Black and white photograph - Grade 2A,1960"Attached to photograph" Back Row- L to R: Michael Craddock, Craig Austin, Gary McCubbin, Gavin Phillips, Craig Rawson, Gary Ladiges, Gary Davies, James Fuller, Gary Morgan,, Gary Chappell, Mark Dash, Stephen Lachlin. 2nd Row- L to R: Robyn Westhorpe, ?, ?, Debra Lawrence, Ann Downey, Lorraine Petts, Vicki Munro, Meg Flowers, Irene Pagram, Laurie Simpson, Linda Chegwidden. 3rd Row- L to R: Robin Hagar, Judy Stevens, Julie Cook, Anne Logan, ?, ?, Kay Langdon, Christine Schrum, Cheryl McLaughlin, Janet Quinn, Debbie silvie, Terry Bacon. Front Row- L to R: Malcolm Pearson, Chris Eastwood, John Grayling, Kevin Brown, Gary Jacobs, Michael Thwaites, David Grant. Teacher:

Black and white photograph - Grade 5A, 1963."Attached to photograph" Back Row- L to R: Russell Borke, John Snellders, Craig Austin, Barbara Donald, Janet Conlon, Diana Rankin, Debbie Lawrence, Russell Paine, Neil Ratray, Gavin Philips. 2nd Row- L to R: Tommy Colston, Greg Peters, Leslie Reed, Jeffrey Taylor, Gary McCubbin, Gary Davies, ?, John Moon, Barry McDonald, Malcolm Pearson, ?. 3rd Row- L to R: Stephen Gross, Neil Dawe, Jeffrey Fielding, David Kennely, Ian (?), Philip Bates, Jeffrey Ratten, David Kimberly, Robyn Hagar, Malcolm Williams. Front Row- L to R: Karen Williams, Debbie Monk, Elizabeth Clarke, Judy Parker, Linda (?), Jan Thompson, Sally Shaw, Cheryl O'Brien, Rosaland Wiggle, Julie Cook, Rhonda McLeod. On Ground: Michael Craddock, David Connell. Teacher:

Summary For over 250 years the Withers family of Birmingham worked as tailors, sometimes also as butchers. During the Georgian era, English society changed and the Withers family with it. First came a gentleman amateur artist in the form of Edward Weston Withers, grandfather of Walter Withers. Then Edwin Withers, Walter Withers' father, took to tobacco, rope and twine manufacturing which put an end to the traditions of butchery and tailoring.The origins of Walter's painterly ambitions are explored. There was a physical altercation between Walter and his father, Edwin. That fight emerged out of contradictory expectations between Walter's father, Edwin and his grandfather Edward. Those expectations and the societies which kindled them contributed to Walter's character and art. Up until now there has been no family history about Walter Herbert Withers (1854-1914) a notable Australian landscape artist of the Heidelberg school and friend to Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton and Clara Southern. Walter, the son of a rich Victorian businessman, married Fanny Flinn, the daughter of a commercial salesman who also owned part of a Birmingham brewery. In No Place Quite Like It, Walter, his wife Fanny and his family are depicted against the social contexts in which they each grew up. Our appreciation of Walter Withers' art is expanded: by knowing those forces which helped shape his early years and how he responded to them; by gaining new insights into his origins and how he grew into the man he was. We also gain a fresh appreciation of his wife Fanny, and the influence she had upon him, their children, and upon the society in which she lived. Includes 200 pages of text, Prefaces by Andrew Mackenzie OAM (art historian), and Eileen Mackley AM (President, Victorian Artists Society), Bibliography and an Index, extensive images, maps, charts and family trees, provide a visual porthole through which an insight might be had into the lives and times of Walter Withers and his family history.walter withers, fanny withers (nee flinn), family history

Black and white photograph - Grade 4A, 1962"Attached to photograph" Back Row- L to R: Russell Bourke, Robert Taylor, Malcolm Pearson, Russell Paine, Gavin Phillips, Neil Rattray, Gary Davies, ?, Barry McDonald, Craig Austin, Gary McCubbin, John Moon. 2nd Row- L to R: Julie Cook, Jan Thompson, Leslie Gray, Leanne Thorpe, Laurie Simpson,, Debbie Lawrence, Elizabeth Clarke, Roslyn wiggle, Diana Rankin, Wilemina Cook, Janet Conlon. 3rd Row- L to R: Tommy Colston, Stephen Cross, Jeffrey Ratten, Roslyn (?), Sally Shaw, Debbie Monk, Rhonda McLeod, Karen Williams, Ian Jones, Leslie Reed, David Connell. Front Row- L to R: Robin Hagar, Greg Peters, Malcolm Williams, Phillip Bates, David Kimberley, Michael Craddock, David Kennely, Neil Dawe, Jeffrey Fields. Teacher: Mr Delacca

Black and white photograph - Grade 6, 1964."Attached to photograph" Back Row- L to R: Meg Flowers, Barbara Donald, Rosemary Weaver, Anne Downey, Ross Anisbett, Carl Gibson, Janet Conlon, Wilhelmina Coenders, Elizabeth Clarke, Christine Schruhn. 2nd Row- L to R: John Tann, Ian Carrington, Gary McCubbin, Ian McCall, Russell Paine, Craig Austin, John Moon, Russell Bourke, Stephen Foster, David Kimberley, Gary Fowler. 3rd Row- L to R: Alan McLean, Leslie Read, Michael Thwaites, Harry Parker, Malcolm Kerr, Howard Archer, Grant Nichol, Ian Jones, Rodney Hason, Peter Ockinghaus. Front Row- L to R: Christine Smith, Kay Langford, Jennyn Flarherty, Linda Jusland, Karen Williamson, Janne Thompson, Janet Guinn, Annette Smeeton, Christine Radford, Diana Hack, Lynette Milne. On Ground: Alan Foley, Daryl Anderson, Chris McDonald, Mark Kulbeak, Peter Maher, David Grant. Absent: Alvina Crawford, Philip Stoker. Teacher: Mr Warriner.

Black and white photograph of weatherboard house surrounded by a picket fence. (2 copies- 1 large, 1 small). Typed notes detailing history of cottage.Typed notes contain the following: "Cottage and Lot 15, Sec.C, Township of Ringwood - comprising 1 acre - were acquired from the Crown by John Price on 17th July, 1888, for £30. Subsequently, a 4-roomed weatherboard cottage was built on Lot 15. On 21st May, 1901, the two allotments and the house were transferred to Lewis Findlay East for £85, and on 13th March, 1942, were sold to R. Barr and L. Beaumont for £650 with two additional rooms and some other improvements including reticulated water supply. Lewis Findlay EAST and his family occupied the cottage until 1910. It is believed that before the cottage was purchased by East, it was occupied for a period by McCubbin the artist. Lewis Findlay East was a member of an Australian Rifle Team which went to Bisley, England, in 1901, and won the Kalapore Cup. He was an officer of the Department of Customs, and later became Secretary of the Commonwealth Marine Branch, receiving the I.S.O. His son, Lewis Ronald East, became Chairman of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission in 1936, and received C.B.E.".

Image of a Charles Conder painting on front of soft covered book titled The Artists' Camps: Plein Air Painting In Melbourne 1885-1898. FOREWORD by Margaret Plant - Department of Visual Arts, Monash University. The paintings of the 'Heidelberg school" are the best loved group of works in Australian art. The affection is linked in the national mind with a recognition that the authentic Australian landscape had been discovered and colonial bonds broken. The painting activity of the 1880s and 1890s was by no means confined to Heidelberg. Helen Topliss painstakingly presents the variety of sites around Melbourne, in the bush and on the coast, reconstructing their original character and the history of their accessibility. The major figures are well known — Roberts, McCubbin, Streeton and Conder — but there were a number of 'minor' artists associated with the various painting spots that have been too long neglected. A research programme is here initiated in the hope that some of these figures might be more fully returned to us. The restoration of the sites provokes a more extensive roll-call of artists involved in the plein air phenomenon. Various expressions of nationalism in the late nineteenth century have been accorded attention: the painters contributed in varying degrees. But it is, finally, the quality of the painting, the freshness, the particularity of nuance, the calculated aesthetic angles that have governed response and inspired affection. The elegant relaxation themes of many of the paintings have in fact been overlooked in the intellectualization of the quest for 'national identity'. The orchards and the beaches, the ladies promenading a la mode on the beach at Mentone or in the grasses of Box Hill are as important to our artistic tradition and social history as the shearers of rams.

Image of a Tom Roberts painting on front of soft covered book titled The Artists' Camp at Box Hill - Eleanor Finlay, Marjorie MorganFOREWORD by William Dargie Kt., C.B.E., FRSA (London) FRAS (NSW) As one born between two worlds I find it difficult to identify wholly with either Australian art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries or the infinitely varied styles of today. At the beginning of the 1930s, when I first began to take any sort of interest in art, I had the natural feeling of youth that anything that had happened thirty to forty years ago was already far down the dark and backward abysm of time. As for today, all that one of my generation can do is to enjoy what is enjoyable and avert one's eyes and close one's ears against the rest. This is the time of life one realizes that distaste, as well as taste can be cultivated. Well, youth repeats itself in each generation and among the young there will always be .some determined and dedicated to the making of new images of the physical world. All artists throughout history have shared this common experience. All have remembered the suddenly-formed friendships, the sketching expeditions and camps, the first exhibitions, the formation of groups, the 'manifestos' - these last to return in later life all too often as embarrassments - but above all, the enthusiasm. 'Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive but to be young was very heaven'. Thus we can be time-travellers back one hundred and six years to that first plein-air camp set up by Roberts, McCubbin and Abrahams on part of David Houston's property at Box Hill. This was indeed the prelude to all that followed: Mentone and the meeting with the young Streeton painting on the rocks, and Heidelberg later.

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

Built by noted artist Theodore Penleigh Boyd, father of architect Robin Boyd. Covered under National Estate, National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Local Significance and Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p111 The Robins at Warrandyte,* was once home to a member of a famous family and is also one of the first reinforced concrete houses in Victoria. The builder, Theodore Penleigh Boyd, born in 1890, was a talented painter1 noted for his works of the Warrandyte bush. He was the father of architect Robin Boyd, author of the Australian Ugliness and the uncle of painter, Arthur Boyd. Penleigh Boyd’s great grandfather was Sir William A’Beckett, Victoria’s first Chief Justice. Penleigh Boyd is considered by some to be an ‘unsung hero’ overshadowed by more famous members of his family. Mornington Gallery Director Andrea May said many believed Boyd ‘had never received the national acclaim that he deserved’.2 Classified by the National Trust3 and part of the Australian National Heritage,4 The Robins is set well back near the end of Kangaroo Ground – Warrandyte Road, unobserved by passers-by. Built in 1913, The Robins has some Art Nouveau influences and is a descendant of the Queen Anne style. It is covered in stucco and has a prominent attic, which Boyd used as a studio. Some parts of the house are up to 33 centimetres thick and built in part with pisé (rammed earth) and in part with reinforced concrete. Amazingly, Boyd built The Robins without an accessible driveway, and only a narrow track along which he had to cart building materials. The journey was uphill and Boyd terraced the land with Warrandyte rock5 without the aid of machinery. At only 33 years, Boyd was killed in a car accident in 1923. He was buried in Brighton near the home of his parents. Several people have since owned the house, including political journalist, Owen Webster. Boyd was born at Penleigh House, Wiltshire, and studied at Haileybury College, Melbourne and The Hutchins School, Hobart. He attended the Melbourne National Gallery School and in his final year exhibited at the Victorian Artists’ Society. He arrived in London in 1911 and his painting Springtime was hung at the Royal Academy. He painted in several studios in England and then worked in Paris.6 There he met painter Phillips Fox through whom he met artists of the French modern school and also his wife-to-be, Edith Anderson, whom he married in Paris in 1912. After touring France and Italy, the couple returned to Melbourne. In 1913 Boyd held an exhibition and won second prize in the Federal Capital site competition, then the Wynne Prize for landscape in 1914. In 1915 Boyd joined the Australian Imperial Force, and became a sergeant in the Electrical and Mechanical Mining Company. However he was severely gassed at Ypres and invalided to England. In 1918 in London Boyd published Salvage, writing the text and illustrating it with 20 black-and-white ink-sketches of army scenes. Later that year he returned to Melbourne, and, despite suffering from the effects of gas, he held several successful one-man shows, quickly selling his water-colour and oil paintings. In his short career Penleigh Boyd was recognized as one of Australia’s finest landscape painters. He loved colour, having been influenced early by Turner and McCubbin. His works are in all Australian state galleries, the National Collection in Canberra as well as in regional galleries.7 His wife Edith was also an artist having studied at the Slade School, London, and in Paris with Phillips Fox. After her marriage she continued to paint and excelled in drawing. In later years she wrote several dramas, staged by repertory companies, and radio plays for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, in which she took part. She was the model for the beautiful red-haired woman in several of Phillips Fox’s paintings and the family hold three of his portraits of her. *Possibly named after the Aboriginal words warran, meaning ‘object’ and dyte, meaning ‘thrown at’.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-warrandyte road, north warrandyte, the robins

Warrandyte artist, Clara Southern, features on the Artists Trail. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p189 Since early in the 20th century this district has attracted artists and other creative people. So much so, that Eltham has been compared to the Left Bank in Paris, New York’s Greenwich Village and London’s Bloomsbury. That is until the 1970s when Eltham rapidly expanded into a suburb. However many artists still flourish not only in Montsalvat, Dunmoochin and the Bend of Islands but elsewhere in Nillumbik. Some artists who have worked or lived in Nillumbik are well-known nationally and internationally. Artists are attracted to the hilly district’s subtle colours, unique light and the Yarra River and Diamond Creek. The railway’s extension to Eltham in 1902 brought artists to paint for the day or to camp. Then many settled in Eltham, perhaps also because the poor quality land, far from the city, was cheap. Following World War Two they found they could build houses and studios cheaply by making their own mud-bricks. The flexible material, with its warm tones blending into the bush, also satisfied their aesthetic sensibilities. As early as 1900, Will Longstaff, known for his painting The Ghosts of Menin Gate at the National War Memorial in Canberra, lived at Stanhope in Peter Street, Eltham, later to become the home of intellectuals Clem and Nina Christensen. Members of Australia’s first significant art movement, the Heidelberg School of Artists, painted in Eltham, Warrandyte and Diamond Creek. Walter Withers lived at the corner of Bolton and Brougham Street, Eltham and taught Sir Hans Heysen, who for a short while stayed with the Withers family. In Warrandyte were Clara Southern, whom Frederick McCubbin taught at the National Gallery School and Penleigh Boyd, who is represented in all Australian state galleries and the National Collection in Canberra. May Vale, daughter of politician William, lived in Diamond Creek. With Jane Price they feature on the Heidelberg School Artists Trail, part of which runs through Nillumbik. The trail includes signs each displaying a reproduction of a painting by an artist and located near where the artist lived or painted. In Nillumbik the trail includes parts of Warrandyte, Eltham in the Alistair Knox Park, Main Road shopping precinct and Wingrove Park, the Research walking track on Main Road and the Diamond Creek Reserve. In 1916 artist William ‘Jock’ Frater lived at the corner of Arthur and Bible Streets, Eltham. Before then, Frater, with other artists including Percy Leason (who moved to Eltham in the mid 1920s) painted in Eltham on weekends. They camped near Bible and Pitt Streets and along the Diamond Creek where the Eltham Retirement Centre now stands.4 In 1921, painter Peter Newbury (father to painter David Newbury, who was born in Eltham) moved to Cromwell Street, Eltham. Max Meldrum, the first Australian painter to formulate a consistent theory of art largely based on tone,5 taught local artists Alan Martin, Clarice Beckett, Peter Glass and Justus Jörgensen. Meldrum visited Eltham then rented a house there for 18 months opposite Wingrove Park. In 1934, artist and architect Justus Jörgensen and his doctor wife Lil and friends built Montsalvat, the artists’ colony. Montsalvat has played an important part in attracting artists to Eltham and its mud-brick, pisé, stone and recycled building materials has had a major influence on Eltham’s built environment. Jörgensen’s students who also helped him build Monstalvat included Arthur Munday, Lesley Sinclair, Helen Lempriere, Joe Hannan, Helen, Sonia and jeweller/sculptor, Matcham Skipper. Among artists who visited Montsalvat were Clifton Pugh and Angry Penguins’ artists Albert Tucker and Arthur Boyd. Some who painted after World War Two were Alan Martin of Eltham and Warrandyte artists Frank Crozier and Harry De Hartog6, one of Melbourne’s first painters influenced by Cubism.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, clara southern, main road, research (vic), heidelberg school artists trail

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Three colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Two colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen

"Who would have thought that a boy born in 1889 from the Victorian Mallee would become a successful artist on New York’s Staten Island? This finely illustrated, exhaustively researched and beautifully written biography on Leason features the artist’s entire career as a painter and cartoonist renowned for his depictions of Australian society in the 1920s and 1930s. Leason’s story is a poignant one tracing his beginnings as a cartoonist, to the bohemian Melbourne art scene in the early 20th century, to his involvement in the artists’ camps of Eltham, to his important series of portraits of Lake Tyers Indigenous Australians, and his eventual move to the US where he has been acknowledged as making an enormous contribution to the New York arts scene. This story, as yet untold, fills a gap in the history of art in Australia and offers a new perspective on Australian art in the first half of the 20th century." - Thames and Hudson website A NEW HOME IN ELTHAM Once they had settled back into Melbourne, Perry and Belle began to look for a place to make a permanent home. Having enjoyed the bush setting of Mosman, they decided to explore the rural fringes of Melbourne. Each weekend they packed a picnic and travelled to the towns in the nearby hills - such as Ferntree Gully, Sassafras, Lilydale and, of course, Cockatoo Creek. Eventually deciding these places might be a little too far from The Herald office, they searched closer to the city. The Heidelberg and Box Hill regions that had inspired his old teacher McCubbin, had become busy, urban areas but further east, towards Warrandyte and Templestowe, there were still large tracts of bush. Finally they settled on Eltham, an area Percy knew very well, having often painted there with Jock Frater. Perry's old friend Dick McCann and his wife Margery had also settled in Eltham. The township was fifteen miles from Melbourne and serviced by an electric train that went to the central Melbourne station of Flinders Street, near where The Herald offices were located. Eltham was a small village in 1925, separated from Melbourne by the Yarra River, and surrounded by orchards and large tracts of bush. Small farms dotted the landscape and the main businesses revolved around ironmongers, blacksmiths, and farming supplies. Of particular appeal to artists was Eltham Park, a large expanse of bushland bounded by the Yarra River on the south side and the Diamond Creek on the east. The park included a playing field that was busy on weekends with cricket or football matches, but for the rest of the week it was mostly empty and an ideal place to paint. The scenery there provided the inspiration for many paintings by Leason, Meldrum and other artists such as Colin Colahan and Peter (A.E.) Newburv. The Leasons found a rundown old farmhouse on four-and-a-half acres of land in New Street, now known as Lavender Park Road. The site was splendid, at the top of a gentle slope which gave panoramic views east to the Dandenong hills, south over the Templestowe orchards and north to Kinglake. The front lawn was taken over by onion grass (or wiregrass as Leason called it) and scattered about the property were many wattles and gum trees. Aloe cacti covered much to the front of the house, while old quince and lucerne hedges separated the house and out-buildings from a rundown apple orchard. Here they would build a new home. ·with financial assistance from The Herald, Leason bought the property and immediately commissioned an architectural firm to design a new house in the popular bungalow style of the time. The old farm house was demolished but Percy saved the siding boards, bricks and corrugated iron for the outbuildings of his new home. The new house was a two storey, triple brick with a large, gabled, terracotta tiled roof. It was situated at the very top of the slope. The paint and varnish were barely dry when the family moved in during the summer of 1925-26 and the fumes were overpowering in the heat. Despite the house being wired for electricity, power poles had not yet reached the area and initially the family had to rely on kerosene lamps and candles. When electricity did arrive, Leason reflected on the community's reception of electricity at the expense of the old growth gum tree corridors in his cartoon, Electricity comes to Wiregrass. The family had now grown to seven. Jack was nearly nine, Jean was seven, Marjory was four, Nancy was two and the baby Patricia was seven months old. Jack and Jean were enrolled in the local primary school down the hill. A retired farmer, Jock McMillan, came to live on the property and help out with the general maintenance. Jock built himself a shack and Belle provided him with meals. He was kept occupied building structures around the property·, such as the garage, the outside toilet, garden beds, trellis arbours and a number of ponds. The elderly, bearded Scotsman with his old hat and baggy pants also provided the inspiration for one of the characters Leason regularly included in his cartoons. Like Leason, Jock smoked a straight stemmed pipe. A neighbour was employed to help Belle with domestic chores, and so the family settled down to live comfortably in their new Eltham house. Two dogs, Maginary and Wodger, completed the large and vibrant household. “Percy Leason; an artist’s life” by Margot Tasca, Thames & Hudson Australia Pty Ltd, Port Melbourne 2016, pp 63-64 Hardback Bookpercy leason, margot tasca, biography, artist, landscape

Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo Art Society. President: Hon. R H S Abbot, M.L.C., F.R.S.A. Eleventh Exhibition, in the Bendigo Art Gallery, View Street. October 10th to 31st, 1926. Hon. Treas.: C E Bulley. Catalogue Price 6d. The President, Officers, and Committee of the Bendigo Art Society express their pleasure in presenting the representative collection embodied in this Exhibition. Mr John Shirlow, the noted etcher has been good enough to get together a fine showing of works from eminent artists, who have kindly exhibited with a disire to help the Society and to encourage the local artists. The patronage and help of our citizens is earnestly solicited. Fee, for exhibiting or ordinary membership, only 5/- per annum. Should you care to join, the executive officers will only be too pleased to give any information and to receive subscriptions. Joint Hon. Secs.: J Hudspeth, V E Greenhalgh. Fine Art Section. Arists names: Elma Roach, Ida F Knox, H J Honeybone, Edith H Moore, M A Hope, Lady Barrett, G E Parker, D Hinchcliffe, Aileen R Dent, J Hudspeth, J Florence MacGregor, Madge Freeman, C E Bulley, Merle Bulley, Ethel f Crook, L M Sheridan, C G Dunlop, Ena Smith, William H oliver, E Phillips Fox, Ethel Carrick, H Septimus Power, David Davies, Norman Davies, Norman W Penrose, Margaret McCloud, Josephine Van Damme, M E Coverdale, Marion Jones,R W Bugg, L Rowe, Lucy C Newell, Claire Colgan, Charles G Stewart, Alice Newell, V E Greenhalgh, Violet Hambly. Display of Hand-Painted China: H W Tilley, M Jacobs, W McKie, A E Collier, Hilda Veale, Elma Curnow, Jean Cahill, Frank Vaughan. Collection of Australian Art: W D Knox, Esther Paterson, Dora L Wilson, A M E Bale, E F Hooton, John Rowell, Horah Gurdon, Louis McCubbin. Section A (Outdoor Study, any subject, any medium.) Members only: C G Duinlop, J Florence MacGregor, Merle Bulley, William H Oliver, Norman W Penrose. Section B Student's Section. Drawing or Design. Pupils of Schools: Stanley R Millott, Joyce Ranson, Ronald William Forbes, Dorothy Clemens, Lilian J White, Ruby A I Welch, Nancy R Hudspeth, J Honey Church, J G Graham, Ivo Steel. Section C Student's Section. Applied Art. Pupols of Art Schools: Florrie Spencer, Joyce Ranson, Ronald W Forbes, Dorothy Clemens, Lilian J White, Ruby A I Welch, Nancy R Hudspeth, Jean Honeychurch, Annie I Paterson, Isabel Blake, Beatrice Lee, Garnet Capper, Gwen Osborne, Dorothy Olds, Marjorie Crossman, Doris Shaw, Phyllis Paul, Amy Bolton. Section D Plant Form From Nature (Pulils of Schools in Bedigo Inspectorate), North Bendigo: Alan Styles, Ronald Wright, Agnes R Styles, Jean Woodman. Creek View S.S. Beryl Butcher, Grace Gerguson, Ruth Cheatley, Elmore S.S.: George Read, Hazel Farnsworth, Lorna Washington, Keith Gow, Jean Oliver, Robbie Dick. Wanalta S.S. Mary Brown, Dorothy Nelson, Isobel Roberts, Kenneth McKenzie, Frank Brown. Barnedown S.S.: Elsie Read, George Cahill, Maud Nicholas, Leonard Robbins, Benjamin Robbins. Gravel Hill S.S.: Gladys Bamford, Jean Wright, Jean Hosking, Nancy Honeychurch, Norman McLean, Norman Guy, Agnes Stilwell. Violet St S.S.: Alma Worth, G McConville, Harry Elliot. Various Schools: Wm. Hyslop, Ruby Robertson, Hilda Parkinson, Maud O'Connor, Archie L Walker, Hedley Leggo, Jan O Hoy, Edith Cheatley, John Tatchell, Jean Barell, Keith Ashcroft, John Mueller, J Howe, Eric Cohen, Alice Glover, Ivy Morphett, Allen V Horne, Yin On, R W Moon. 2 Copies of catalogue. Black print, 12 pages made up of 3 sheets of paper with 2 staples in centre.Boltons Print, Bendigoevent, exhibition, bendigo art society, bendigo art gallery, bendigo art society. president: hon. r h s abbot, m.l.c., f.r.s.a. eleventh exhibition, in the bendigo art gallery, view street. october 10th to 31st, 1926. hon. treas.: c e bulley. catalogue price 6d. the president, officers, and committee of the bendigo art society express their pleasure in presenting the representative collection embodied in this exhibition. mr john shirlow, the noted etcher has been good enough to ger together a fine showing of works from eminent artists, who have kindly exhibited with a disire to help the society and to encourage the local artists. the patronage and help of our citizens is earnestly solicited. fee, for exhibiting or ordinary membership, only 5/- per annum. should you care to join, the executive officers will only be too pleased to give any information and to receive subscriptions. joint hon. secs.: j hudspeth, v e greenhalgh. fine art section. arists names: elma roach, ida f knox, h j honeybone, edith h moore, m a hope, lady barrett, g e parker, d hinchcliffe, aileen r dent, j hudspeth, j florence macgregor, madge freeman, c e bulley, merle bulley, ethel f crook, l m sheridan, c g dunlop, ena smith, william h oliver, e phillips fox, ethel carrick, h septimus power, david davies, norman davies, norman w penrose, margaret mccloud, josephine van damme, m e coverdale, marion jones, r w bugg, l rowe, lucy c newell, claire colgan, charles g stewart, alice newell, v e greenhalgh, violet hambly. display of hand-painted china: h w tilley, m jacobs, w mckie, a e collier, hilda veale, elma curnow, jean cahill, frank vaughan. collection of australian art: w d knox, esther paterson, dora l wilson, a m e bale, e f hooton, john rowell, horah gurdon, louis mccubbin. section a (outdoor study, any subject, any medium.) members only: c g duinlop, j florence macgregor, merle bulley, william h oliver, norman w penrose. section b student's section. drawing or design. pupils of schools: stanley r millott, joyce ranson, ronald william forbes, dorothy clemens, lilian j white, ruby a i welch, nancy r hudspeth, j honey church, j g graham, ivo steel. section c student's section. applied art. pupols of art schools: florrie spencer, joyce ranson, ronald w forbes, dorothy clemens, lilian j white, ruby a i welch, nancy r hudspeth, jean honeychurch, annie i paterson, isabel blake, beatrice lee, garnet capper, gwen osborne, dorothy olds, marjorie crossman, doris shaw, phyllis paul, amy bolton. section d plant form from nature (pulils of schools in bedigo inspectorate), north bendigo: alan styles, ronald wright, agnes r styles, jean woodman. creek view s.s. beryl butcher, grace gerguson, ruth cheatley, elmore s.s.: george read, hazel farnsworth, lorna washington, keith gow, jean oliver, robbie dick. wanalta s.s. mary brown, dorothy nelson, isobel roberts, kenneth mckenzie, frank brown. barnedown s.s.: elsie read, george cahill, maud nicholas, leonard robbins, benjamin robbins. gravel hill s.s.: gladys bamford, jean wright, jean hosking, nancy honeychurch, norman mclean, norman guy, agnes stilwell. violet st s.s.: alma worth, g mcconville, harry elliot. various schools: wm. hyslop, ruby robertson, hilda parkinson, maud o'connor, archie l walker, hedley leggo, jan o hoy, edith cheatley, john tatchell, jean barell, keith ashcroft, john mueller, j howe, eric cohen, alice glover, ivy morphett, allen v horne, yin on, r w moon. 2 copies of catalogue. black print, 12 pages made up of 3 sheets of paper with 2 staples in centre.

Great Hall at Montsalvat built 1938-52, designed by Justus Jorgensen Covered under National Estate, National Trust of Australia (Victoria) State Significance, Victorian Heritage and Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p129 At first glance, Montsalvat, the artists’ community at Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham, could belong to another time and place. The French provincial Gothic-style buildings blend picturesquely with the introduced and native trees and farm animals on the five hectare property. But Montsalvat belongs very much to today’s Eltham, having inspired much of its creative activity and style. The use of mud-brick and recycled building materials, for which Eltham is so well-known, was largely popularised by Montsalvat. Montsalvat – unique in Victoria and probably in Australia – is registered by the National Trust and National Estate.1 Montsalvat, named after the castle of the Knights of the Holy Grail, has attracted artists and intellectuals since it was founded in 1934. For years at weekends, artists, lawyers, philosophers, politicians and others, who shared a love for what Montsalvat stood for, gathered for a meal and stimulating discussion. The focus for this gathering of talent was Justus Jörgensen, an eccentric man with vision and charisma. It was Jörgensen’s foresight that saw the creation of Montsalvat, which in 1975 was formed into a trust to benefit the Victorian people. The property was then valued at about three million dollars. It is now visited by thousands of people annually. Born in 1894 and brought up a Catholic, Jörgensen had trained as an architect. He later studied painting at the National Gallery School under artist, Frederick McCubbin, then joined the studio of artist Max Meldrum. In 1924, Jörgensen married medical student Lillian Smith, and with artist friends they travelled to Europe to study the great masters. In London Jörgensen exhibited in several major galleries. One of his still life paintings was included in the book The Art of Still Life by Herbert Furst, which featured 100 of the greatest ever still life paintings.2 In 1929, Jörgensen returned to Melbourne where Lil, now qualified, worked as an anaesthetist at St Vincent’s Hospital. They bought a small house in Brighton and Jörgensen rented a large building in Queen Street for his studio until the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria bought it in 1955. While designing and overseeing the building of a studio for his friend the famous cartoonist Percy Leason, in Lavender Park Road, Jörgensen decided to buy land for a country retreat in Eltham. So the building of Montsalvat began. Jörgensen gathered around a dozen of his friends and students from his Queen Street studio. They set to work, first at weekends then some decided to live permanently on the site. Jörgensen had seen mud-brick buildings in Spain and recognised that Eltham’s clay soil was ideal for mud-bricks and although labour intensive, it was a very cheap way of building. Jörgensen’s students and friends worked under his direction with the help of local tradesmen, including carpenter, Len Jarrold and later stone mason, Horrie Judd. In return Jörgensen would give the students a painting lesson or two. It was the Great Depression when many were out of work. Jörgensen also inspired people to give generously of money and materials. With their help Jörgensen found second-hand materials for building. Friends donated slate for roofing, discarded firebricks were used for flooring and windows and doors and a cast-iron circular staircase came from a wrecker. The students’ day started at 7am with building and domestic chores, shared equally between the sexes. The first building was used by his friends at weekends and then became a home for his wife Lil. It consisted of three rooms and an attic under a high-pitched roof. Jörgensen then built a similar structure with the same high-pitched roof as a more permanent home for his students. The two buildings were joined together with a tower and a studio for Jörgensen. While excavating for the studio a reef of yellow mud-stone was found and then used in construction. The next building was the Great Hall, to be used for dining, exhibitions and meetings and completed in 1958, after a halt during the war. Whelan the Wrecker donated the stone-framed windows from the building that housed the Victorian Insurance Co. in Collins Street, which had been demolished in the 1930s. The swimming pool was donated and cubicles were built for the students with their initials marked in tiles on each doorstep.1 One of Jörgensen’s great abilities was to recognise how to use material which harmonised. He would comb through wreckers’ yards for what he needed. Regarding his buildings as sculptural pieces, his first consideration was for the aesthetic quality of a building and only then for its functionality.2 At Montsalvat, Jörgensen found he was able to put his ideas into practice without compromise and those who worked with him had to conform to his ideas. With the Jörgensens, the colony’s original nucleus consisted of the Skipper family – Mervyn and wife Lena, daughters Helen and Sonia and son Matcham,who was to become an eminent jeweller and sculptor represented in National Gallery collections throughout Australia and in European museums.3 Other members were Arthur Munday, Lesley Sinclair, Helen Lempriere, Ian Robertson, John Smith, George Chalmers, John Busst and Sue Van der Kellan; also Jörgensen’s three sons – Max, Sebastian and Sigmund – and Saskia, Sonia Skipper and Arthur Munday’s daughter. Montsalvat went through some hard times when local gossips spread rumours of sexual shenanigans at Montsalvat. However Montsalvat also had many local supporters – especially amongst the local tradespeople. The colony was certainly unconventional – with Jörgensen’s wife Lil (and son Max) and life-time partner Helen Skipper, (mother of Sebastian and Sigmund) living at Montsalvat. Sonia Skipper says in her biography that the group were ‘very conscious of their responsibilities to each other and a desire to make their relationships work’.4 By World War Two many buildings around the Great Hall were completed. Jörgensen was a pacifist, as were most of his students. Some of the Montsalvat community enlisted while others engaged in essential services like dairy farming and market gardening for the war effort. It was then that Jörgensen constructed farm buildings. After the war many well-known personalities such as Clifton Pugh, landscape gardener Gordon Ford, and builder Alistair Knox, were drawn to Montsalvat. They learnt that building was not a ‘sacred cow’ only for professionals, but that anyone who was willing to get their hands dirty could do it. The post-war shortage of materials also encouraged builders to follow Montsalvat’s lead in reusing materials. When Jörgensen died in 1975, his influence did not – thanks largely to the vigilance of his son, Sigmund, who became its administrator. The weekend dinners have gone, but in 2008 about 14 artists still work at Montsalvat – some living there – including a couple who have been there since its early days. Under Sigmund’s direction Montsalvat further expanded its activities which included festivals, art exhibitions, concerts and weddings. Sigmund completed the Chapel, then the Long Gallery next to the pool, After the barn burnt down, he replaced it in 1999 (the builder was Hamish Knox, Alistair’s son) with a new gallery and entrance and added a restaurant. Sigmund has been careful that any new building blends in with the character of Montsalvat. In 2006 Montsalvat was restructured for its continued financial viability and with the help of Arts Victoria a new executive officer was appointed. A representative board from the wider community was established, which includes members from the former Montsalvat Trust including Sigmund Jörgensen – who is now the heritage and arts adviser to the new company Montsalvat Ltd.5 Today, visiting Montsalvat one still sees artists, students and visitors enjoying the unique and beautiful surroundings.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, great hall, montsalvat

Streetscape evolutionRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 6 stripsFuji 200Ahurstbridge, shops, heidelberg-kinglake road, parker road, coin laundry, ian mccubbin and associates solicitors, naomi's nook, take away food

Streetscape evolutionRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 6 stripsFuji 200Ahurstbridge, shops, heidelberg-kinglake road, parker road, coin laundry, ian mccubbin and associates solicitors, naomi's nook, take away food

Streetscape evolutionRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 6 stripsFuji 200Ahurstbridge, shops, heidelberg-kinglake road, parker road, coin laundry, ian mccubbin and associates solicitors, naomi's nook, take away food

In 1912 W.McCubbin was a member of the Learmonth ANA Branch No 75.Photo is part of original collection of photos showing all members of the Learmonth ANA Branch No75 in 1912.Black and white photo is of W.McCubbin. It is oval and set in a brown woodgrain look mount.Around the photo are decorative features painted in white with his name inscribed at the base.It is at the left of the bottom row in a collection of photos showing all members of the Learmonth ANA Branch No 75 in 1912.LEARMONTH ANA BRANCH NO 75,PRSENTED TO C. MEDWELL ESQ. BY HIS FELLOW MEMBERS AS A MARK OF ESTEEM & APPRECIATION OF VALUABLE SERVICES RENDERED TO THE BRANCH AS SECRETARY. LEARMONTH 1912.w mccubbin 1912, learmonth ana branch no75

The Ballarat Technical Art School opened in 1907 as a division of the Ballarat School of Mines.Ledger with brown and blue marbled paper cover and brown tape spine. Some names are listed under keywords.ballarat technical art school, h.w. malin, lilliam moyle, queens college, .doris walker, emily turnbull, viola jackson, c.w. sergeant, hilda wardell, hettie gilbert, alice benoit, ella morrow, d.g. johnston, p. brokenshire, edna tweedie, millicent white, dorisn walker, isla gray, mollie brophy, annie speak, c.v. clegg, agnes w. reid, nin z. woinarski, bessie yates, bessie landles, jean mcdonald, harold herbert, harold h. herbert, lizzie develin, florrie sides, fletcher j. crane, catherine ronald, gertrude owen, m.d. hamilton, clara v. clegg, leslie sim, ida barker, charlotte turner, florrie barnes, james n. boyce, leo coburn, carrie peters, mabel chapman, fred mcintyre, elsie rich, henry c. hart, g. bannerman, jack meadows, preston white, lyn hamilton, a. murray, lillian moyle, nina davies, maggie kittelty, m. snell, samuel mee, agnes carley, ida delina, katherine dillon, nellie mccubbin, lila lynch, e. owen, g. owen, d. owen, alice m. coltman, ruby bawden, elsie joy, ellen j. norton, herbert rich, g. medwell, maria loader, agnes gibb, quennie young, a.e. kennedy, o. geddes, ruby l. smith, roy proctor, elsie naples, w.b.g. mcdonald, cecil brittain, elsie fawcett, g. calvert, albert coates, catherine hogan, may vercoe, daisy saunders, dora furness, matilda johnson, gordon steele, c.w. sargeant, e. cornell, irene hewitt, wilie finn, clare clegg, jessie mccallum, c.f. white, e. kilsall, kate morris, ella garrett, winnie trompf, ellie mckissock, oswald gedded, doris walker, elsie tipping, rose smith, daisy lewellin, eliza frank, una e. fitts, may wasley, grace medwell, mollie laffey, a. duck, pearl sergent, e. penny, r. bieske, f. pattendon, e.g. bailymay booth, nelliw evans, gertie evans, e. baker, c. brittain, ralph leyland, e. tipping, mary sheehan, may chenery, j. bickart, e. perry, m. bessemeres, george richardson, f. mcintyre, h. fern, d. little, o. tolputt, arthur toop, p. lakeland, charles j. rawlings, jack hooly, thomas pattenden, elsie finch, ernest murfett, gordone steele, frank power, n.j. coote, william ewart, patrick ryan, david walker, john perry, vera lindsay, robert cooper, violet leadbeater, maggie skelton, clara mann, laura ritchie, james m. johnston, ida brown, ethel butcher, michael glenane, f.j. branigan, keith booth, henry elliot, reg cutter, stan westcott, frank king, lottie finch, ladies art association, pauline lakeland, cyril thermeyer, albert berryman, stanley lindsay, joseph bickart, alf berryman, leo hewitt, hilda tweedie, vera carroll, lionel davies, isabel kiel, alex dickens, henry elliott, mollie buley, meg moore, harrie fern, eileen conway, minnie buchanan, thomas price, edward stewart, joy lugg, olive grainger, m. heinz, d. gooch, p. moon, g. bailey, charles bray, daisy dickman, george calvert, florence sides, tom hannah, eileen blake, ethel benoit, ruby oaff, chrissie ware, harrie wilson, muriel cornel, phoebe wilkinson, fanny kay, john norcott, stewart o'loughlan, m. featherstone, f. tweedie, a. corbould, d. allanby, f. buchanan, l. cody, v. fisher, r. murphy, hilda jamieson, bessie eason, phyllis palmer, lila hall, vera hall, anie walton, ruby stevens, dorotthy davison, ethel hancock, anas ross, lizzie williams, lional davies, leslie page, frank page, lilian bell, may henry, doreen mclean, dorothy dobson, helen mcintosh, charles fraser, murial cornell, j.b. sutcliffe, dorothy dawson, emma mavin, agnes lumsden, virginia kerr, emily figgis, beryl craddock, winnie treloar, gladstone procter, f.w. procter, effie baker

Brochure written by Box Hill Historical Society and published by Box Hill City Council in 1987 on the 'Artists Park', Gardiners Creek, Box Hill.Brochure written by Box Hill Historical Society and published by Box Hill City Council in 1987box hill artist's camp, heidelberg school, city of box hill, box hill historical society, gardiners creek, roberts tom, mccubbin frederick, abrahams louis, streeton arthur, condor charles

non-fictionMarjorie Morgan states McCubbin and Roberts painted at least 51 paintings in Box Hill and Blackburn before establishing their Heidelberg Campmorgan marjorie, heidelberg school

Includes: cultural setting and context (part one)|Biographical notes (part two)|Index by art form Charts cultural heritage of Boroondara since Australia's Federation in 1901. Reviews and record the past cultural achievements of Boroondara's local people from 1880s to 1920s.Charts cultural heritage of Boroondara since Australia's Federation in 1901. Reviews and record the past cultural achievements of Boroondara's local people from 1880s to 1920s.boroondara history, artists - boroondara, cultural events and activities, events and activities, entertainers - boroondara, authors- boroondara, people associated with culture, palace theatre, zelman family, (mr) garnet walch, (mr) robert sparrow smythe, (ms) dorothy roxburgh, (mr) walter murdoch, (mr) percival (percy) lindsay, j. w lindt, (mr) john longstaff, (mr) george marshall-hall, montgomery family, (mr) max meldrum, (mr) frederick mccubbin

Although there was painting from the very early years of Australian settlement, for some time the artists experienced trouble with reproducing Australian conditions. It has taken an input of many artists from many places to form what has become "Australian Painting". A history compiled by SHHS member, Arthur Tonkin.Although there was painting from the very early years of Australian settlement, for some time the artists experienced trouble with reproducing Australian conditions. It has taken an input of many artists from many places to form what has become "Australian Painting". A history compiled by SHHS member, Arthur Tonkin.artists, (mr) theodore brooke hansen, (mr) thomas watling, j a horrocks, (mr) s t gill, (mr) conrad martens, (mr) sydney parkinson, (mr) john lewin, (mr) augustus earle, (mr) wilbraham frederick evelyn liardet, buxtons gallery, (mr) walter withers, (mr) giroloma ballatti nerli, (mr) joseph lycett, (mr) john glover, (mr) thomas bock, (mr) thomas wainwright, (mr) george french angus, (mr) william blandowski, (mr) gerard kreft, (mr) eugene von guerard, (mr) ludwig becker, (mr) william strutt, (mr) thomas clark, (mr) robert dowling, (mr) tom roberts, (mr) fred mccubbin, (mr) louis abrahams, (mr) charles condor, (mr) david davies, (mr) herbert daly, r e falls, (mr) douglas richardson

Ernest Robson received a Senior Technical Scholarship for his evening study in Stained Glass.Grey hard covered book with hand written names of scholarship recipients, their role and who they work for. The scholarships are: Senior Tech Day Course (50 pounds) Senior Tech Evening COurse (10 pounds) City Council Scholarships State School Departmental Scholarships Student Teacher Scholarships Junior Technical School Day Course Scholarships Junior Technical School Evening Course Scholarships Girls Preparatory Scholarships Exhibition Scholarships McRobertson Scholarship Ladies Art Scholarship ballarat school of mines, ballarat technical art school, gladstone proctor, edwin cannon, ted cannon, allan bernaldo, percy trompf, elsie mckissock, claudia mcilvena, ernest robson, stained glass, leslie gower, constance weeks, enrico campi, mary j. hopwood, victor greenhalgh, violet hambly, graham hopwood, jack colbourn, john colbourn, honor mccubbin, annie coates, ernest gower, john skilbeck, gladys tong way, gladys tongway, jean ronaldson, jack strange, jack kopke, kenneth campi, coral wakeling, sylvia copperwaite, edna grigg, b. pembathy, r.l. cutter, l. morshead, elmer somerville, amalie feild, hazwl gower, eric ainsworth, ethel kift, douglas cotton, annie hall, jean colburn, mary fogart, clare cummins, gladys dunstan, elizabeth van beek, melva gribble, nellie campi, rita tainsh, nellie nicholls, olga dulfer, edith curnow, elvie thege, jean roff, thelma coulter, thomas shattock, edwin robertson, elvie w. ford, robert graham, elvie ford, nancy bowe, jack colburn, nancy rowe, amy robson, margery woolcott