the grounds to their original state.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, ewen hugh cameron, francis rogerson, kangaroo ground, kangaroo ground-warrandyte road, pigeon bank

The original house was built around 1850 was one of Kangaroo Ground's earliest homes, part of which remains today. Built by Scottish farmer Andrew Harkness who acquired the property in 1849 at the top of the hill with magnificent panoramic views as far as Kinglake, the same year he married Sarah Oswin. The property was known as Garden Hill from at least 1865. Andrew and Sarah had four sons and five daughters. Harkness was a founder of the Kangaroo Ground School and one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board (1858-71) of which he was a member, the pre-cursor to the Shire of Eltham (1871-1994). He was also a Trustee of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. His daughter Fanny married farmer Alexander White who purchased the property in 1893. Alexander White died in 1906 and ownership transferred to Fanny White. Son, Robert White was a Councillor of the Shire of Eltham at the time the Shire acquired two acres of land on the adjacent property from the Mess brothers for the creation of the Shire of Eltham Memorial Park (1921) in which the Shire of Eltham War Memoirial tower was erected (1926). Fanny White donated a small section of land from the Garden Hill property to facilitate entry access to the park. The White family sold the property to Sir Herbert Gepp in 1925. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p29 Garden Hill, on Yarra Glen Road, Kangaroo Ground, near the War Memorial is well named. The old house and gardens overlook a magnificent panorama extending to Kinglake. The original house, built around 1850, was one of Kangaroo Ground’s earliest, and part of it remains in today’s timber house. The house was built by the early and prominent settler Andrew Harkness. Later it was occupied for a long time by Sir Herbert Gepp, renowned Australia wide.1 Harkness and Gepp are buried in the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. Scottish farmer Harkness, who was born in 1817, acquired this property in 18492 and he and his family occupied it until the early 1920s. Harkness cleared its 152 acres (61.4 ha), fenced it and grazed sheep and cattle. Harkness proved a valuable community member. When only ten families lived in the district, he and other settlers set up a school in 1852, with Andrew Ross as the first teacher. Harkness was also one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board, of which he was a member for around 15 years. He was also a trustee of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. Harkness married in 1854 and had four sons and five daughters. The first part of the timber house he built included a kitchen-living room and a parlor. The living room’s large fireplace was bricked-in and modernised in 1940. Beside it is the old baker’s oven with its original iron door replaced by a wooden one. It is thought two wattle-and-daub huts, used for a bedroom and bathroom, were built to the west. Harkness’ son-in-law, farmer Alexander White, who had seven sons, bought the property in 1893. Harkness’ grand-daughter Flora married Ewen Cameron who became Minister for Health and was later knighted; he was not related to Ewen Hugh Cameron, a Member of the Legislative Assembly. In 1923 the White family sold the property, called Kilby Park, to Sir Herbert Gepp, who renamed it Garden Hill. Gepp used the property, which was still on the original New South Wales title, as a hobby farm. Robert White stayed on to manage the farm for a while, living in a house on the property. Gepp was born in 1877 and at 16 years began working as a junior chemist with the Australian Explosives and Chemical Company at Deer Park near Melbourne. Gepp was a pioneer in applying enlightened labour policies in industry. He initiated the Broken Hill Progress Association, to improve living conditions. It laid the ground work for the welfare schemes pursued by companies after World War One. During the mid 20th century Gepp was the most prominent liberal thinker associated with conservative politics. As a friend of Prime Minister John Curtin, he contributed to post-war reconstruction. Gepp returned to private industry and retired in 1950. Gepp made significant contributions to the solution of the great metallurgical problems of the mining industry. He was an advocate of the role of science in industry, government and the economy and helped to establish several organizations including the CSIR and the Institute of Public Affairs.3 After Sir Herbert died in 1954 his son Orwell continued to farm the property part-time. When Lady Gepp died in 1963, the land was divided among the five children, although Orwell continued to farm it as a hobby. In 1966, a daughter, Mardi Gething, now married, settled in the house. Another daughter, Kathleen, built her house close by on the property. After the Board of Works designated the property as part of a reserve for a possible reservoir, the family sold all, except the minimum 20 acres allowed, to the Board in the 1970s. Orwell then leased what was the family property from the Board to continue grazing. The two sisters and brother continued to live on the property.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, kangaroo ground

Nillumbik Shire Council transferred to the former Diamond Valley Shire Offices in Greensborough after municipal restructuing. The offices became the official Nillumbik Shire Council Offices on 16 October 1995. The former Shire of Diamond Valley Civic Centre or Shire Office building was officially opened on 26th February 1972. Archtiects were A.K. Lines, McFarlane & Marshall and it was built by L.U. Simon Pty Ltd, The Diamond Valley Shire had been created in 1964 from part of the City of Heidelberg. On December 15, 1994 the Shire of Nillumbik was established. Under the Council amalgamations imposed by the Kennett government, the Shire of Eltham, Shire of Diamond Valley and City of Heidelberg ceased to exist with the establishment of Nillumbik Shire Council and the City of Banyule.The new Nillumbik shire surrended the west riding from Eltham to Banyule but in place gained parts of the former Diamond Valley Shire which itself had been created in 1964 from parts of the City of Heidelberg. Three unelected and non-local Commissioners were put in place by the government bringing democracy into question by many members of the local community. The Commissioners determined to abandon the former Shire of Eltham offices located in Main Road, Eltham and in turn occupy the former Shire of Diamond Valley offices located at the boundary of the new shire with Banyule, in Civic Drive, Greensborough. In July 1996 the Commissioners sold the former Eltham Shire Offices and had them bulldozed leading to many years of communiity protest over the process and future development applications. The site has remained vacant ever since. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p43 It was the need for roads that led to this district’s first council. In 1853 a committee was formed to improve the rough roads, some in Kangaroo Ground being almost impassable in winter.1 The committee fundraised by voluntary levies and grants to improve in particular, the main road between Kangaroo Ground and the Plenty River. From this committee arose the Eltham District Road Board, in 1856, which was the precursor to the Eltham Shire Council. The Board’s first chairman was Kangaroo Ground farmer, John Barr. Secretary was the former committee’s secretary, Andrew Ross, Kangaroo Ground’s first school teacher, and founder of the district newspaper, The Evelyn Observer.2 Most of the board’s income came from a toll-house north of the Lower Plenty Bridge, which funded such projects as a road from Kangaroo Ground to the Caledonia Diggings. In 1871 the Shire of Eltham was proclaimed, with its boundaries the same as those of the Road Board, and Councillor A Donaldson of Kangaroo Ground was the first president. Eltham was at the southern tip of the shire, which extended north to Kinglake and east beyond Yarra Glen. In 1878, part of Kinglake was added to the shire, while the area east of Watts River, near Healesville was removed. In 1912, then again in 1958, the shire was further reduced. Yarra Glen, Steels Creek, Tarrawarra, parts of Healesville and Christmas Hills, were transferred to the Shire of Healesville. In 1972 a smaller area, at Kinglake, was transferred to the Shire of Yea, leaving 277 square kilometres in the Eltham Shire. Perhaps no other Victorian municipality has had so many meeting places. Although from 1858 to 1904, the council convened at the office in the home of Secretary Charles Wingrove, the board, and later the council, also met at other more central locations.3 The board moved from the Fountain of Friendship Hotel to the Eltham Courthouse, to the Kangaroo Ground schoolhouse. It then met at the Kangaroo Ground Hotel, which some considered put it in danger of interruptions by people ‘the worse for liquor’.4 In 1885 the council met at the hall on Mr J Donaldson’s land at Kangaroo Ground. After Wingrove’s retirement, the council rented space at the Kangaroo Ground General Store and Post Office. Then, in 1917, the council bought the former office of The Evelyn Observer, after its printing works transferred to Hurstbridge. In 1934, fire destroyed the shire office, which was temporarily relocated to the Kangaroo Ground home of Shire Secretary, Mr P J McMahon. In 1941, the shire office moved to a new building (which included a public hall) in Eltham, at the corner of Arthur Street and Main Road, where the Eltham Village Shopping Centre was eventually built. Growth required new offices, which opened in 1965, on the former Shillinglaw property in Main Road.5 In 1994, as part of municipal restructuring under the Jeff Kennett Liberal Government, most of the Eltham Shire formed part of the new Shire of Nillumbik. It joined with the north section of the Diamond Valley Shire and parts of the Healesville and Whittlesea municipalities. The Diamond Valley Shire had been created in 1964, from part of the City of Heidelberg. Turbulence followed Nillumbik Shire’s formation. Under the Commissioners the council transferred to the former Diamond Valley Shire offices in Greensborough, and the Eltham council offices were demolished. In March 1997 the first five-member Nillumbik Council was elected. But, in October 1998, the government suspended the council and appointed an administrator . Early in 1999, shire residents voted to increase councillors to nine: comprising five ward councillors and four shire-wide councillors. Elections were held in March 1999. Then, before the March 2002 elections, nine new wards were created.6 In 2008 these were reduced to seven. Today [2008] the council governs a varied population of more than 60,000 people living in townships and on bush properties in the green wedge.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, greensborough, nillumbik shire council offices, civic drive

The grave of Thomas Sweeney, former convict turned respectable citizen. The Murray and Sweeney families were both early settlers of the Eltham district and connected by marriage. Their family plots are located side by side in the Catholic section of the Eltham Cemetery. Irish-born Thomas Sweeney is regarded as the first settler in Eltham. He was transported to Sydney in 1823 after being convicted of arson. He was granted his freedom in 1838 and married Margaret Meehan in the same year. They moved to Melbourne and in 1842 Thomas purchased 110 acres beside the Yarra River in the vicinity of present-day Sweeneys Lane. He called the property ‘Culla Hill’ and built a small slab hut (reputedly with Wurundjeri help; Margaret is said to have run an informal hospital for them in return). This was followed in 1846 by more substantial buildings consisting of a three-roomed Irish-style ‘longhouse’ and a barn made of stone and handmade bricks, with doors large enough to accommodate a fully loaded wagon. When the gold rush came, Thomas prospered by selling meat and potatoes to the prospectors, enabling him to purchase a further 308 acres in 1856. He promoted the construction of a bridge over the Plenty River and the establishment of a school at Eltham. Roman Catholic Church services were held at Culla Hill in the early years. When he died in 1867, he was regarded as a respected member of the community. Thomas and Margaret are buried in Eltham Cemetery with many of their descendants. Their first son John continued to farm Culla Hill until his death in 1909. Culla Hill passed out of the Sweeneys' possession in 1939. The house and barn remain today, though lesser outbuildings have gone. The facade of the house is much the same as it was in the 1840s. Sacred To the memory of Thomas Sweeney Who died Sep 6th 1867 Aged 65 years May his soul res in peace Also his wife Margaret Died Oct 3rd 1884 aged 73 years And their daughters Annie Died Aug 22nd 1860 aged 21 years Johanna Died Aug 19th 1872 aged 22 years Margaret Died 7th Sep 1913 aged 72 years R.I.P. Also In Memory Of John Sweeney Died 24th May 1909 Aged 65 years Also of his wife Ellen Died 8th March 1910 Aged 64 years R.I.P Also In Memory Of Caroline Infant daughter of John & Ellen Sweeney Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p55 From the piety and poverty of 19th century Eltham, 20th century artists and environmentalists, to today’s comfortable middle class, Eltham Cemetery records it all — and more. A visit to Eltham Cemetery reveals an important social record since its beginnings in 1858. The cemetery was situated on about six acres (2.4ha) (now around 4.8ha) at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Metery Roads.1* It is thought that Metery Road was originally called Cemetery Road, but in the early 1940s, a resident, possibly a councillor, objected to the name resulting in the change.2 Much can be gleaned about the developing Eltham community from burial styles and the names of former local residents. Originally the cemetery was divided into Christian denominations, like others of that time, following the United Kingdom burial system. In 1861 the cemetery included Church of England, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Wesleyans (later Methodist) sites. Graves also indicated social class. Some had grand tombstones, perhaps fenced with ornamental cast iron railing, but most in the 1860s and 1870s were constructed of modest stone slabs.3 This indicated the poverty of the district, which was largely inhabited by farmers on small landholdings. A poignant reminder of the high rates of infant mortality of those times, are the many infants and young children recorded on the headstones. Major changes occurred in the cemetery in the late 20th century as Christian adherence weakened and society became more egalitarian and informal. In the early 1970s a non-denominational lawn section for burials was established. Since then all new areas have been non-denominational to accommodate the more diverse local community. Now, instead of large ornamental headstones, some mourners have chosen boulders, reflecting the natural Eltham style, while others choose graves in the lawn areas or niches in walls. In the late 1970s, the University Donor Section was established north-west of Candlebark Lawn for those who donated their bodies for The University of Melbourne medical research. In the early 1980s the natural Australian garden style, popular in Eltham, was mirrored in a new section called Ashes Walk. Local landscape architect Gordon Ford, who had popularised this style, designed the Walk using boulders shaded by native plants beside curved pathways. Landscape architect Robert Boyle later redesigned Ashes Walk and developed other parts of the cemetery in keeping with this style.4 Appropriately Ford, who died in 1999, was interred in the Native Garden Section in a cluster of sites shaded by a large eucalyptus tree.5 By 2007, about 6400 interments were recorded in the Eltham Cemetery. Close inspection reveals notable names in the district’s history. The grave of Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who became a respected citizen, can be found in the Roman Catholic section near the path. Eltham Primary School’s first headmaster, David Clark, is buried in a modest grave in the Church of England section to the east of the path from the main entrance. Sir William Irvine, Victorian Premier from 1900 to 1902, whose grave is in the north-east Presbyterian section was at various times Victoria’s Chief Justice, Deputy Governor and Treasurer.6 Further south is the grave of social reformer Bertram Wainer, born in Scotland in 1928 and died in 1987. He campaigned to legalise abortion and exposed police corruption in allowing illegal ‘backyard’ abortions. Other prominent local residents interred in the cemetery include: Justus Jörgensen, who founded Montsalvat; Alistair Knox, the mud-brick housing pioneer and Eltham Shire Councillor from 1971 to 1975 and President in 1975; Clem and Nina Christensen, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. Others were: composer Dorian Le Gallienne; artist Peter Glass; Stephen Dattner, a prominent Melbourne furrier; ALP parliamentarian for Greensborough, Pauline Toner and political scientist and commentator, Professor William Macmahon Ball.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, annie sweeney, caroline sweeney, ellen sweeney, eltham cemetery, graves, gravestones, johanna sweeney, john murray, john sweeney, margaret sweeney, mary ellen drain, mary murray, thomas murray, thomas sweeney

Wingrove Cottage built 1858-1859 of hand made bricks is historically significant for its long association with Charles Wingrove, a prominent figure in Victorian local government, as secretary to the Eltham District Road Board and Shire Council from 1858 to 1904, and Shire Engineer and Secretary to the Heidelberg Road Board. The cottage was used as the office of the Eltham District Road Board and Council for many years It is one of the Shire's oldest dwellings, and one of the few surviving 19th century buildings associated with early Eltham and located in the original Eltham Village Reserve. The symmetrical planting of a pair of Pencil Pines (not visible in photo) is also historically and aesthetically significant as characteristic of the early period of planting in the district and because they are a distinctive landscape feature. In October 2002 new owners demolished the outbuildings attached to the rear of the cottage. Community protest at the demolition resulted in Council issuing a Stop Work order. The owner was issued with a court order in September 2003 to develop a conservation management plan and restore the heritage listed property. The owner sold the property in 2005 to Cameron Construction in 2005 who undertook the restoration work. In 2007 a planning application to build two offices and seven dwellings at the rear of the property was ultimately rejected. The cottage is now the main office for Cameron Construction. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p57 Wingrove Cottage on Main Road beside Eltham Primary School, is one of the Shire’s most important historical buildings and was central to local government for almost 50 years. The cottage was built in stages from 1858 to 1888 for Charles Symons Wingrove JP. He was the Eltham District Road Board’s first paid secretary and later the Shire Secretary when the board became the Eltham Shire Council. Wingrove held those positions, and that of engineer for a time, for 46 years. He was also one of the main figures in the Municipal Association of Victoria. As Eltham’s first paid municipal officer, Wingrove used one room in his 11 – (originally two) roomed home, as the office for the board then the council. Meetings were held there from the late 1850s (as well as at more central locations) until Wingrove’s retirement in 1904. The cottage is a rare example of a local government office occupying a Road Board /Shire Secretary’s purpose-designed house. The cottage is also significant because it is the oldest largely intact building from the original Eltham township reserve (south of Dalton Street).1 The township had its origins in the 1848 Nillumbik Parish Plan and was one of the state’s earliest township reserves. The rectangular house of handmade bricks, roofed with grey slate tiles and with a veranda encompassing three sides, is reminiscent of those in the central goldfields including Castlemaine. Its overhanging eaves and gables were unlike houses in Melbourne at the time. Wingrove, who was born in 1827, had been a gold digger and a road surveyor. Impossible to imagine in today’s world, Wingrove was also the Shire of Heidelberg’s secretary and engineer for part of the time that he was secretary in Eltham. Living next door to the primary school was a mixed blessing. Wingrove and his wife Katherine, who had ten children, sent their eight surviving children to the school. But they had occasional disputes with the school authorities when their cattle wandered into the schoolyard. Eltham showed Charles Wingrove its appreciation of his services by giving him two illuminated addresses, one after ten years and the other at retirement. Wingrove died in 1905 aged 76 and was buried in the St Katherine’s Church of England cemetery in St Helena. His grave is surrounded by those of family members including his wife, Katherine and two babies, Henry, 12 months and Isobella, 15 months, who died in the mid-1860s. Cottage ownership passed to his wife, then to daughter Caroline and then to daughter Bessie, a Melbourne University graduate and artist. During the Great Depression their brother Walter was the ratepayer. At one stage the Wingrove property extended to Metery Road and included a small creek. The family ran a small dairy and orchard, with associated farm buildings, which were later removed. In 1949 part of the property was compulsorily acquired by the Eltham Primary School, which infuriated owner Bessie Wingrove. She protested in a letter about this ‘monstrous act of unmitigated tyranny’.2 She was the last Wingrove to occupy the cottage and died in 1955. Wingrove descendants sold the house in 1974 and the property was subdivided. In the 1960s the Eltham Shire named the park opposite the cottage in Wingrove’s honour. The cottage has since had several owners including psychiatrist Dr Daniel Kahans, who practised there. In October 2002 late rear additions which had been substantially altered were demolished contrary to council planning controls. This caused a community outcry and resulted in legal proceedings against the owner. Fortunately the historical significance of the demolished section was not as great as the older front part of the building, which has been retained and was later restored.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, cameron construction, charles symons wingrove, eltham, eltham road district board, eltham shire council, main road, wingrove cottage

This building is the earliest building remaining on site today. It was built in 1875 and was the second school building replacing the original 1856 building of stone walls with wooden shingles on the roof. That building needed to be replaced after the stone walls collapsed outwards. In August 1912 the school issued a requisition for remodelling of the school concerned with replacement of the existing windows with larger and wider windows to allow additional light into the school rooms and the erection of a wooden partition in the centre of the room. An extension to the building at rear and skylights in the roof were added in 1921. Only two low wooden stairs were originally provided to enter the porch. These were rebuilt by 1928. A steel mud grate was introduced 1930s/1940s and an infant shelter shed circa 1945. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p49 Eltham Primary School at Dalton Street, bustling with hundreds of students, has changed dramatically since it began in July 1855.1 A reminder of its early days is the building in local sandstone with a slate roof. First head teacher was David G Clark who was officially in charge from June 1856 until 1889.2 This school was not the settlement’s first. That was the Church of England Little Eltham School, west of Diamond Creek in 1853 and closed in 1872. In 1855 David Clark and his sister Catherine, opened what was to become the present school, with eight students. The school operated elsewhere in a temporary slab building, also used for worship by the Wesleyans,3 which allowed the wind and rain easy access. As well as having to endure such Spartan conditions, the students paid one penny a week for the privilege. But in June 1856 the patrons objected to the conditions, and they and the Clarks wrote to the National Schools Board, asking for a suitable school. They asked for a grant to buy land for a school, and to appoint the Clarks. As a result, inspector Mr A B Orlebar visited the school. He found 33 children aged from four to 13 and noted, among other things: ‘There is no attempt at classification, and this is owing chiefly to the want of books, every child bringing with it any spelling or reading book he or she may find at home,4 and partly to the master and mistress having little idea of anything but individual instruction.’ Of Mr Clark, Mr Orlebar said: ‘I cannot pass him as coming up to the full standard of a probationer. He promises however to pursue a course….if the commissioners take him into their service.’ Of Catherine: ‘She makes a promise similar to that of her brother. Pupils were orderly and the school seemed well conducted. I cannot therefore hesitate to recommend them both personally as probationers.’ Later at a public meeting, Mr Orlebar pledged the commissioners would give £150 for a school, if this was matched by local residents. The meeting decided the commissioners would acquire two acres (0.8ha) for the school site. The building, constructed with local sandstone, was completed in December 1857, measuring 40 feet x 16 feet (12mx5m) and 10 feet (3m) high. It was divided into two rooms – one for the school and the other for teacher accommodation. So the Eltham school was born, in an area regarded as ‘one of the poorest in the colony’. Excerpts from inspectors’ reports in the following years, show that in some ways school has not changed that much since then: ‘Discipline only moderate. Too much chattering!’ (1873); ‘Several slates were cleaned with saliva applied by the hand! Damp rags would be much nicer.’(1891).5 In 1863 the Board of Education took over the school giving it its current name and number, Eltham Primary School No 209. Overcrowding has dogged the school over much of its history. In 1875 overcrowding spilled part of the school into the local courthouse. But that year the sandstone building, which is still standing, was built for 100 children, costing £553 and replacing the National School building. Now, this section, even following renovations, still bears part of its original graciousness, with lofty timber ceilings, tall vertical windows and original floors.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, dalton street, eltham primary school, state school no. 209