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

ill, maps, p.22.non-fictionA history of the Victorian Railway's Gheringhap to Maroona Railway in western Victoria, complied to coincide with the Australian Railway Historical Society, Victorian Division's special train tour to Ararat via Cressy on the 15th September 1973.railroad construction - victoria - history, railroads -- victoria -- history

ill, maps, p.9.non-fictionA history of the Victorian Railway's branch line from Lubeck to Bolangum in western Victoria, complied to coincide with the Australian Railway Historical Society, Victorian Division's special train tour from Melbourne to Bolangum on Saturday the 9th May 1964.railroad construction - victoria - history, railroads -- victoria -- history

This poster promotes the merits of travelling by train to the Royal Melbourne Show of 1958. The Showgrounds train station was one of the first buildings built on the Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale when the site was established in 1883, allowing patrons quick access to the venue despite it being slightly further out from the city than previous sites.A poster, printed portrait and in colour. The upper half of the poster shows a woman on a jumping horse, on a purple background; the lower half consists of a list of the advantages of taking the train, lettered in white on a black background; screenprint and process lithograph, linen-backed.SEPT. 19 – 28 / Go to / MELBOURNE'S / ROYAL SHOW / by train / - RIGHT TO THE GROUNDS / - NO PARKING PROBLEMS / - COMBINED RAIL-ADMISSION TICKETS / - WEEKLY OR NINE DAY RAIL TICKETS / - SEE THE RAILWAYS EXHIBIT / - MEMBERSHIP TICKETS AT VICTORIAN / GOVT. TOURIST BUREAU /train, metro trains, showgrounds, melbourne showgrounds, royal melbourne show, 1958 melbourne royal show, melbourne royal show, showgrounds station, railway

Ventifacts are sand-blasted rocks that are typically faceted and often display parallel grooves carved by wind-blown sand. They are useful indicators of wind direction and strength in environments such as deserts, mountains, and coastal areas because they are usually not hidden by later sediment, soil or vegetation cover. In Antarctica ventifaction is strongly related to the composition or type of rock. Ventifacts are important because they provide evidence for abraders such as sand, dust or snow and ice crystals, and offer a unique understanding of past wind processes that are effective in the reconstruction of past wind flow conditions and can provides clues to weather and climate changes in the past. Interestingly ventifacts have also been found on the surface of Mars. They were a threat to the NASA rover due to the sharp angles of the facets, created by the Martian wind over the course of millions of years. These Martian ventifacts act like weathervanes for past wind and weather patterns on the red planet in a similar manner to those found on earth.The Geological Survey of Victoria was instigated in response to the Victorian Gold Rush which began around 1851 in the Beechworth, Castlemaine, Daylesford, Bendigo and Ballarat areas. The survey was conducted by Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn from his arrival in December 1852 until his resignation in 1869and during this time he trained many notable geologists, e.g. Aplin, Wilkinson, Daintree, who went on to other State survey senior positions. This specimen was among those donated to the Burke Museum in 1868.A hand-sized solid mineral specimen in shades of dark and light browns with light lines visible in all configurations and a groove on configuration 2.light lines visible in all configurations and a groove on configuration 2burke museum, beechworth, geological, geological specimen, ventifact, antarctic region, antarctic, alfred richard cecil selwyn, alfred selwyn, wind direction, wind strength, abraders, wind flow, climate change, reconstruction of wind flow conditions, weather change, mars

Photo shows Victorian Railways tram No. 34 at the Brighton Beach terminus, late 1950s. On the left-hand side, a suburban train can be seen at the adjacent Brighton Beach railway station.Yields information about VR tram 34 and the Brighton Beach terminus.Photograph - black and white - VR Tram 34 at Brighton terminusOn rear in ink - '"VR No. 34 at Brighton Beach terminus - late 1950's R. Lilburn Photo"tramways, melbourne, victorian railways, tram 34, brighton beach, vr trams

Shows an aerial view looking west over the Flinders St railway yards and the city skyline. Photo shows the Swimming centre in Batman Ave, the Victorian Railways Metrol signal control building and the large yard with Tait, Harris and a silver train. On the left is the overhead wiring train A goods train lead by a flat top T class is passing in the lower part of the photo. In the 1980s the yards were redeveloped to provide the Tennis Centre, partly roofed at the western end and a new bridge over the yard at Exhibition St that replaced the tram track in Batman Ave and the Princes Bridge terminus.Yields information about the Flinders Railway Yard prior to redevelopment.Postcard - Flinders St Rail Yard and city - Serrated edges - Divided back BG83railways, victorian railways, railway yard, flinders st, suburban trains, melbourne

Provides detailed information on Victorian railways country timetables, suburban trains, lists of post offices, Victorian and Commonwealth Government officials and elected representatives, and tramways - all night services, first and last cars, including Sandringham and St Kilda services. Provides a detailed guide to services in Victoria, including public transport.Book - 194 pages, 9 sections stapled paper titled "Bradshaws Guide - November 1941" Priced 8d, No. 1029. Has a fold out map of the VR Country and suburban lines. Includes many advertisements.victoria, tramways, melbourne, timetables, railways, guides, bradshaws guide, advertisements

Tickets collected by the donor contains: Sheet 1 - Victorian Railways combined rail / tram St Kilda Brighton line 2 - ditto - most used with part tickets 3 - mainly rail and bus 4 - rail and bus 5 - ditto with some rail only 6 - ditto - with tickets torn in half 7 - rail and bus weekly 8 - Single and return tickets for Sandringham to Black Rock 9 - ditto with tickets torn to cancel them 10 - various rail tickets - mixed including some country and weekly tickets 11 - combined train and bus tickets post 1956 12 - Mixed railway tickets - including first and second class suburban 13 - General railway tickets 14 - Rail tickets just prior to Neighbourhood tickets. 15 - ditto with some NSW tickets 16 - MMTB Section tickets and others systems. 17 - Miscellaneous tickets 18 - Miscellaneous tourist operator tickets 19 - ditto 20 - Train world examples 21 - Metcards 22 - Metcards 23 - Metcards - printed for events etc. 24 - Metcards 25 - Frankston line Connex timetable, V/Line ticket folder and Ganga phone card. Yields information about the Victorian Railways rail and tram ticketing systems.Album - red plastic cover two ring spring binder, with gold block "Swap Card Album" - with a $14.50 price label in the top right hand corner. Contains 25 used or partly used card plastic sleeves and four unused sleves. tickets, st kilda brighton electric tramway, victorian railways, metcard, sandringham to black rock, buses, vr, railways, tramways, mmtb, train world

Charles Symons Wingrove, J.P. (1829-1905) arrived in Victorian in 1851. He had trained as an engineer, but tried his luck on the goldfields. In 1857 he was appointed as Secretary to the Eltham District Roads Board only one year after its foundation. He was to hold the position with the Board and later the Eltham Shire Council for total of 47 years. He also held the position of engineer for a large part of this period. During part of this time he was also secretary to the Heidelberg Shire Council. Over this period he was responsibly for an area stretching from Clifton Hill to Healesville, along the northern bank of the Yarra River. Other positions included Secretary to the Victorian Agricultural Society over along period.Wingrove was a main figure in the Municipal Association of Victoria. By the time he retired he was recognized as the “Grand Old Man” of Victorian local government. In 1858 Wingrove had a brick cottage built in Main Road near the State School and he lived here until his death. One room was uded as the Board and Council office. His descendants owned the house until 1974. It was later used as a psychiatric clinic. The park opposite the cottage has been named Wingrove Park in his honour. He is buried at St Helena with other members of his family. Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), Tuesday 18 July 1905, page 5 ABOUT PEOPLE. A conspicuous figure in northern municpal history, Mr. Charles Symons Wingrove, has passed away. He was for many years secretary and engineer for the shire of Eltham, and prior to the formation of the shire held the position under the old road board, his official connection with the district dating from beyond 1857. For about twelve years he also filled the position of shire engineer for Heidelberg council while retaining his other post, and the immense territory under his professional control, reaching from the boundary of Collingwood up to Healesville, was a matter of fatherly pride and interest to him. He arrived in Victoria in 1851, and was 76 years of age at his death. Mr. Wingrove retired from the position in the Eltham council only about a year ago. The interment will take place in St. Helena Cemetery, near Eltham township, today. Secretary, Eltham District Road Board 1858-1871 Secretary for the Shire of Eltham 1871-1904. Nearly 50 years service to the local community. For about twelve years he also filled the position of shire engineer for Heidelberg council. Reproduced Page 137 "Pioneers & Painters" 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 '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 image Print 25 x 20 cmc.s.wingrove, charles symons wingrove, eltham district road board, sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, shire secretary, wingrove cottage, pioneers and painters, shire of eltham, councilor, municipal officer

Standard Victorian Railways Brake Van (Guards Van) originally Z 448 built at Newport Workshops & body built by Grimmond & Party butty gang. Entered traffic on 23rd March 1914. Altered to ZL448 incorporating long travel draft gear, 28th November 1961. Off Register on 10th August 1982 & sold to Echuca City Council 3rd September 1982 This is an example of the most numerous type of brake van used by Victorian Railways over a very long period. Brake vans would not have been a common sight at the Wharf as the line to the Wharf was operated as a siding from Echuca Station, so a brake van was not required. It is possible that a shunter walked ahead of the train to and from the wharf. This vehicle is significant. However a large number survive in operable condition around Victoria. Standard Vic Rail Brake (Guards) Van. wharf, shire of campaspe, newport workshop, brake van, grimmond & party butty gang, guards van