Suggested reading - David Mitchell, A Forfar Man - Pamela Vestey. (National Library of Australia ISBN No. 0646104977 Second edition - 1996.A discussion paper by Murray Houghton, Warrandyte Historical Society, on the excavation of Pound Bend tunnel and examination of information sources suggesting David Mitchell's association with gold mining at Warrandyte." ... Just what then was Mitchell's actual association with mining in the Anderson's Creek goldfield? As an initial means to determining this, a number of biographies devoted to the man's lifetime achievements have been consulted. Some two of these were found to contain rather brief references to his involvement at Warrandyte. In the 1992 booklet entitled "David Mitchell a Forfar Man" written by a Mitchell family member, viz., Pamela, Lady Vestey, of Coombe Cottage, there is included a passge which commences "Another of David Mitchell's early interests was gold mining". This is appended by the bald statement "In 1870 he formed the Evelyn Tunnel Gold-Mining Company with a capital of £16,000." The other account of a Mitchell involvement with an unnamed Warrandyte company is contained in Joan Campbell's 1974 biographical article entitled, "Mitchell, David (1829- 1916) builder, contractor and businessman, etc.", in Volume 5 of the "Australian Dictionary of Biogaraphy". Campbell mentions that "In 1890 (sic) Mitchell formed a company to mine a channel and tunnel on the Yarra River at Pound Bend, Warrandyte," i.e., at a period some 18 or so years after it is known that the Evelyn Tunnel Gold-Mining Company had actually ceased operations. She then continues with the bizarre statement that "he employed gangs of Chinese to work three miles of river bed for gold". Neither of these respective excerpts indicate evidence of having been directly referenced from a legitimate original source, from which either author's contained comments might be authenticated. For any historian with an enquiring mind these statements demand further clarification. ..." - Murray Houghton

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

A4 copies of Landata Victoria Historical Search documents - Vol 7141 Fol 1428080.Alexander William Brown of Grandview Grove (later Bemboka Road), Ringwood is now the proprietor of an Estate in Fee-simple subject to the Encumbrances notified hereunder ... 2 acres 3 roods 24 and one-half perches or thereabouts, being Lots 33 and 34 Kardinia Crescent, on Plan of Subdivision no.12040. Transfers include Alexander William Brown died 25th June, 1957, Probate granted 28th January, 1958, to Alfred Hart Brown of Dandenong, Estate Agent, and Harry Britten Elms of Cardinia, Gentleman, Oliver Burgess, Grandview Grove Ringwood, Florist - 14th May, 1964, Peter John Woodhead, Transport driver, and Shirley Margaret Woodhead, Married woman - 12th September, 1966. Inventory of Real Estate Assets (for Probate purposes 4/10/1957) detailed in Family Genealogy record for A.W. Brown includes: "Kardinia Crescent, Ringwood - Land containing 2 acres 3 roods 24-1/2 perches situate in Kardinia Crescent Ringwood being Lots 33 and 34 on Plan of Subdivision Number 12040 and being part of Crown Section 20 Parish of Warrandyte County of Evelyn and being the land described in Certificate of Title Volume 7141 Folio 080 valued by E. Miles at £350:0:0

A4 copies of Landata Victoria Historical Search documents - Vol 5781 Fol 1156174.Leslie Mills is now the proprietor of an Estate in Fee-simple subject to the Encumbrances notified hereunder ... 10 acres or thereabouts, together with a right of carriage way over Grandview Grove (later Bemboka Road), Warranwood, Victroia. Transfers include Alexander William Brown of Tooradin, Farmer - 29th October, 1945, (died 25th June, 1957), Probate granted 28th January, 1958, to Alfred Hart Brown of Dandenong, Estate Agent, and Harry Britten Elms of Cardinia, Gentleman (*** See Probate details below) Oliver Burgess, Grandview Grove Ringwood, Florist - 14th May, 1964, Privatus Proprietary Limited, St.Kilda Road, Melbourne - 27th October, 1977, John Patrick Kelly, Company Director and Yvonne Gloria Kelly, Married Woman, joint proprietors, 10th September, 1980 *** Inventory of Real Estate Assets (for Probate purposes 4/10/1957) detailed in Family Genealogy record for A.W. Brown includes: "Grandview Grove, Ringwood Land containing 10 acres or thereabouts situate in Grandview Grove Ringwood being part of Crown Section 20 Parish of Warrandyte County of Evelyn and being the land described in Certificate of Title Volume 5781 Folio 174 on which is erected a 7 room house, a bungalow, shed and 2 glass houses valued by E. Miles, Ringwood - £5077-0-0

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

Death notice and tributes - Ringwood Mail, January 30, 1941.The residents of Ringwood and district were shocked when the news came through of the tragic and sudden death of Fireman Jack Wilkins of Warrandyte Road Ringwood, while working on a fire at the Cooper Case Company's mill in White Horse road, Ringwood, during the early hours of Sunday morning. He was found by his comrades in a state of collapse after winding up the hose, and died almost immediately ... Fireman Wilkins joined up with the Ringwood Fire Brigade at its inception in March, 1926, as part time fireman, and has been with the brigade ever since ... A carpenter and builder by trade, he has built many homes in the Ringwood district. One of his hobbies was his garden. He was an expert grower of dahlias, and exhibited successfully in many shows. He was a member of the M.U.I.O.O.F., and was keenly interested in sport. He played cricket right up to last year with the Ringwood Cricket Club, and captained the C Grade team for years ... He was also keenly interested in football, and for a number of years officiated as goal umpire in the Ringwood District Football League. He is survived by a wife and six children. Tributes include Jay (Jack), dearly loved husband of Alice Marion, loving father of Walter (A.I.F.), Allan, Winnie, Ronald (deceased), Margaret, William and Edward ... Youngest son of John B. and the late Mrs. M. Wilkins ... Loved brother of Olive and Bess (Mrs. B. Anderson, Mildura) ... Loved brother of Henry, Arthur and Lil Wilkins ... Loved brother of Field and Florrie Wilkins ... Loved brother of Violet and Bob ... Loved brother of Myrtle and Jack.

Jane Annois had a long involvement with Potters Cottage in Warrandyte, where she taught for many years. Potters Cottage was established in the late 1950s in Warrandyte as an artist co-operative. Founding members included Reg Preston, Phyl Dunn, Gus McLaren, Artur Halpern, Sylvia Halpern and Elsa Ardern. These talented artists had the ingenuity and foresight to create a teaching studio, gallery shop and restaurant to experiment, make, promote and sell predominantly domestic wares of the time. These activities helped financially sustain each member’s individual creative practice. Potters Cottage was influential in the development of contemporary ceramics, building and developing practices that experimented with traditional ceramic processes, raw materials and locally sourced clay. The group mentored and nurtured many interested in the art of ceramics, producing alumni and teachers such as Peter Laycock, John Dermer, Greg Daly and Jane Annois. Jane Annois is a ceramic artist who has lived and worked locally in Warrandyte for many years. She focuses primarily on exploring the art of Japanese raku, adapting the technique to develop the typical characteristics of crackle glazes and lustres, with contrasting areas of black. Jane also applies a fine slip called terrasigillata which gives soft, warm ochre colours. This technique was once used by the Greeks over 2000 years ago to seal and decorate their pots. She is also strongly onfluenced by the French potters, particularly in the style of terre vernissee, a decorative form of terracotta tableware. Three piece stoneware and raku fired ceramic sculpture. The first piece is a hollow, dome shaped object. It is orange (terracotta slip) in colour with a copper metallic band and a black edge on one side with a small yellow glazed rounded triangle and metallic strip of colour on the otherside. The second piece is shaped like a traditional vase. It is orange (terracotta slip) in colour with white crackle on the inside. It has a yellow slip edge with a dark glazed square on one side and on the other side a black thick edge that mirrors the contour of this shape. The third piece is shaped loosley in the form of the letter 'z'. It compliments the second piece with a yellow slip edge and black glazed square to its lower left side and top right as well as on its' other side a black thick edge that mirrors the contour of this shape. This piece has a very small skewed square opening at its' top. All three pieces have elements of crazing and variations of colour and lustre, caused by the raku process. 2006.52.1VA has the artist name/signature 'J. Annois' inscriped small (with fine point ceramic tool?) on the front of the piece, bottom right; 2006.52.2VA has the artist name 'Jane'? inscribed (unlegible - with fine point ceramic tool?) underneath; 2006.52.3VA has the artist name/signature 'Jane Annois' inscriped (with fine point ceramic tool?) inside its hollow form. evolution, raku, stoneware, terrasigillata, terracotta, glazes, slip, terre vernissee

Double-sided land sale advertisement for sale of 35 residential and 15 shop sites on the corner of Warrandyte Road and Oban Road, Ringwood North, Vic., including locality plan and features of the estate.Subdivision includes Oban Road, Warrandyte Road, and Dickson Crescent. Agent: A.W. Dickson, Opposite Station, Ringwood. (Phone) WU6007, WU7016, after hours WU6868.

History of Warrandyte's Licenced Premises

Black and white photographImage shows intersection with C.B.A. Bank on north east corner. Photograph taken mid 1976.

Black and white photographWritten on back of photograph: "May 1969, Site of first clock tower."

Photographic record by Russ Haines, RDHS, in October 2008.

Postcard with Handwritten letter on reverse22/12/15, Wonga Park, Ringwood My Dear Niece and Nephews I have just received your lovely preasant we all think it is just lovely and we all wish you all a very Happy New Year and a Merry Xmas. You will see I have put the cart before the horse but the three children is here and makeing a terrible noise. Bella has got a house in Mullum Rd near the station we have been all this time getting her settled and we are all going to her Place Xmas day and to Tunstall Boxing Day as we do not feel up to having them all here this year. My son Eddy got married a fortnight ago but he lives in Ringwood. will be pleased to see you soon, loving Aunt and ??

Set of three grocery invoicesInvoices made out to Mrs Pullen. Hand written grocery items with prices. Invoices dated 1.6.1953, 10.6.1953, 26.5.1953

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Digital photographZania Palius in old Van Praet garden, demolished Xmas 1992

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Black and white photograph on front of postcard. Picture of motor van."on back of postcard" Time table etc. Refer to item 10024(b)