35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date MAY 88Mgarden hill, kangaroo ground, memorial park, scan - 35mm positive, shire of eltham war memorial, war memorial tower

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date MAY 88Mgarden hill, kangaroo ground, memorial park, shire of eltham war memorial, war memorial tower

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date MAY 88Mpanton hill memorial park

Originally built 1859 as the Eltham Police Residence, the Police moved intio new premises in Pryor Street in 1961. It was then occupied by the Eltham Shire Council Department of Parks and Environment from c.1985. In 1998 it became home of the Eltham District Historical Society.35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 23) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date MAY 88Meltham, local history centre, main road, parks and environment, police residence, shire of eltham

In 1981 the Shire of Eltham Historical Society was asked by the Victorian Place Names Committee to comment on a proposal by the Shire of Eltham to assign names to parklands in Eltham as follows:- "Eltham Common" - the area between the municipal offices, Main Road, the Eltham railway -line, and Panther Place and containing Shillinglaw Cottage. The Shire has advised that this name has been used locally for the site since about 1975. "Alistair Knox Park" - the area bounded by the Eltham railway -line, Panther Place, Main Road, Bridge Street, and Susan Street, and through which flows the Diamond Creek. The area has been known locally as "Eltham Town Park" The proposed name "Alistair Knox Park" had created some local controversy with a number of reversals of the Council's decision and letters to the local paper both for and against the proposal. The society was reluctant to be drawn into this controversy particularly as there were known to be members with strong views both for and against the proposed name. The society appreciated the work done by Alistair Knox both in the formulation of the park concept and in its development but because of the controversy generated by the proposed naming and also because of the wide general use of the park by the public·, the name Eltham Town Park was felt more appropriate. The society noted that there was no outstanding historical associations with the land comprising the park which would warrant naming the park after any particular person, place or event. No objection was raised to the Eltham Common proposal as set-out above. The decision was made in the knowledge that Alistair Knox had been associated with the society over many years and was a prominent figure in the recent history of Eltham. He was regarded as a key figure in the environmental building movement and in particular was renowned for his use of mud bricks as a building material. He served as a councillor of the Shire of Eltham from 1971-1975, his final year as Shire President. It was during these years that the proposals to create the park in its present form were shaped and Alistair played a leading part in the decision to make it a landscaped passive recreational park rather than a sporting area. The parklands comprise a section of the Diamond Creek valley. The creek itself flows through the centre of the area which is overlooked by steep hills on each side. The parks form part of the land purchased from the Crown in 1851 by J.M. Holloway and then subdivided into allotments and called "Little Eltham". While most of the area was subdivided into residential lots the creek valley was subdivided into lots suitable for small farms. Some further subdivision took place over the years and the whole of the parks now comprises eight separate titles. A list of some of the former owners has been compiled but exhaustive research on all owners has not been carried out. The ownership of one parcel has been traced back to when it was purchased from Holloway by John Hicks Petty in 1874, long after it was subdivided. Other families owning land within the area over the years included Lyon, Rees, Clark, Waterfall, Carrucan, Graham, Hill and Morant. The character of the valley area has remained rural while development occurred on each side. Early photos show the area as orchard and grazing land. In 1901 the railway was constructed through the area resulting in the timber trestle bridge across the Diamond Creek. which is an important feature of the park landscape. A memorial obelisk to the Eltham servicemen killed in World War 1 was erected at the south eastern corner of the park. The site is now within the intersection of Main Road and Bridge Street and the memorial was shifted in the 1950s to the Eltham R.S.L. clubrooms. Following the financial failure of the local sub-branch, the memorial obelisk was again relocated to the Eltham War Memorial building precinct in 2011. During the early 1960's the Council started purchasing the land which now comprises the parks. In the late 1960's the area to the east of the Diamond Creek was used as a garbage tip and filled above the flood plain of the creek. When this area was filled the tip was transferred to the west side of the creek. From the early 1970's the area has been progressively developed as a park for passive recreation with ornamental lakes, extensive tree planting and landscaping. The character of the valley before the days of the tip has been recreated and this has earned a Landscape classification from the National Trust, an unusual honour for a man-made landscape. The parks are not only attractive in appearance. The large number of people using them, particularly at weekends and holidays is evidence of their popularity and the foresight and careful planning of local residents, Councillors and Council Staff. 35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 23) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date MAY 88Meltham, main road, alistair knox park, eltham town park

Former Eltham Park Tea Rooms35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 9) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAY 88Meltham, main road, ansell and muir, chicken shop, eltham park team rooms, eltham south, milk bar, riverclay craft gallery, craft gallery

Originally known as Eltham Park until the establisment of Central Park in April 193035mm colour positive transparency (1 of 9) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAY 88Meltham, main road, eltham lower park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 9) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAY 88Meltham, main road, diamond vlley railway, eltham lower park

35mm colour positive transparency Mount - Black and Whitelandscape, percy leason, lavender park road

The bluestone blocks were originally part of the bluestone lockup located behind the Police Residence and Courthouse. The stones at one stage formed an edging to a grass island at the intersection of Wattletree Road and Main Road and were painted white. When that intersection was reconstructed the stones were brought back to the former residence, occupied by the Shire Department of Parks and Environement where again they were used as edging for a newly constructed driveway put through from Main Road through where the original Police Station was sited. The stones now form part of the garden bed edging at the rear of the building. At some stage in 1989 a reproduction Police Station was built beside the residence as originally located, for the purpose of providing a lunch room for shire staff. The residence has been the home of the Eltham District Historical Society and Local History Centre since 2008. 35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 8) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dots728 main road, eltham, eltham courthouse, local history centre, police residence, parks and environment, shire of eltham

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 28) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAR 89Meltham, cricket match, eltham lower park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 28) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAR 89Meltham, eltham lower park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 28) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAR 89Meltham, main road, vintage cars

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 28) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAR 89Meltham, wingrove park, main road

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 28) Mount - Kodak KodachromeProcess Date MAR 89Mgarden hill, kangaroo ground tower, memorial park, shire of eltham war memorial

Part of a slide show presentation "Bridges & Waterways of the Shire" by Russell Yeoman to the 13 September 1989 Society meeting. The presentation included slides of historic photos from the Shire of Eltham Pioneers collections as well as several recent views.35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 15) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsfootbridge, montmorency park

Part of a slide show presentation "Bridges & Waterways of the Shire" by Russell Yeoman to the 13 September 1989 Society meeting. The presentation included slides of historic photos from the Shire of Eltham Pioneers collections as well as several recent views.35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 15) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsfootbridge, montmorency park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 36) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsroads, heidelberg-kinglake road, kinglake national park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 36) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsroads, eltham, woodridge linear park walkway

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcessing Date Code Jun 90Mkangaroo ground, eltham-yarra glen road, garden hill, memorial park, roads

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcessing Date Code Jun 90Mkangaroo ground, eltham-yarra glen road, garden hill, memorial park, shire of eltham war memorial

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcessing Date Code Jun 90Mkangaroo ground, eltham-yarra glen road, garden hill, memorial park, caretaker's cottage, shire of eltham memorial park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 25) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcessing Date Code Jun 90Mkangaroo ground, memorial park, garden hill, garden hill farm, shire of eltham memorial park

35mm colour positive transparency Mount - Black and Whiteeltham south, main road bridge, wingrove park

35mm colour positive transparency Mount - Black and Whiteeltham lower park, significant tree

35mm colour positive transparency Mount - Black and Whitesignificant tree, eltham, dalton street, wingrove park trail

35mm colour positive transparency Mount - Black and Whitesignificant tree, arthur's creek road, hurstbridge, jasper's park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 22) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date "Apr M"significant tree, candlebark, eltham lower park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 22) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date "Apr M"significant tree, candlebark, eltham lower park

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 22) Mount - Kodak EktachromeProcess Date "Apr M"significant tree, candlebark, eltham lower park