Colour photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Black & white photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Black & white photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Black & white photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Colour photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Colour photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photographnillumbik, chute street, post office, diamond creek

Black & white photograph

Black & white photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Black & white photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Black & white photographdiamond creek state school, diamond creek, nillumbik school

Walter Withers was a significant Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian Impressionists. In 1903 Withers bought 'Southernwood', a house on 2½ acres (1 ha) at Eltham, to which he added a studio. Because of ill health, he lived during the week at his studio in Oxford Chambers, Melbourne, and on weekends and holidays with his family at Eltham until his death in 1914. The Eltham rail bridge is a unique and valuable historic relic of an earlier steam locomotive transport era in the Diamond Creek Valley and has long formed an important part of a magnificent Eltham landscape. When built in 1902 it was close to the terminus point of the Heidelberg-Eltham rail extension, on the route of the proposed Diamond Valley Railway that was then planned to continue much further up the valley towards Kinglake. This bridge is situated in attractive river-valley parkland amidst the tall and spreading manna gums and candlebarks of the Diamond Creek Valley. The Alistair Knox Park river-valley landscape, of which the timber trestle bridge is an important visual component, has been classified by the National Trust. Large manna gum and candlebark trees adorn the adjacent creek banks, and historic Shillinglaw Cottage is also part of this much-prized Eltham landscape. Eltham is home to a historic wooden railway trestle bridge. Mainly of timber-pier and timber-beam construction, but varied by a few longer steel-joists spans on timber piers at the main stream channel, this substantial bridge has almost two hundred metres of timber deck. Built in 1902, it is the only railway bridge of predominantly timber construction that is still in regular use as an integral part of Melbourne's metropolitan electric railway network and one of extremely few timber rail bridges in the State that still carry trains. Apart from its important continuing social function as a carrier of rail transport for the Hurstbridge line, this impressive bridge and its beautiful parkland environs contribute much to the character of Eltham township and that town's special reputation as an historic centre of environmental and conservation concerns. This section of the Diamond Creek Valley was the subject of a Walter Withers painting in the earliest years of the twentieth century and has strong historic links with our Heidelberg School of painters. Watercolour painting on paper of Eltham's Trestle Bridge in the middle of the day. A small section of the wooden bridge is located to the left of the painting. The focus is predominately on the wattle, manna gum and candlebark trees that is to the right of the bridge. The golden hues typically represent the australian sunlight and landscape. "W.W" in gothic script on the lower right side of the painting. Not dated. withers, eltham, trestle bridge, railway, watercolour

The wagga was owned by the great uncle of the donor's husband, George Stephens. Mr Stephens was a mining engineer in the late 1800s to early 1900s in Stawell, Main Lead (near Beaufort), Diamond Creek and Costerfield in Victoria. His last residence was at Bosterfield, where the wagga was used as a bed quilt in the mid 1940s. It may have also been used in the childhood home of Mr Stephens at Stawell. Mr Stephens saved the life of a blacksmith at Diamond Creek Gold Mine circa 1910.A wagga made from men's suits and coats, unpicked and sewn together. Pieces are in blue, brown checked and striped materials. There are remnants of a backing around the edges.wagga, running stitch collection, diamond creek, victoria, stawell, beaufort, costerfield

watercolourlandscape, diamond creek, stringybark, trees, charles douglas richardson, bush, victoria, cd richardson, c. douglas richadrson, watercolour