Cam from Parks Victoria demonstrating how the Wurundjeri would have climbed the 'toe hold' tree Heriitage Excursion - Kileavey Walk and TalkBorn Digitalactivities, eltham district historical society, heritage excursion, kileavey, parks victoria, laughing waters road, eltham, wurundjeri

In 1860 the Wurundjeri Elder, Wonga, petitioned the Victorian Parliament for a piece of land in his people’s own country where he could establish a settlement. The land later named Coranderrk was granted. When Wonga died in 1875 his nephew William Barak, known by settlers as ‘King William, last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe’, became the leader, the Ngurungaeta. William Barak believed strongly in justice for his people, and time and again made the arduous walk to Melbourne to petition to Parliament and to Queen Victoria for his people. ‘Freedom for our lifetime’, he said. The community at Coranderrk welcomed Aboriginal people displaced from other parts of Victoria; they established an economically self-sufficient settlement by growing and marketing hops. Barak negotiated with the Victorian Government officials as they made promises and broke promises. They finally promised to export the whole of a hop harvest of one year. The people worked around the clock to fill the contract; the Government pocketed the proceeds. The community never recovered. Barak died in 1903— a broken-hearted man. (from http://www.sosj.org.au/_uploads/_cknw/files/Corenderrk.pdf) Artist William Barak is buried in this cemetery.Photographs of graves in grass and bushland. It is the Corenderrk Cemetery, and is associated with the former Corenderrk Aboriginal Reserve.corenderrk, wurundjeri, barak, aborigines, aboriginal, cemetery, grave, barak, jemima dunolly

Photo taken as part of an EDHS Heritage Excursion - Saturday 1st July - Eltham Lower Park - Walk and Talk. "Eltham Lower Park has played an important part in the history of our area since the early days of European settlement when it was used by local residents as an informal racecourse. Prior to that its location at the junction of the Diamond Creek and the Yarra River made it an important meeting place for the Wurundjeri people. The park combines formal elements and sporting facilities with remnant bushland that is of environmental significance. It is home to sporting and horse riding clubs, popular play spaces and the Diamond Valley Miniature Railway, which attracts large numbers of visitors.The park will be the venue for our July excursion which will comprise a walk of about 3.5 km around the park and adjacent areas. Along the way we will discuss the history and natural history of the area. The path along the creek and the river provides a pleasant and scenic walk.This walk on Saturday 1st July is about 3.5 km in length and will take 2 to 2.5 hours. It will start at 2pm at the Main Road car park at the front of the park. (Melway ref 21 H 10)". Newsletter No., 234, June 2017 Born Digitalheritage excursion, activities, eltham district historical society, eltham lower park, sign, hohnes road playhouse

A habitat corridor and it strengthens the community. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p185 Barak Bushlands lie west of the Diamond Creek on the corner of Falkiner Street and busy, noisy Main Road. They form part of an important habitat corridor linking the Yarra River to the Kinglake National Park.1 Manna Gums, tawny frogmouths and platypuses are some of the indigenous plants and animals that have made their home there. The bushlands are the result of more than nine years of hard work by the local community with the Nillumbik Council, to transform a degraded flood plain into this refuge of natural beauty. In 1997, shortly after moving into the new Riverside Estate on Falkiner Street, Eltham, several residents noticed the sorry state of the Diamond Creek and surrounding area. Part of it was used as a cow paddock and although small patches of vegetation survived, the area was infested with weeds, rabbits, rubbish and drainage from the housing estate. At various times the 4.4 hectares had been used as a market garden and for shire stock piles. The residents began to restore the area by revegetating land along the Diamond Creek. In 1998 they established the Friends of the Diamond Creek Falkiner Street Reserve2 and 35 families joined from the 90-house Estate. Carolyn Mellor, as the Friends’ Land Manager, undertook a four-year horticulture course to guide this massive project for a volunteer organisation. Since 1999, she has been the Friends’ President. In 1999 the Friends urged the Nillumbik Council to undertake a feasibility study into establishing a wetland system and urban forest. Work began in 2002 with Nillumbik Council funding the project, supplemented by government grants. The Friends also received grants from Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria. Aided by the Friends and other community members, the Council created the Barak Bushlands consisting of a forest, a wetland, a bridge, a path and open space. The beautiful wetland treats most of the estate’s stormwater runoff. Storm water is filtered through plants in the wetland ponds then is released slowly into the billabong, before flowing into the Diamond Creek. The wetland also helps to minimise flooding and the improved water quality provides a flora and fauna habitat. The Friends and other volunteers planted more than 27,000 plants, more than one third of which they grew from seeds they collected at Lower Eltham and Wingrove Parks. Eltham High School students planted thousands of these through a Year Eight program introduced for this purpose. Other groups who assisted were: Green Corps, local Scouts and Guides – 2nd Montmorency, 1st Diamond Creek and 1st Eltham Cub Packs, Eltham College students, Eltham East Primary School, Landcare members, Eltham Lions Club and the Eltham Baptist Church. To maintain enthusiasm for the mammoth task, the Friends and other volunteers ‘adopted’ trees to water and wrote their names on the stakes. In 2004, to recognise the area’s original occupiers, the reserve was named Barak Bushlands. William Barak, who lived from 1824 to 1903, was the last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe of the Wurundjeri-willam people. Traces of these original inhabitants remain in scar trees (bark sections removed to make a shield or canoe). That same year the Friends’ group was a finalist in the prestigious Federal Government, Banksia Environmental Awards. The Friends have also participated in Clean Up Australia, removing tonnes of rubbish and regularly testing the billabong, wetland and creek, for pollutants. For years the Friends, together with the Australian Platypus Conservancy, have tagged, measured and checked the health of platypuses from the Diamond and Mullum Mullum Creeks. With Latrobe University the Friends have conducted night walks to view owls, possums, bats and sugar gliders. Challenges for the council and the Friends continue with a large rabbit population, some vandalism, weed eradication and maintenance. However, thanks to this community effort, locals can now escape confined urban living on small blocks of land and enjoy the beauty of indigenous plants and animals. Working together has also strengthened the local community,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, barak bushlands, diamond creek (creek), eltham

Civic Guide sign near the entrance of Eltham Lower Park with a map of the local area and an advertisement for Eltham College Newsletter No., 234, June 2017 Heritage Excursion - Saturday 1st July - Eltham Lower Park - Walk and Talk Eltham Lower Park has played an important part in the history of our area since the early days of European settlement when it was used by local residents as an informal racecourse. Prior to that its location at the junction of the Diamond Creek and the Yarra River made it an important meeting place for the Wurundjeri people. The park combines formal elements and sporting facilities with remnant bushland that is of environmental significance. It is home to sporting and horse riding clubs, popular play spaces and the Diamond Valley Miniature Railway, which attracts large numbers of visitors. The park will be the venue for our July excursion which will comprise a walk of about 3.5 km around the park and adjacent areas. Along the way we will discuss the history and natural history of the area. The path along the creek and the river provides a pleasant and scenic walk. This walk on Saturday 1st July is about 3.5 km in length and will take 2 to 2.5 hours. It will start at 2pm at the Main Road car park at the front of the park. (Melway ref 21 H 10). This sign was removed in about 2021 when works began on the building of an intersection to replace the roundabout at Fitzsimons Lane & Main Road. By May 2023 plantings in green spaces near Eltham Lower Park took place before the official opening of the new Eltham Gateway.Born Digitalheritage excursion, activities, eltham district historical society, eltham lower park, civic guide, eltham college, sign

Sign at the front of the park which includes a map. Newsletter No., 234, June 2017: Heritage Excursion - Saturday 1st July - Eltham Lower Park - Walk and Talk Eltham Lower Park has played an important part in the history of our area since the early days of European settlement when it was used by local residents as an informal racecourse. Prior to that its location at the junction of the Diamond Creek and the Yarra River made it an important meeting place for the Wurundjeri people. The park combines formal elements and sporting facilities with remnant bushland that is of environmental significance. It is home to sporting and horse riding clubs, popular play spaces and the Diamond Valley Miniature Railway, which attracts large numbers of visitors. The park will be the venue for our July excursion which will comprise a walk of about 3.5 km around the park and adjacent areas. Along the way we will discuss the history and natural history of the area. The path along the creek and the river provides a pleasant and scenic walk. This walk on Saturday 1st July is about 3.5 km in length and will take 2 to 2.5 hours. It will start at 2pm at the Main Road car park at the front of the park. (Melway ref 21 H 10). This sign was removed in about 2021 when works began on the building of an intersection to replace the roundabout at Fitzsimons Lane & Main Road. By May 2023 plantings in green spaces near Eltham Lower Park took place before the official opening of the new Eltham Gateway. The sig Born Digitalelection day, heritage excursion, activities, eltham district historical society, eltham lower park, sign