In 1924, the Methodist Church opened at the corner of River Ave and Yan Yean Road, Plenty. It was a simple weatherboard gabled building. The church developed a strong community life with celebrations as well as worships, Sundays Schools and social events. It closed in 1979. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p113 In 1924, the Methodist Church, (which closed in 1976), opened at the corner of River Avenue and Yan Yean Road. Church members including George Starling and Ernest Osmond, built the simple weatherboard gabled building.3 The church developed a strong community life, with celebrations as well as worship through Sunday School anniversaries, picnics, harvest festivals and youth groups. Many volunteers worked hard for the church - teaching Sunday School and ferrying young people to events, sometimes in the backs of trucks and furniture vans. Children from the Sutherland Homes were brought to church by their Matron – a ‘grim martinet’! Members included the Ashton, Reid, Harris, McLachlan, Hopkin, Rose and Stuchbery families. The first wedding was for Vida McLachlan and Ray Stuchbery.4This 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, methodist church, plenty

The Nillumbik Cemetery is of historical, architectural, aesthetic and social significance at a Regional level (North-east Melbourne). The memorial arch is of State significance. Nillumbik Cemetery, which was established in 1867, is of historical and social significance for its association with the early history of Diamond Creek and as a record of the pioneering families of the district. Significant graves include those of the famous writer Alan Marshall, author of 'I Can Jump Puddles', footballer Gordon Coventry, and William Ellis, notable early settler and benefactor. The 1897 Tudor/Gothic revival memorial arch, bequeathed by William Ellis, is a rare design in ornamental gateways and is relatively large for the size of the cemetery. It is unique in Victoria as a cemetery gateway arch. The burial ground has associated structures, such as the hexagonal timber sexton's office, post and wire fence and picket hand gate along Main Street, all probably built in the early twentieth century. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. National Trust of Australia (Victoria) - Regional significance Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p83 Entering Nillumbik Cemetery through an ornamental gateway and shaded by the Monterey Cypress hedge helps one leave the busy world outside and contemplate yesterday’s Diamond Creek. The gateway, classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), and inscribed with ‘JANVA VITAE’ (gate of life), was a gift from a distinguished pioneer, William Ellis. Ellis, who was an original trustee of the Nillumbik Cemetery representing the Primitive Methodists and a successful farmer, bequeathed £100 to build the red-brick and carved stone gateway in 1887. In 1867 surveyor Edward Bage had set aside two acres (0.8ha) now 35 Main Street, for this cemetery, in what was then called the village of Nillumbik. Several earlier burials on private lands in the district might have been exhumed and re-interred in the new cemetery. The first burials in the cemetery are thought to be of ‘a Chinaman who hanged himself from a tree behind the Church of England’ and ‘another man who was drowned in a water-hole behind the same church’.1 The 1000 or so graves in the cemetery are grouped into five denominational sections: two Anglican and one each for the Methodist (the largest), Catholic and Presbyterian Churches. It is believed that several unmarked graves are of Aborigines and Chinese miners.2 Perhaps the most famous person buried in the cemetery was author Alan Marshall, who died in 1984 and wrote, among other books, I Can Jump Puddles. Surprisingly his grave is particularly modest consisting of only a grassed plot with a tiny boulder and a simple bronze plaque. It lies about halfway down the main path, at the west and third row back. The first European, interred at the cemetery on July 9, 1869, was Hannah, aged 13 years eight months, daughter of local orchardist John Lawrey and wife Honor.3 Each grave has a story which reflects a rich history. Phillip Cummings, who died in 1884, provided the barn for Diamond Creek’s first school, run by the Primitive Methodist Church. The barn stood at the corner of Phipps Crescent and the main road.4 Former Eltham Shire councillor George Stebbings, who died in 1896, built several prominent buildings in the district, including Shillinglaw Cottage in Eltham.5 The grave of miner James Joseph Whyte, who died in 1908, is a reminder of Diamond Creek’s gold mining history. At age 51, Whyte died from a rock fall in the Diamond Mine, Diamond Creek. Diamond Creek’s first butcher, Patrick Ryan, became President of the Shire of Heidelberg and Chairman of the Eltham Hurstbridge Railway Trust. A former gold miner, he was grandfather of local historian Reverend Jock Ryan. He was buried in an unmarked grave halfway down the central path. His son John Lawrence, who is buried elsewhere, had been a Mayor of the City of Heidelberg. George Martin Pizzey gave a hall, for what was to become The St John’s Anglican Church in Diamond Creek. He was a Crimean War veteran, mason and leather goods manufacturer in Melbourne, who died in 1915. The two world wars took a heavy toll of locals with 54 personnel buried here, two thirds of whom served in World War One. A sporting pioneer was Greensborough District Cricket Club founder, Andrew Webb, who was buried in 1971. Politician Roy Mountford Vale (Monte), who died in 1977, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Greensborough, and a founding councillor and president of the Diamond Valley Shire. Modern-day residents are also remembered in this cemetery. The tragic Ash Wednesday bushfires took their toll on the district: William Marsden of Panton Hill CFA died, aged 39, fighting bushfires at Upper Beaconsfield in 1983.6 Several graves tell of those who held distinguished positions overseas, including William Constable, who died in 1989. Constable was artistic director of a ballet company, art director of more than 30 films for London-based film productions, and was awarded best Film Art Director at the Moscow Film Festival in 1960.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, diamond creek, memorial arch, gateway, nillumbik cemetery, william ellis

The Eltham Community and Reception Centre was Australia's first public mud-brick building. Commissioned in 1977 by Eltham Shire Council, led by Shire president (and architect) Robert Marshall, architects Whitford and Peck were asked to design a multipurpose facility in mud-brick and timber. The official opening was performed by the Hon. R.J. Hamer; E.D., M.P., Premier of Victorai on Saturday, April 22, 1978. Architects: Whitford & Peck Pty Ltd Quantity Surveyor: D.J. Cant & Associates Structural Civil Engineers: Charlett & Moore Pty Ltd Landscape: Peter Glass, Dennis Edwards Mech Elec: Lobley Treidel & Partners Pty Ltd Acoustics: Riley Barden & Kirkhope Builder: L.U. Simon Pty Ltd Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p177 The Wiggles performed there, so has the ABC’s Play School. New citizens have made their vows, volunteers have been honoured, school children have performed, weddings celebrated and people mourned at funerals. Since 1978 the Eltham Community and Reception Centre at the corner of Pitt Street and Main Road, has provided a beautiful and quintessential Eltham environment for people from all over Melbourne. Recognised as Australia’s first public mud-brick building, the centre was built partly on the site of the parsonage of the former Methodist Church (now the Uniting Church).1 Commissioned by the Eltham Council headed by President Robert Marshall, architects Whitford and Peck were asked to design a multipurpose facility in mud-brick and timber. Following public consultation, it was agreed to build a centre for dances, exhibitions, films, plays or concerts. The results – at a cost of around $620,000 – captured the Eltham rustic style. The building – in soft tones of mud-brick and timber and immense floor-to-ceiling windows – overlooks the Diamond Creek and sporting fields. Eltham’s strong artistic heritage is reflected in the centre. Although the lighting is not ideal for a gallery and labels cannot be placed on walls, the centre hosts the Nillumbik Art Awards and displays around ten to 20% of the Nillumbik Shire Art Collection, usually for around a year at a time.2 On permanent display, close to the entrance, is local artist Clifton Pugh’s White Choughs in the Landscape. Further to the right is the Walter Withers Gallery, named after a local member of the Heidelberg School of artists. As part of the Eltham Gateway opposite the Eltham Hotel, the centre stands on what was once part of the Eltham Town Centre along this section of Main Road, then known as Maria Street. On the same site once stood the house and flour mill owned by Henry Dendy, best known as the founder of Brighton, although he lived longer in Eltham. Beside the drive is a wheel-rim tool with accompanying plaque, illustrating a technology important during the horse-powered age and now almost completely gone, as has the blacksmith’s shop that had housed it nearby. The implement is a platform for fitting iron tyres to the wooden rims of cartwheels. Beneath it is a capsule placed in 1985 to commemorate Victoria’s 150 years, which is to be opened in 2035. Although the plants, forming part of the landscaping by Peter Glass and Denis Edwards, are largely indigenous and other native species, some exotic plants are protected as an important link with the site’s past. Planted at the front around 1920, is a large Peppercorn tree with two joined trunks growing from the base, and close by is a Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus torulosa). Three other Peppercorn trees fringe the drive. The building includes two halls – the larger seating 250 people – and a large foyer overlooking trees and ovals. Both halls have retractable rear walls providing varying spaces as required, and guests can use several external decks. A site for outdoor theatre has been carved out of the natural slope outside the entrance. The Bricklayers Union refused to use the traditional mud-bricks, which weigh more than 22kg. As a result the mud-bricks were redesigned to reduce their weight and were laid back-to-back to produce a wall of normal thickness.3 The centre’s massive timber frame is reminiscent of timber bridge construction, with infill panels of mud-brick.4 In accord with the rustic style are colossal rough-sawn posts, bolts and steel brackets. The combination of mud-brick, exposed feature timber framing and creative design in this centre, characterises Eltham’s innovative buildings and the social movement behind them from the 1940s to the 1970s.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 community and reception centre, mudbrick construction

Land for the Methodist Church in Wodonga was reserved in 1864. By 1865 the Reverend Francis Neale, a Wesleyan minister was appointed to Albury from where he supervised the congregation at Wodonga Creek until a church was built in 1873. By 1885 Wodonga and the other preaching places on the Victorian side of the Murray had become a separate circuit under the Reverend L. J Rowlands. This circuit included Bethanga. Kiewa. Leneva, Kergunyah and Bonegilla. In the 1960s the Methodist congregation built a new chapel in Hovell Street, Wodonga. The creation of the Uniting Church during the 1970s meant that the services were held in the former Presbyterian Church and joint Sunday School classes were conducted in the Methodist Hall. In 1961 the Church building and land was purchased by the Ukrainian Community for £2,000. Ukrainian Catholic families in Wodonga donated £100 each towards the purchase. Additional fund raising such as carol singing in nearby towns (Benalla, Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga) assisted with the purchase of the Church. The former Methodist Church was in poor condition and the members of its new congregation undertook the replacement of the floor, the footings, replastering of the walls and the construction of an altar. The renovations cost a further £400. Once a month a priest came up from Melbourne to conduct services in the Church. On completion it was blessed by Bishop Ivan Prasko to become St Olga's Catholic Church (Ukrainian). In 1965 the Church was dedicated to its patron St Volodymir, with Bishop Varlamm (Sydney) and Bishop Donat (Melbourne) taking part in the ceremony. The members of the Ukrainian Catholic community also built a hall and smaller chapel in Hunt Street, Wodonga. With a declining congregation, this property became more manageable to maintain than the original brick building and the decision was made to close the building in 2010. In 2022 the building and extensive block of land in Church Street was sold commercially for potential redevelopment.These images are significant because they depict an early Wodonga Church building.A collection of coloured photographs depicting the first Methodist Church in Wodonga, Victoria It was a red brick church with a steeply pitched gable roof and parapeted gable walls. There was a small front porch with matching roof and gable treatment to the front. Simple timber Gothic windows were along the sides, with a tri-partite window above the porch. Two sections of this window featured stained glass, the other was opaque glass. Red brick buttresses were topped with white-painted render, as were the parapets, and the windows were also outlined with white painted render. Timber joinery was painted white. A front path led directly to the porch and the Church was flanked by mature oak trees. A small, relatively modern red brick skillion extension was added to the rear of the building.wodonga churches, methodist church wodonga, ukrainian catholic church wodonga

Ticket allowed Scholars or school children to travel on MMTB trams/buses to attend schools at a concession rate. Inside gives issue details - issued to a person in Glen Iris, four sections, for use during 1962, from Camberwell Junction to the Methodists Ladies College in Barkers Road Cost 44/- Ticket No. 5125 and 5602. See item 7776 for the 3rd term ticket from the same donor.Demonstrates a Scholar's ticket to allow a student to travel from Camberwell Junction to Barkers Road.Set of two clothed-backed paper ticket, printed as a MMTB "Scholar's Concession Ticket", 1st term - red, 2nd term green. Gives condition of use on the outside cover. Details filled in of the person's name address etc.mmtb, tickets, schools, scholar's tickets, school tickets

3 saucers, registration numbers 4.2; 4.3; 4.4 and one cup, registration number 4.1. White china with burgundy rim and sepia transfer print of building and sepia text.Hobart Town Sabbath Schoolhobart town sabbath school, wesleyan methodist

Ticket allowed Scholars or school children to travel on MMTB trams/buses to attend schools at a concession rate. Inside gives issue details - issued to a person in Glen Iris, four sections, for use during 1962, from Camberwell Junction to the Methodists Ladies College in Barkers Road Cost 44/- Ticket No. 5035. See item 6999 for the 1st and 2nd term tickets for the same person.Demonstrates a Scholar's ticket to allow a student to travel from Camberwell Junction to Barkers Road.Clothed-backed paper ticket, printed as a MMTB "Scholar's Concession Ticket", Third term. Gives condition of use on the outside cover. Details filled in of the person's name address etc.mmtb, tickets, schools, scholar's tickets, school tickets

Alexander Robert Edgar, President of the Victoria and Tasmania Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church by Certificate of Consent of Sale dated 28 November 1901, declared that the Conference of the Church held in Melbourne, 27 February 1894, agreed to the sale by the Trustees of Lot 20 Henry Street. Indenture dated 15 November 1901 between Revd. Barnabas Shaw Walker, Minister of the Pentridge Circuit, Joseph Cooper, Gardener of Keelbundora, Samuel Jeffrey, Farmer of Jika Jika, John Brown, State School Teacher, Robert David Taylor, Gardener and Isaac Hill, Dealer, all of Eltham, the Trustees conveyed the land to William John Taylor the Younger, Gardener, George Knapman, Blacksmith and Isaac Hill junior, Carrier, all of Eltham and Trustees at the time for a Friendly Society known as the Hope of Eltham Tent No. 195 Victoria District Independent Order of Rechabites for the sum of £40. The conveyance was received into the Office of the Registrar General, State of Victoria, 12 December 1901. Originally purchased in 1856 from Thomas Roberts, Yeoman of Little Eltham, for £10 for use by the Wesleyan Chapel, represented by indentured Trustees, Rev. Barnabas Shaw Walker, Minister of the Pentridge Circuit, Francis Thomas, Farmer of Keelbundora, William Harriman, Blacksmith of Nillumbik, Nicholas Rodda, Farmer of Nillumbik, Aaron Grimshaw, Farmer of Greensborough, Joseph Cooper, Gardener of Keelbundora, Peter Dredge, Scholmaster of Jika Jika and Samuel Jeffrey, Farmer of Jika Jika. Lot 20 of Subdivision of Portion 13, Section 4 of the Parish of Nillumbik in the County of Evelyn was located on the southern side of Henry street in Little Eltham North, where the current Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church is situated. It became the location of the Eltham Rechabite Hall. In 1893 a new hall was built and further enlarged in 1919. At the commencement of 1922, the property was purchased from the Independent Order of Rechabites with publicly subscribed funds and a new hall built at a cost of £750 and improved road access constructed to reduce the grade, running from Dudley Street to Henry Street. This hall was eventually replaced with the new Shire Offices and Hall built on the corner of Arthur Street and Main Road, which was opened in 1941. Traces the earliest history of the Eltham Public Hall in Henry Street and the various names, occupations and abodes of the Trustees associated with the propertyaaron grimshaw, blacksmith, edmond perry, eltham public hall, eltham rechabite hall, eltham wesleyan chapel, francis thomas, george knapman, george smith, henry street, hope of eltham tent no. 195, i.w. lucas, isaac hill, james blanch, james chapman, james william brown, john brown, john jenkins peacock, john jones, john neale, john van mangerhoussen weiss, joseph cooper, joseph morris holloway, josiah atwool, keelbundora, lancelot iredale, little eltham, little eltham north, lizar elliott, mark blanchard, methodist church, nicholas rodda, p. mather, peter dredge, rev barnabas shaw walker, robert david taylor, samuel jeffrey, samuel moor munce, thomas roberts, thomas wheaten bowden, trustee, victoria district independent order of rechabites, wesleyan methodist church, william harriman, william hebblewhite, william john munce, william john taylor, william matthews, william rose

The Trustees for Lot 20 Henry Street were declared by the Wesleyan Methodist Church on 7 October 1901 to be Revd. Barnabas Shaw Walker, Minister of the Pentridge Circuit, Joseph Cooper, Gardener of Keelbundora, Samuel Jeffrey, Farmer of Jika Jika, Francis Thomas, Farmer of Doncaster and sometime of Keelbundora, John Brown, State School Teacher, William John Taylor, Gardener, Robert David Taylor, Gardener and Isaac Hill, Dealer, all of Eltham. Originally purchased in 1856 from Thomas Roberts, Yeoman of Little Eltham, for £10 for use by the Wesleyan Chapel, represented by indentured Trustees, Rev. Barnabas Shaw Walker, Minister of the Pentridge Circuit, Francis Thomas, Farmer of Keelbundora, William Harriman, Blacksmith of Nillumbik, Nicholas Rodda, Farmer of Nillumbik, Aaron Grimshaw, Farmer of Greensborough, Joseph Cooper, Gardener of Keelbundora, Peter Dredge, Scholmaster of Jika Jika and Samuel Jeffrey, Farmer of Jika Jika. Lot 20 of Subdivision of Portion 13, Section 4 of the Parish of Nillumbik in the County of Evelyn was located on the southern side of Henry street in Little Eltham North, where the current Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church is situated. It became the location of the Eltham Rechabite Hall. In 1893 a new hall was built and further enlarged in 1919. At the commencement of 1922, the property was purchased from the Independent Order of Rechabites with publicly subscribed funds and a new hall built at a cost of £750 and improved road access constructed to reduce the grade, running from Dudley Street to Henry Street. This hall was eventually replaced with the new Shire Offices and Hall built on the corner of Arthur Street and Main Road, which was opened in 1941. Traces the earliest history of the Eltham Public Hall in Henry Street and the various names, occupations and abodes of the Trustees associated with the propertyeltham public hall, eltham rechabite hall, eltham wesleyan chapel, francis thomas, henry street, james abel marsland, james massland, john brown, joseph cooper, little eltham north, rev barnabas shaw walker, robert david taylor, samuel jeffrey, trustee, william john taylor, little eltham, isaac hill