Contents: • A Currawong Takes Flight • September Meeting - Nillumbik Tales: Voices of our Elders • September Excursion - Research Aqueduct Walk • The Wackett Brothers by Jim Allen • Picnic at Wattle Glen by Richard Pinn • Murray's Land • ....and also • Contacts for the Eltham District Historical Society The Shire of Eltham Historical Society was formed in October 1967. The first newsletter of the Society was issued May 1978 and has been published continuously ever since on a bi-monthly basis. With the cessation of the Shire of Eltham in late 1994, the Society's name was revised to Eltham District Historical Society and this name first appeared with issue No. 103, July 1995. The collection of the Society's newsletters provides a valuable resource on the history of the Society's activities, office bearers and committee members, guest speakers and subjects of historical interest pertinent to the former Shire of Eltham and the Eltham District.A4 photocopied newsletter distributed to membersnewsletter, eltham district historical society, shire of eltham historical society

Passengers boarding the vintage steam train at Montmorency Train Station. Regular trips travelled from Montmorency to Hurstbridge and return as part of the Shire of Eltham centenary program. The train also stopped at Eltham, Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen stations on the afternoon of Sunday 18th April 1971. This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book, "Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital imagesepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, shire of eltham, shire of eltham centenary, centenary celebrations, montmorency railway station, steam train

Passengers hang out the windows of the vintage steam train as it travels along the Hurstbridge Railway Line. Regular trips travelled from Montmorency to Hurstbridge and return as part of the Shire of Eltham centenary program. The train also stopped at Eltham, Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen stations on the afternoon of Sunday 18th April 1971. This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book, "Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital imagesepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, shire of eltham, shire of eltham centenary, centenary celebrations, steam train

Premier Daniel Andrews flanked by Eltham state Labor MP Vicki Ward and Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan, last week announced Labor would duplicate 3km of track between Greensborough and Montmorency plus 1.5km between Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen. In this article local MPs Colin Brooks and Vicki Ward are shown standing on Greensborough Station.News article 1 page, black text and colour image .hurstbridge rail line, greensborough, montmorency, daniel andrews, vicki ward, colin brooks

Workers at Latoof Clothing Factory, Main Street, Greensborough, which later moved to Lambourn Road Watsonia. (Left to right) Unknown English Woman, Peggy Barnett, Audrey Blackbourn, [Back-Lady from Hurstbridge], Billy Hollibone from Wattle Glen. Photographs from the collection of Peter Blackbourn, a descendant of the Chapman Stock family. Annotations to photos by Peter Blackbourn.Digital copy of black and white photograph.peter blackbourn, audrey blackbourn, peggy barnett, latoof and callil, billy hollibone

The Shire of Diamond Valley was a Local Government Area located about 20 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The shire covered an area of 74.38 square kilometres and existed from 1964 until 1994. This example of a Boundary Sign was one of many located on the edge of the Shire e.g. at Wattle Glen Station; at Yan Yean Road north of Bannons Lane; 2 on Plenty Road near Larundel and Bundoora Primary School; one on the Para Road bridge; on Wattletree Road Eltham and on Kurrak Road Yarrambat. According to a former Shire employee, the signs were often stolen as quickly as they were replaced. This sign was removed when the Shire of Diamond Valley was dissolved in 1994 and is signed by a Shire employee, giving it strong provenance.Painted metal sign, cream background with green text and Shire of Diamond Valley crest.Inscribed in felt tip pen on back of sign: SDV: from Nov 1964 to 1994. 30 years. Ron Middleton, By-laws Officer and Ranger, from 9/84 to Nov 94 [signed] R. Middletonshire of diamond valley, boundary signs

October 2000 articles include: Safer roads for the Shire Eltham Festival program announced Commercial Place design released 2000-2003 Council Plan Released National Reconciliation Framework Living and Learning Centres More Playgrounds Susan St Pavilion completed Study to plan for BMX/skate track Wattle Glen Township Strategy Community Weed Control Program Count Koala Day Environment Centre proposed for Edendale Farm Open Space Strategy findings Neighbourhood Character Study and Residential Design Guidelines Friends groups Clean Drains – Living Creeks, National Water Week Nillumbik Shire Council Cultural Plan 2000-2005 adopted 2001 Alan Marshall Short Story Award Artists’ Open Studios program Kangaroo Ground Tower Advisory Committee Environment leaders at Eltham North primary Dollars saved by regular road maintenance Regional Road upgrades Rural roads grading program Stormwater Management Plan Locality boundary update council newsletters, nillumbik news, nillumbik shire council

Announcement by Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan and Member for Eltham, Vicki Ward mad alongside the Eltham Railway Trestle Bridge. MEDIA RELEASE "More Trains And Fewer Delays On The Hurstbridge Line" https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180801-More-Trains-And-Fewer-Delays-On-The-Hurstbridge-Line-1.pdf Commuters on the Hurstbridge line will have more trains, more seats and fewer delays with a re-elected Andrews Labor Government to continue its massive upgrade of the Hurstbridge line. The Andrews Labor Government said it would deliver locals in Melbourne’s north-east more peak hour train services and less time stuck at boom gates, and we have. The first stage of the Hurstbridge Line Upgrade has been delivered – six months early and on budget. This includes the new Rosanna Station, duplicated track between Heidelberg and Rosanna and the removal of the dangerous level crossings at Alphington and Rosanna. There’s more to do and only Labor will deliver the next stage of the Hurstbridge Line Upgrade to give local commuters more train services and a more comfortable commute. The $530 million project will include a brand new train station at Greensborough and the duplication of three kilometres of track between Greensborough and Montmorency, and 1.5 kilometres of track between Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen to allow more train services during the morning peak. This will allow trains to run every six and a half minutes at Greensborough, every 10 minutes at Eltham and Montmorency, and every 20 minutes at Hurstbridge, Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen – as well as two extra Hurstbridge express services. Locals on the Labor Government’s new Mernda line will also get five extra train services during the morning peak, with a major upgrade of the Clifton Hill junction where the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines connect. Labor will also protect the Eltham Trestle Bridge – the last remaining timber bridge on Melbourne’s electric train network – which has local heritage protection and is an important part of the area’s character. The Liberals will leave this bridge to rot and demolish the nearby childcare centre and football club with their under-cooked and under-costed promise to upgrade the Hurstbridge line. Only Labor will protect this important piece of Melbourne’s history with planning work to be carried out for a long-term solution as part of the project. Stage two of the Hurstbridge Line Upgrade will create more than 950 jobs, with construction to start in 2020 and finish by 2022. Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews “We said we’d upgrade the Hurstbridge line and remove dangerous and congested level crossings at Rosanna and Alphington and we did – but there’s more to do.” “Only Labor will deliver the next stage of the Hurstbridge Line Upgrade with a new Greensborough Station and more trains, more often.” Quote attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan “The former Liberal Government promised new train lines but didn’t deliver a single kilometre of track – now they’re promising a half-baked upgrade of the Hurstbridge line with rubbery figures that don’t add up.” Quote attributable to Member for Eltham Vicki Ward “As a fifteen year old hopping on Red Rattlers at Eltham I wanted to do something to make the Hurstbridge line better. It’s taken me a few decades but finally our line will offer the frequency of services that are expected and needed in a 21st century city.”Born digital image (qty 27)jacinta allan, minister for public transport, panther place, premier daniel andrews, press announcement, railway line construction, trestle bridge, vicki ward mp for eltham, victorian parliament

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095eltham, shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095eltham, shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095eltham, shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095eltham, shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David. It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour. Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Colour photograph1992, culture, edendale, edendale community farm, events

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David. It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour. Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Colour photograph1992, culture, edendale, edendale community farm, events

Built by William Ellis in 1865 of local uncut stone about 30cm thick, the cottage is now a museum and home to the Nillumbik Historical Society. Ellis Cottage is historically significant for its association with the Ellis family, who were pioneers of the Diamond Creek district and the benefactors of the notable Nillumbik Cemetery gateway. It illustrates the development of farming in the area. Ellis Cottage is historically and technically significant for its rare use of uncut local stone for building purposes. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. National Estate Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p79 Ellis Cottage, built by William Ellis, is a memorial to the courage of pioneers in the Diamond Valley area.1 Now a museum and home to the Nillumbik Historical Society, it is a fine example of an early settler’s house in Diamond Creek – and one of the few original buildings standing from the middle of the 19th century. It is a poor man’s cottage – typical of the dwellings of those who had to work hard to wrest a living in this district, because most of the land was not fertile enough for major forms of farming. The pretty stone cottage at 10 Nillumbik Square, built in 1865, is made of local uncut stone about one foot (30 cm) thick. It once stood near the centre of the 147 acres (59.4ha) Ellis bought in 1850. The property extended from Diamond Creek to Reynolds Road and from Perversi Avenue to the Wattle Glen School. It stood in the electoral parish of Nillumbik. The Nillumbik township (later called Diamond Creek) was not created until 1867. In 1912 the property was cut in half by the new railway to Hurstbridge. Ellis paid £147/10/- for the land - about three times what a Victorian farmer would usually earn in a year. Despite the poor quality soil Ellis became a very successful farmer with an orchard, vegetables and a dairy herd. Five years later, in 1855, Ellis bought 70 acres (28.3ha) from neighbour, Hugh Larimour. In 1857 Ellis bought 208 acres (84ha) at Yarra Glen. In 1877 he bought 122 acres (49.3ha) at Diamond Creek and later bought land at Greensborough and Woodstock. Ellis was born in 1815 at Blackawton, a small Devonshire village, and became a tenant farmer. It is not known why Ellis came out to Australia or settled in Diamond Creek. In 1847 he married Margaret Child at the Melbourne Presbyterian Church. Ellis and Child had no children and 18 years after the wedding, while probably living in Kangaroo Ground, Ellis built this small cottage. The simple cottage has a central hall and two rooms on each side. To maximise the small space the ceiling cavity was designed large enough to provide sleeping accommodation accessed via a ladder. Each room was heated by an open fireplace and the one in the kitchen was large enough to roast a sheep. A large cellar under the front room probably stored farm produce. Water came from a well as reticulated water did not arrive at Diamond Creek until 1914. In 1870 Ellis’ 22 year-old nephew Nathaniel joined him from England.2 Until 1890 they developed Ellis Park, praised in The Evelyn Observer, May 30,1890 as a model farm. Ellis had become wealthy, and on his death in 1896 his estate was valued at £9000. In his will he left £100 to construct memorial gates at the Nillumbik Cemetery where he was buried.3 Ellis left the farm to his second wife Louisa. As he had no children, upon her death the farm passed to Nathaniel, but he did not take it up. The farm was sold and leased several times until 1967, when engineer Phillip Lovitt bought the property and carried out major structural works. The Shire of Diamond Valley bought it in the 1980s and in 1989 restored it with the Nillumbik Historical Society. The stone walls of the cottage had been plastered with mud and straw mortar, which were removed as they were riddled with vermin. Doors, windows and a floor were replaced and the original roof of timber shingles had been replaced with slate. The well was too deeply cracked to be restored, so was used for a flower bed. Two mature Italian Cypresses at the entry are also heritage protected as they relate to similar trees planted at Shillinglaw Cottage and other early buildings in Nillumbik Shire.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, ellis cottage, diamond creek, nillumbik historical society, william ellis

Ferguson’s Paddock, Hurstbridge. A plaque on a boulder commemorates Peter Brock. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p167 On a rock in Ferguson’s Paddock, Hurstbridge, a plaque commemorates Peter Brock. It includes the words: ‘Boy from Hurstbridge without special privileges, grew to become champion of racetracks around the world but he never forgot his beginnings’. Brock came from a well-established local family. Born in Hurstbridge in 1945, he lived in Anzac Avenue as a child, attended the Hurstbridge Primary and Eltham High Schools and lived in the district most of his life. His father Geoff owned the Diamond Valley Speed Shop in Greensborough. Brock’s forbears were amongst the area’s earliest settlers. From Scotland, the Brocks arrived in Tasmania in 1830, to graze sheep. Family members moved to Sunbury, then Preston, grazing sheep in the Bundoora area. John Brock owned Janefield, possibly named after his wife. In 1855 he granted around two acres (0.8ha) of his estate for a school.1 In 1866 Lewis Brock bought 264 acres (107ha) in Nutfield, the first non-Aboriginal person to own that land. They planted an orchard, then from around 1935, Brock’s uncle Sandy and his grandfather Lewis, ran a dairy on the property. In the 1980s Brock and his then partner Bev, bought most of the property, which they sold after their separation in 2006.2 Brock’s father was a Hurstbridge Football Club President, but Brock’s uncle Sandy, of Brocks Road, Doreen, has been particularly active in local affairs. He was President of the Mernda Football Club (then Plenty Rovers), President of the Panton Hill Football League and he founded the Arthurs Creek and District Landcare Group. He also gave more than 50 years of service to the Whittlesea Agricultural Society, the Volunteers for Australian Football and the Doreen Rural Fire Brigade. Community service was important to Brock too. Brock, with his then partner Bev, established the Peter Brock Foundation in 1997, the year he retired from full-time V8 Supercar racing. The Foundation’s grants have included $100,000 towards the upgrade of a walking track in the Hurstbridge Parklands and other projects include a holiday house for the families of child cancer victims.3 Brother Lewis saw Brock as a spiritual person, who had a great affinity with people. He saw Brock as a role model of someone who could achieve their dreams. ‘The family didn’t have much money, yet that didn’t stop Peter realising his dreams. He was strong and didn’t let difficult times crush him.’4 Despite his later successes, Brock’s most treasured trophy was for running 100 yards (91.4m)at his primary school in 1955, and he appreciated his head master Ted Griffiths’ encouragement of his sporting endeavours. At high school Brock became captain of Everard House. In his first year he bought a 1928 Austin 7 for £5. He cut the car into a box shape with an axe and enjoyed driving it – despite it having no brakes - at his grandparents’ farm at Nutfield. The turning point in Brock’s life came at age 23, when he built an Austin A30 in an old henhouse in Wattle Glen, using a Holden engine. He was laughed at until it won the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1968. Brock’s career then took off and he became a professional driver. Brock won Australian motor sport’s best-known event, the Bathurst 1000, nine times. Brock endured a bitter split from Holden in 1986 over control of his Holden-backed vehicle modification business and a car performance-enhancing device he called the ‘energy polariser’– despite it having no scientific evidence to support its claims. But Brock returned to Holden in 1994.5 Then in 1997, aged 52, Brock retired from fulltime V8 Supercar racing. However he continued to race at motor sport events. Brock won several awards, including an Order of Australia Medal in 1980, the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, and the Centenary Medal.6 On September 8, 2006, Brock died; after his car hit a tree during the Targa West Rally in Western Australia.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, ferguson's paddock, hurstbridge, peter brock memorial, peter brock

Full page newspaper clipping featuring the March 1965 Victorian bushfires. Items include: Photograph - TWO-WOMAN BUCKET BRIGADE, Mrs Henry Marsden (left) and Mrs Moureen Ellis, whose fire-fighting efforts yesterday were highly praised today by their Eltham neighbours, carry out mopping-up operations Photograph - DOGS MADE HOMELESS by the fire in North Eltham yesterday are being cared for at First-Constable Doug. Mummery's kennels at Eltham and here is kennel maid Helen Oliver, 17, with some of them today. The two basset hounds are owned by Mr Bill Guy who lost about 100 daschund and basset hound puppies and dogs in the fire. Photograph - He died at Eltham [Picture of John Lawrence Coleman] Builder Mr John Lawrence Coleman, 31, of Main Rd., Eltham, one of three men burnt to death yesterday in the fire at North Eltham. The other two were XXXXX, 33 who lives opposite the Colemans and Mr William Elwers, 64 of Batman Rd., Eltham. John Lawrence Coleman (1934-1965) born January 10, was the son of Raymond John Coleman and Hanna May (Gillet) Coleman. He married Margaret Frances Dare in 1955 and was the father of two children. He died whilst attempting to rescue an older man trapped in the bushfire at North Eltham on March 3, 1965 Other news stories of the day:  Bushfires rage in Victoria, Snowy: Three dead (1965, March 4). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 1. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131758981 Includes two photos of the fire in North Eltham “Firemen make for safety as fire rages in Upper Glen Park Road, North Eltham, Victoria. The smoke hides a house.” and “A house explodes into flames at North Eltham, Victoria. Firemen said bottled gas went up.” Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Thursday 4 March 1965, page 1 ________________________________________ Firemen make for safety as fire rages in Upper Glen Park Road. North Eltham. Victoria. The smoke hides a house. A house explodes into flames at North Eltham. Victoria. Firemen said bottled gas went up. Bushfires rage in Victoria, Snowy: Three dead MELBOURNE, Wednesday.—Three people died today in a bush» fire which raged through North Eltham, about 15 miles from Melbourne. The victims were three men. A fourth man is feared to be dead. Another bushfire. sparked off by the heatwave sizzling over south-eastern Australia, is burning out of control in the Kosciusko State Park, in the Snowy Mountains. Firefighters fear that if it reaches pine forests up the Yarrangobilly River, they will be powerless to stop it. The three victims of the North Eltbam fire were trapped by flames in a valley. Their bodies were found only a few yards apart. They were named by police tonight as Mr. George Crowe, 78, of North Eltham, William John Ewers, 64, and John Laurence Coleman, 31, both of Eltham. The other two have not been identified. They are believed to be a man aged about 40 and an 18-year-old youth. At least 12 homes were destroyed by the fire, the worst in Victoria since 1962, when eight lives were lost and hundreds of homes burnt down at Warrandyte. At one time the township of Eltham was threatened, but a cool change swept in from the south and held back the wall of flames. More than 100 dogs, worth about £4,000, died when the fire raced through two kennels in Short Street, Eltham. and Upper Glen Park Road, North Eltham. A trickle of water Residents ran into the streets as the blaze raced towards their houses. Others frantically dug firebreaks around their homes. Mrs. Sue Recourt wept when firemen arrived while she was vainly trying to stop the flames with a trickle of water from the garden hose. A stack of firewood was blazing, but the firemen managed to save the house and rescue four goats. Many homes in Eltham were saved after flames had crept to within feet of their fences. Students at North Eltham State School had to be evacuated when the blaze threatened the building. Fire fighters were severely hampered by lack of water and narrow roads. The blaze, which began in above century heat, turned toward Wattle Glen, where two houses were gutted. Then the flames raced towards Hurstbridge to the north. Firemen battling desperately, controlled the fire late this afternoon. Five forest fires were still burning in Victoria tonight.   IN VICTORIA THIS WEEK Tragic lack of central fire authority (1965, March 9). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 2. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131759928 Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Tuesday 9 March 1965, page 2 ________________________________________ IN VICTORIA THIS WEEK Tragic lack of central fire authority From Rohan Rivett It was the worst week for Victorian fire fighters since Black Friday 27 years ago. On that day one pilot up in a spotter plane said afterwards: "It seemed at times that half the State was on fire." This time, for three days on end, Gippsland men, women and children had moments of conviction that their towns would have blackened into anonymity before the weekend was out. The week began with horror at Eltham on the North-eastern edge of Melbourne. Eltham today is something of an artists' colony. Oil painters, water colourists, potters and sculptors proliferate. A number of University folk have emulated the example of Professor MacMahon Ball who pioneered the way by moving to Eltham and carving a home out of the bush in the thirties. Innermost Eltham is barely 14 miles from the G.P.O. Farthest Eltham stretches miles beyond. It served to illustrate the tragi-ludicrous truncation of Victoria's fire control. Part of Eltham is under the protection of the Melbourne Fire Brigade. But this responsibility ceases at some invisible and incomprehensible line — apparently determined by the meanderings of the water mains. At this point everybody's property throughout the rest of Eltham is dependent on the Country Fire Authority. Half an hour before midday on Wednesday, a fire suddenly started on the West side of Upper Glen road on the edge of Eltham. Before the fire brigade could arrive, it was burning on a widening front through timber and high grass north of Eltham. Two wind changes in rapid succession saw the fire leaping Diamond Creek. With a freshening wind it struck home after home in three streets. More than one of them exploded suddenly as if hit by an incendiary bomb. There is no piped gas in the Eltham area, hence many housewives use bottle gas. The flames outside caused the bottles to explode. Altogether twelve homes were completely incinerated and four more were badly damaged. Thirty prize dogs perished. About three hours after the fire started it raced suddenly down a gully hillside trapping an elderly man. Two other men apparently raced to the rescue. Flames caught the three men within yards of each other, not 200 yards off the Upper Glen Park Road where safety lay. They were burned to death. Next evening an angry and convincing secretary of the Fire Brigade Union, Mr. W. M. Webber, came on television and appealed to the people of Victoria to end the ridiculous and dangerous dualism in fire-fighting control. The Eltham fire, he said, had precisely illustrated the situation. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade area touched Eltham, but where the fire had gutted and killed, was just outside its area. Mr. Webber said his union had constantly urged one authority for the State with a complete reorganisation of fire protection. On Wednesday the union had repeated its call for an inquiry into fire protection in Victoria to the Chief Secretary, Mr Rylah. "No matter how close the liaison between the two organisations, there are always divided sections of thinking," Mr. Webber told viewers. "I don't know how much tragedy the com-munity can take before it demands that it is properly protected." Rumours that differences in gauge between taps and hose nozzles (as between the two authorities) accentuated the damage were denied by fire chiefs who said that all appliances were now carrying adaptors so that hoses could be linked to mains everywhere. But there is grave concern in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade's higher councils at the action of several Federal authorities with projects in and around Melbourne. They are installing non-standard equipment without reference to the State authorities or any dovetailing of appliances and equipment. Public alarm was not diminished by the publication on Friday and Saturday of a heart tearing letter from the young widow of John Lawrence Coleman, 31 year old father of two, who had died in the flames apparently trying to rescue the old man trapped in the gully. By that time, a Vast area of Gippsland was in flames and the troops had been sent in to back up the overworked and often helpless fire-fighters. By Saturday, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Stoneham, who has previously demanded a Royal Commission into fire-fighting arrangements, repeated his demand. To add to the Chief Secretary's worries he was publicly rebuked for allegedly implying on television that lives had been lost at Eltham because people went to the wrong place at the wrong time. In a letter to the Press, Professor MacMahon Ball pointed out that two of the men involved were experienced bushmen who had gone "to help an old man in great danger fully aware of the danger to themselves". As Victoria faced its sixth day of total State-wide fire ban, it looked likely that even official resistance was not going to silence the demand for one central authority to control the fire fiend. At the moment, the 400 square miles where two million Victorians live in Greater Melbourne are divorced from the rest of the State in planning, communications, equipment and control of personnel. No one doubts the whole-hearted co-operation and willingness to back each other up of the M.F.B. and the C.F.A., both at top-level and among the firemen themselves. However, when a city straggles so deeply into the country side, the absence of a single authority, to oversee and analyse the fire threat as a whole, suggests suicidal policy of divide and fuel. Emphasis of the tragic loss of a member of a pioneering family who died whilst helping others in his communitybushfire, cfa, country fire authority, fire brigrade, glen park road, heroes, john lawrence coleman, north eltham, victorian bushfires - 1965, volunteers, william john elwers, fire fighter, frank martin, george john crowe, ken gaston, orchard avenue, doug mummery, helen oliver, mrs henry marsden, mrs moureen ellis

John Lawrence Coleman (1934-1965) born January 10, was the son of Raymond John Coleman and Hanna May (Gillet) Coleman. He married Margaret Frances Dare in 1955 and was the father of two children. He died whilst attempting to rescue an older man trapped in the bushfire at North Eltham on March 3, 1965 He died at Eltham (Herald, 4 March 1965, p3) [Picture of John Lawrence Coleman] Builder Mr John Lawrence Coleman, 31, of Main Rd., Eltham, one of three men burnt to death yesterday in the fire at North Eltham. The other two were XXXXX, 33 who lives opposite the Colemans and Mr William Elwers, 64 of Batman Rd., Eltham. * * * Frank Martin was a volunteer with the Eltham rural fire brigade at the time of the 1965 bushfires which burnt Eltham North and Research. Frank was asked to assist with the removal of three bodies from the back gully (now Orchard Avenue). They were badly burnt and one was found stuck under a fence as though trying to escape. Volunteers John Coleman Jnr, William Elwers and George Crowe were killed trying to protect Eltham from bushfire – they were local heroes. At the time, John Coleman Jnr was survived by his wife Margaret and two young children – John 11 and Vicky 2. Margaret Coleman lived in the family home until 1992 when she sold it and moved to Tasmania to be close to her son. She died in 1997 aged 65 years. 75 yr old Ken Gaston grew up on Edendale farm, which was originally a poultry farm but is now owned and run by the Shire of Nillumbik as an educational farm for schools and visitors. He was Captain of the Eltham rural fire brigade in 1965 when John Coleman Jnr was burnt to death in the Eltham North bushfires serving as an unofficial volunteer. He was able to draw where the original Wattletree Road was and at the time was verified with the location of some remaining bitumen and a post from the original bridge over the Diamond Creek located near the junction of the Diamond Creek and another small creek which is further down from Research or Christmas Creek as locals refer to it. The original Main Road ran behind Colemans before the railway line was built beyond Eltham in 1912. (Information recorded by Harry Gilham, President EDHS c.2011) * * * Bushfires rage in Victoria, Snowy: Three dead (1965, March 4). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 1. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131758981 Includes two photos of the fire in North Eltham “Firemen make for safety as fire rages in Upper Glen Park Road, North Eltham, Victoria. The smoke hides a house.” and “A house explodes into flames at North Eltham, Victoria. Firemen said bottled gas went up.” Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Thursday 4 March 1965, page 1 ________________________________________ Firemen make for safety as fire rages in Upper Glen Park Road. North Eltham. Victoria. The smoke hides a house. A house explodes into flames at North Eltham. Victoria. Firemen said bottled gas went up. Bushfires rage in Victoria, Snowy: Three dead MELBOURNE, Wednesday.—Three people died today in a bush» fire which raged through North Eltham, about 15 miles from Melbourne. The victims were three men. A fourth man is feared to be dead. Another bushfire. sparked off by the heatwave sizzling over south-eastern Australia, is burning out of control in the Kosciusko State Park, in the Snowy Mountains. Firefighters fear that if it reaches pine forests up the Yarrangobilly River, they will be powerless to stop it. The three victims of the North Eltbam fire were trapped by flames in a valley. Their bodies were found only a few yards apart. They were named by police tonight as Mr. George Crowe, 78, of North Eltham, William John Ewers, 64, and John Laurence Coleman, 31, both of Eltham. The other two have not been identified. They are believed to be a man aged about 40 and an 18-year-old youth. At least 12 homes were destroyed by the fire, the worst in Victoria since 1962, when eight lives were lost and hundreds of homes burnt down at Warrandyte. At one time the township of Eltham was threatened, but a cool change swept in from the south and held back the wall of flames. More than 100 dogs, worth about £4,000, died when the fire raced through two kennels in Short Street, Eltham. and Upper Glen Park Road, North Eltham. A trickle of water Residents ran into the streets as the blaze raced towards their houses. Others frantically dug firebreaks around their homes. Mrs. Sue Recourt wept when firemen arrived while she was vainly trying to stop the flames with a trickle of water from the garden hose. A stack of firewood was blazing, but the firemen managed to save the house and rescue four goats. Many homes in Eltham were saved after flames had crept to within feet of their fences. Students at North Eltham State School had to be evacuated when the blaze threatened the building. Fire fighters were severely hampered by lack of water and narrow roads. The blaze, which began in above century heat, turned toward Wattle Glen, where two houses were gutted. Then the flames raced towards Hurstbridge to the north. Firemen battling desperately, controlled the fire late this afternoon. Five forest fires were still burning in Victoria tonight.   IN VICTORIA THIS WEEK Tragic lack of central fire authority (1965, March 9). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 2. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131759928 Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Tuesday 9 March 1965, page 2 ________________________________________ IN VICTORIA THIS WEEK Tragic lack of central fire authority From Rohan Rivett It was the worst week for Victorian fire fighters since Black Friday 27 years ago. On that day one pilot up in a spotter plane said afterwards: "It seemed at times that half the State was on fire." This time, for three days on end, Gippsland men, women and children had moments of conviction that their towns would have blackened into anonymity before the weekend was out. The week began with horror at Eltham on the North-eastern edge of Melbourne. Eltham today is something of an artists' colony. Oil painters, water colourists, potters and sculptors proliferate. A number of University folk have emulated the example of Professor MacMahon Ball who pioneered the way by moving to Eltham and carving a home out of the bush in the thirties. Innermost Eltham is barely 14 miles from the G.P.O. Farthest Eltham stretches miles beyond. It served to illustrate the tragi-ludicrous truncation of Victoria's fire control. Part of Eltham is under the protection of the Melbourne Fire Brigade. But this responsibility ceases at some invisible and incomprehensible line — apparently determined by the meanderings of the water mains. At this point everybody's property throughout the rest of Eltham is dependent on the Country Fire Authority. Half an hour before midday on Wednesday, a fire suddenly started on the West side of Upper Glen road on the edge of Eltham. Before the fire brigade could arrive, it was burning on a widening front through timber and high grass north of Eltham. Two wind changes in rapid succession saw the fire leaping Diamond Creek. With a freshening wind it struck home after home in three streets. More than one of them exploded suddenly as if hit by an incendiary bomb. There is no piped gas in the Eltham area, hence many housewives use bottle gas. The flames outside caused the bottles to explode. Altogether twelve homes were completely incinerated and four more were badly damaged. Thirty prize dogs perished. About three hours after the fire started it raced suddenly down a gully hillside trapping an elderly man. Two other men apparently raced to the rescue. Flames caught the three men within yards of each other, not 200 yards off the Upper Glen Park Road where safety lay. They were burned to death. Next evening an angry and convincing secretary of the Fire Brigade Union, Mr. W. M. Webber, came on television and appealed to the people of Victoria to end the ridiculous and dangerous dualism in fire-fighting control. The Eltham fire, he said, had precisely illustrated the situation. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade area touched Eltham, but where the fire had gutted and killed, was just outside its area. Mr. Webber said his union had constantly urged one authority for the State with a complete reorganisation of fire protection. On Wednesday the union had repeated its call for an inquiry into fire protection in Victoria to the Chief Secretary, Mr Rylah. "No matter how close the liaison between the two organisations, there are always divided sections of thinking," Mr. Webber told viewers. "I don't know how much tragedy the com-munity can take before it demands that it is properly protected." Rumours that differences in gauge between taps and hose nozzles (as between the two authorities) accentuated the damage were denied by fire chiefs who said that all appliances were now carrying adaptors so that hoses could be linked to mains everywhere. But there is grave concern in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade's higher councils at the action of several Federal authorities with projects in and around Melbourne. They are installing non-standard equipment without reference to the State authorities or any dovetailing of appliances and equipment. Public alarm was not diminished by the publication on Friday and Saturday of a heart tearing letter from the young widow of John Lawrence Coleman, 31 year old father of two, who had died in the flames apparently trying to rescue the old man trapped in the gully. By that time, a Vast area of Gippsland was in flames and the troops had been sent in to back up the overworked and often helpless fire-fighters. By Saturday, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Stoneham, who has previously demanded a Royal Commission into fire-fighting arrangements, repeated his demand. To add to the Chief Secretary's worries he was publicly rebuked for allegedly implying on television that lives had been lost at Eltham because people went to the wrong place at the wrong time. In a letter to the Press, Professor MacMahon Ball pointed out that two of the men involved were experienced bushmen who had gone "to help an old man in great danger fully aware of the danger to themselves". As Victoria faced its sixth day of total State-wide fire ban, it looked likely that even official resistance was not going to silence the demand for one central authority to control the fire fiend. At the moment, the 400 square miles where two million Victorians live in Greater Melbourne are divorced from the rest of the State in planning, communications, equipment and control of personnel. No one doubts the whole-hearted co-operation and willingness to back each other up of the M.F.B. and the C.F.A., both at top-level and among the firemen themselves. However, when a city straggles so deeply into the country side, the absence of a single authority, to oversee and analyse the fire threat as a whole, suggests suicidal policy of divide and fuel. Emphasis of the tragic loss of a member of a pioneering family who died whilst helping others in his communitybushfire, cfa, country fire authority, fire brigrade, glen park road, heroes, john lawrence coleman, north eltham, victorian bushfires - 1965, volunteers, william john elwers, fire fighter, frank martin, george john crowe, ken gaston, orchard avenue

1/A photocopy of a typed document of notes, source and date unknown, describing a brief history of the former Methodist Church in Grange Road, GlenHuntly. 2/Two colour photographs dated November 1980 of the front and side view of the church, and two undated photographs of the foundation stones, laid 1922 for the church and 1932 for the brick hall. 3/Also a newspaper article by Andrew Molloy dated 25/02/1990 discussing development options for potential buyers, source unknown.glen huntly, smith a. w. f. mr, foundation stones, grange road, molloy andrew, land sales, glen huntly road, methodist church, auctions, wattle ave., uniting church, churches, king f. l mr., presbyterian church of eastern australia, monuments and memorials, temples, religious ceremonies, chinese community, real estate agents, commercial development, residential development, child care, glen huntly post office, official buildings, weatherboard buildings, clergy, church residences, meeting rooms

Murray's Bridge over the Diamond Creek on the Diamond Creek Trail just prior to demolition and replacement with a new steel bridge. Heritage advice obtained by Nillumbik Shire Council, following a suggestion by the Eltham District Historical Society (EDHS), is that the original bridge appears to have been a simplified version of the Country Roads Board’s (CRB) standard timber bridge design of the early-to-mid 1920s. In c1990 Murray’s bridge was renovated with three recycled steel girders as part of a bike/pedestrian path in the reserve. During these alterations many parts of the bridge were removed, and some were replaced. Heritage advice indicates the condition of Murray’s bridge is poor. The remaining original parts are all in poor condition, with severe weathering, splitting and rot, especially to the stringers retained on the bridge. Heritage advice is that Murray’s Bridge does not have sufficient significance in the cultural history of the Nillumbik area to warrant inclusion in the Nillumbik Shire Heritage Overlay and also does not have sufficient significance as a rare survivor to warrant inclusion in the Nillumbik Shire Heritage Overlay. There are no indications in the historical record that this site was individually important to the cultural history of this area. EDHS is comfortable with the heritage advice provided to Council and has worked closely on this project with Council. EDHS has suggested some of the removed timbers be used in the vicinity of the bridge for landscaping and possibly seating, so as to retain these remnants close to the site of the original bridge, which is the last old timber bridge along the lower reaches of the Diamond Creek. Mary (Sweeney) Murray and John Wright Murray selected 80 acres, Lot C Section 16 and Lot 5 Section 17 Parish of Nillumbik, under an occupation license in 1866. John died in 1867 and freehold was granted to his son John in 1873. The farm was known as ‘Laurel Hill’. John Junior was an Eltham Shire councillor and sometime president from 1887 up until 1897. He added Lot A Section 16 to the farm in ca1888. John and his younger brother James arranged to rent/purchase Lot B Section 17, across Diamond Creek to the west, in ca1900. It appears that John and James farmed separately for a few years, with a new homestead built for James ad family on the high point of Lot B Section 17 in ca1910. John sold off Lot 5 Section 17 in 1912. When John died in 1912 James took over the land on both sides of the Diamond Creek. The old homestead on the west side of the Creek disappeared. A farm bridge over Diamond Creek from this period may have been located close to the northern boundary of the farm. John Langlands, owner of the farm known as ‘Ihurst’ on the west side of Diamond Creek to the south of the Murray’s land, died in 1907. In 1909 his land was then subdivided into 100 lots to become the ‘Glen Park Estate’. Other similar subdivisions of nineteenth century farms around Eltham in this period included the ‘Franktonia (or Beard’s) Estate’ to the northeast and ‘Bonsack’s Estate’ between Eltham and Greensborough. Soon after the opening of the railway extension line from Eltham to Hurstbridge in 1912, Glen Park and nearby residents including James Murray agitated for a railway station or siding to be located half-way between Eltham and Hurstbridge, so that the Glen Park residents who used the railway daily did not have to walk into the Eltham or Hurstbridge stations. Some believed Coleman’s Corner (opposite Edendale Farm) was an appropriate spot for the platform. James Murray was among those who thought the railway should be located on his land, closer to half-way between Eltham and Hurstbridge stations. The Railways Commissioners warned that the locals would have to fund these works themselves. The Glen Park Estate residents initially had difficulty accessing Eltham by road, with only an old low-level bridge over Diamond Creek at the south end of their estate. A new timber trestle bridge across the creek, now on Wattletree Road, was opened in 1915. Road access to the north was gained in 1927 when the new Murray’s Road, which crossed the Murray’s land, was built. Residents continued to agitate for a Glen Park station. By 1926 the Railways Commissioners’ preferred site was on the Murray’s land. They arranged an estimate of cost of a full-length platform. The estimate was too much for the locals, who in 1928 argued unsuccessfully for a shorter and hence cheaper platform. By 1929 Murray had agreed to donate the land, but the locals would still have to fund the works. Murray decided, unilaterally it would appear, to commence work on a timber trestle road bridge over Diamond Creek to link the new Murray Road to the proposed station. Late in 1929 he stopped work on the bridge, for reasons unknown, but started work again and completed the bridge in 1931. There is no further newspaper evidence of the campaign for the Glen Park station until 1939, when Murray and another local, Mr Maxwell, met the Railways Commissioner. The Glen Park locale now included 45 homes on the west side of the creek and 20 on the Eltham side. Most of the residents used the train every day. The Commissioner remained adamant that only a full-length platform could be built for safety reasons. It appears the campaign dissolved at this point. The increasing move to cars may have had an impact. There is no evidence of Murray’s bridge ever being connected to Murray’s Road, or of it having wide use for any purpose by locals. James Murray died in 1947 and the farm was taken over by his son James (Jim). Jim started to sell off parts of the farm in the 1980s, retaining a few acres around the ca1910 homestead and building a new house there. Recreation reserves were established along the creek. In ca1990 Murray’s bridge was renovated with steel girders as part of a bike/pedestrian path in the reserve. The old farmhouse was demolished in ca2014. * * * A theory posted on local community Facebook groups was that the bridge was built in the 1860s and was built to be more robust than was necessary for the movement of cows from one side of the creek to the other. It was suggested the robustness was necessary to support the weight of gold ore being transferred from a mine on Murray’s land to a railway siding near Murrays Bridge (presumably for transfer and processing at Diamond Creek). Perhaps this may have been one of the motivators for Murray, who really knows? Knowing when mining operations ceased on his land and how that fits the overall timeline would be useful but at the time the bridge was built, local gold production was minimal at best. The known facts are: • The railway line came to Eltham in 1902. • The extension of the railway from Eltham to Hurstbridge was constructed in 1912 so no railway line even existed through Murray's property until 1912 and the Victorian Railways maps at the time show no such siding on Murray’s property. • In 1923 a new company was formed in anticipation of the old Diamond Creek Gold Mine being re-opened. The mine had been previously closed and flooded. It was noted in the press at the time that the mine was within a mile of the railway. Nothing really came of this. • Construction of Murrays Bridge was commenced by James Murray in early 1929 in anticipation of a proposed flag station being nominated on his land, but work ceased shortly afterwards. The proposed flag station was commonly referred to as Glen Park as the residents of the Glen Park Estate wanted Option 1, located near them with the platform adjacent to Colemans corner. This was probably never going to fly as it was virtually in eyesight of Eltham station. Allandale Road was the third option, but the Commissioners' preferred option was No. 2 - on Murray's property. • The Railway Commissioners were not going to finance any such station and the works had to be funded by private landowners and residents, hence Murray investing in this himself. • Murray recommenced work two years later and finished his bridge in 1931 but unfortunately for him, the proposed flag station never eventuated. The bluestone siding you reference may well have been built by Murray as part of the proposed station platform. • Up until then, apart from the Main Road bridge, which was washed away in 1924, virtually all local crossings over the Diamond Creek were low lying bridges – Kaylocks Bridge at Brougham Street, Diamond Street bridge, Glen Park Road bridge. It is expected that Murray also had a low-lying bridge to connect his land either side of the creek. These were all washed away or severely damaged multiple times in the 1920s. Lessons were learnt, and Murrays Bridge appears to have been built in accordance with Country Road Board standards of the time. Flood damage was ongoing, and even more recently constructed raised bridges kept getting washed away, e.g., the new Wattle Tree Road bridge in 1958 just months after completion. Murray’s bridge was reinforced with steel some 30 years ago presumably to provide additional floodwater resistance, given the history of bridges disappearing in floodwaters. • In March 1932 it was reported in the Advertiser that there were still some prospectors operating around Eltham North who apart from further scarring the face of the earth over the previous two years had gained significant experience but little gold - hardly a driving factor for constructing a dedicated railway siding and bridge to transfer gold ore. It is far more probable that James Murray was hoping to have the railway station located on his property and invested his money by building the bridge to lead to it as well as a station platform. Had the station eventuated, it may well have driven up the value of his land for subdivision and new housing estates like the Glen Park Estate. That did not eventuate. Whilst the bridge was indeed old (90 years), the core structure being completed in 1931, it had been modified substantially from original and hence had no significant historic value – i.e., it was not a representative example of its type, construction, and age. Given that the bridge was not worthy of saving, the Eltham District Historical Society with Council’s support, and the Eltham Woodworkers group endeavoured to see what suitable sized timbers were salvageable to fabricate a commemorative seat. Unfortunately, the experts at the Woodworkers group were unable to salvage any suitable length/width timbers to fabricate the seat due to the presence of rot. Last remaining wooden trestle bridge on the Diamond Creek Trail just prior to demolition and replacementBorn digital image (27)diamond creek (creek), diamond creek trail, murrays bridge, ‘laurel hill’, john wright murray, mary (sweeney) murra, john murray jnr, james murray, john langlands, ‘ihurst’, ‘glen park estate’, beard's estate, franktonia, bonsack's estate, glen park estate, glen park railway station

24 photographs relating to Carnegie plus 1 slide: 1/Two photographs, one of Koornang Road c.1920’s and one of flower shop rear of library, date unknown. 2/One photograph of Carnegie Post Office c. undated. 3/Two photographs Koornang Road, Carnegie and phone boxes, Carnegie, dated 1914. 4/Two photographs (the same) of an RSL Ball dated 15/08/1937. 5/17 black and white negative photos – reprinted, date unknown, of Carnegie Library, shop front opening Koornang Road. 6/Slide showing Koornang Road, Carnegie looking South. 7/6 photocopied postcards from Valentines Real Photo Series, in album owned by Mrs. Zoe Mason, collected and returned to Pam Speedy (daughter) 12 Wattle Grove, East Malvern, 15/03/1999. Photocopied pages from 1923 Sands and McDougalls included with some prints to give an idea of architecture and other retail trade. 8/Two photocopied prints of Carnegie Flood. 1946 – Koornang Road, shows shopkeepers in street at that time. 9/Two photographs of brick wall advertising the "Argus" newpaper, which closed in 1957. Photos taken in 2011 when building was exposed prior to rebuilding on site.koornang road, rosstown road, carnegie, shepparson street, carnegie library, carnegie post office, mcallister b., glen huntly, glenhuntly, phone boxes, memorial hall, bamfield m., tranmere avenue, carnegie railway station, stations, libraries, post offices, memorial hall carnegie, progress hall, carnegie community singing, social clubs, chadstone progress, newspapers, temminghoff robert, carnegie chamber of commerce, caulfield city council, rob’s chocolate box, rosstown, ross william murray, rosstown railway, elsternwick, oakleigh, city of caulfield, glen huntly road, glenhuntly road, grange road, carnegie primary school, primary schools, murrumbeena, neerim road, dandenong road, koornang park, lord reserve, rosanna street reserve, packer oval reserve, caulfield swim centre, holywood grove, mile end road, mcpherson avenue, munster avenue, rosstown hotel, leila road, methodist church, toolambool street, carnegie theatre, carnegie estate agency – sims and broadbent, woorayl street, estate agents, cowie j. mrs., confectioner, woodhouse e., stationer, mckay jno. a., mckay jonathon, small goods, perry w. b., chemists, kinsman e. h., newsagents, jones a. w., mckee wm., furniture stores, neil geo. m., grocer, truganini road, brick

This file contains 10 items about the history of Glen Huntly: 1/6 photocopied pages from ‘The History of St Kilda’ which relates to the place name Glen Huntly, and the Quarantine graves, date unknown. 2/2 photocopied pages from the ‘Sun Pictorial’ dated 13/4/1928 and 12/4/1928; relating to the state of the graves at Point Ormond and their re-internment to St Kilda Cemetery. 3/1 pen and ink sketch of graves at Point Ormond from the State Library Victoria. 4/3 pages taken from a website on the re-internment of graves and some social history as to the reason that the new emigrants were coming to Australia. The Article also has 7 photographs. 5/2 newspaper articles on the ‘Glen Huntly’ descendants forthcoming reunion being held on 21&22/4/1990. 6/1 article reprinted from newsletter no. 22 October 1983 on the barque ‘Glen Huntly’. Also details of passengers who died and the burial of 3 at Point Ormond. 7/1 handwritten document (unattributed) taken from ‘Migrant ships for South Australia 1836-1850’ by Ronald Parsons. 8/1 pamphlet commemorating the 150th anniversary of the ‘Glen Huntly’ arriving in Melbourne. It gives information about the ship, passengers, memorial in St Kilda Cemetery and upcoming descendants’ reunion. 9/1 program of commemoration events 21&22/4/1990. 10/1 piece of art work for a ‘Welcome to Glen Huntly’ sign, featuring a ship. Undated, unattributed and source unknown.‘glen huntly’, buchanan captain, fever ship, emigrants, cummins ann, st kilda cemetery, bowman mrs, caulfield, craig john, cameron miss, mcgonagle mrs, elsternwick, armstrong george, mathers james, the glen huntly pioneers memorial, jones alfred ramsey, st david’s uniting church (grange road), glen huntly, glen huntly road, lake street, glen huntly state school, glen huntly presbyterian church, south caulfield, mernda avenue, garden avenue, grange road, jenkin (boss) william, wattle avenue, chinese joss-house, smith a.w, glen huntly post office, foundation stones, king f.l, methodist church, trinity congregational church, greek orthodox church, salvation army temple, wanalta road, st anthony’s roman catholic church, st agnes’ anglican church, booran road, st david’s uniting church, el nido grove, manses, royal avenue, munster avenue, james street, rothschild street, neerim road, organs, peace memorial organ, railways, marara road, curraweena road, booran road, bambra road, rosstown railway, murray-ross william, leila road, murray-ross leila, ‘the grange’, north road, wild cherry road, ‘rosstown’, picture theatres, manchester grove, aerodrome, lord reserve, neville street, lyons street, morgan street, rosedale avenue, rifle clubs, glen huntly infant welfare centre, watson grove, rowlands drapery, drapers, bones plant nursery, nurseries, elsternwick railway station, railway stations, kooyong road, glen eira road, truganini road, rosstown sugar works, ross murray, street names, typhoid, diseases, death and dying