Oliver Gilpin (1874-1942), chain store proprietor, was born on 8 July 1874 at Seven Creeks near Euroa, Victoria, fourth child and second son of William Gilpin, farmer, and his wife Dinah, née Barton, both from Tyrone, Ireland. He was educated at local state schools and became a draper's assistant at Euroa. A testimonial as 'an energetic, pushing salesman, a careful stock-keeper … honest and industrious' gained him city experience with Ball & Welch Ltd, drapers, in their Carlton store. He used an inheritance to open a drapery store at Korumburra, south Gippsland, in 1895, moving to Rutherglen in the upper Murray valley in 1899. Frustrated by irregular stock deliveries, he moved to Fitzroy, Melbourne, in 1902, seeking a warehouse and the benefits of combined supplies for effective development of country trading. By 1905 he was producing many stock items at Northcote and had established retail outlets at Bendigo and Warracknabeal. Branches at Echuca, Numurkah and Yarrawonga followed in 1906, with ten more in 1907. He moved his city establishment to East Malvern in 1911, and had opened forty shops by 1920 and seventy-four by 1928. All were managed by women, on a strictly cash basis. Drapery remained the main line, supplemented by ironmongery, crockery, school requisites and toys. Gilpin saw the Depression years as a challenge. Between 1928 and 1931 he established eighteen new branches, including two in Tasmania, at Devonport and Ulverstone. The chain included South Australian branches at Mount Gambier, Millicent and Renmark, twenty-five stores in southern and western New South Wales, and ten in suburban Melbourne. Gilpin's Chain Store News was issued monthly. In 1944 Foy & Gibson acquired a controlling interest in Gilpin's business and in 1951 the chain was bought by G. J. Coles & Co. Ltd for £1,250,000. Three wooden blocks used to display hats. 9042.1 Slightly head shaped on top 9042.2 Light timber, flat on top, a wedge at back. 9042.3 Dark timber, flat on top.hat blocks, millinery, haberdashery, gilpin, korumburra

The Fred Rochow Railways Collection incorporates photos related to the operation of the Wodonga Railway Station including different types of trains and railways staff C. 1930 – 1990. It was donated to the Wodonga Historical Society by Fred Rochow, a railwayman who spent many years based in Wodonga. He joined the Victorian Railways on 17th June l947 and retired in 1988. For some time, he was a member of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen and served a term as a member of the Trades Hall Council. He had an extensive knowledge of the struggles that took place to achieve better conditions for railway workers. Fred worked for many years as a fireman and then worked his way up the ranks to driver, experiencing many changes from the days of steam locomotives through to diesel trains, locomotives and even the modern XPT train. He worked throughout Victoria at different stages of his career, with his final working years focused on the northeast of Victoria and the Albury to Melbourne line. After his retirement, Fred continued to share his love of steam miniature trains with the community. Shelley Railway Station - Shelley was once Victoria's highest railway station, located 781 metres above sea level. The Shelley Railway Station was opened in 1916 and closed in 1979. The railway was used early in its life to transport farmer’s livestock from the Upper Murray to Wodonga. From the 1950s the railway was used heavily to transport equipment and machinery from Wodonga to the Upper Murray to help build the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme. The Snowy Hydro Scheme was completed in 1974 and after several years of low level use, the railway was closed. Some remnants of the Shelley Station passenger platform can still be seen today, along with some information boards. The Shelley Railway Station now forms part of the High Country Rail Trail.This collection has local and statewide significance as it captures images of trains, locomotives and personnel who operated the railway services in Wodonga and throughout Northeast Victoria. The railways played a critical role in opening up Victoria and connecting Australia for trade, business, social communication and transport.Left to Right: Fireman Bert Cadman, Driver Wally Riley, Guard Hugh Fraser. Locomotive S300 - the ‘Matthew Flinders’ The S class diesel locomotives were built by Clyde Engineering in 1957 for the Victorian Railways. Designed as premier express passenger diesels, they assumed the ‘S class’ title from a fleet of steam locomotives. They were also given names of famous Australians. The S300 took the name ‘Matthew Flinders’. In 1962, S300 was converted from the Victorian broad gauge of 5’3” to the New South Wales gauge of 4’8.5”, in order to operate the new Southern Aurora between Sydney & Melbourne. As the locomotive grew older it was removed from these duties and was sold to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (CFCLA) in 2004. It is now owned by a private owner and is on loan to the Canberra Railway Museum.railways wodonga, fred rochow, wodonga railwaymen, s class locomotive

The Fred Rochow Railways Collection incorporates photos related to the operation of the Wodonga Railway Station including different types of trains and railways staff C. 1930 – 1990. It was donated to the Wodonga Historical Society by Fred Rochow, a railwayman who spent many years based in Wodonga. He joined the Victorian Railways on 17th June l947 and retired in 1988. For some time, he was a member of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen and served a term as a member of the Trades Hall Council. He had an extensive knowledge of the struggles that took place to achieve better conditions for railway workers. Fred worked for many years as a fireman and then worked his way up the ranks to driver, experiencing many changes from the days of steam locomotives through to diesel trains, locomotives and even the modern XPT train. He worked throughout Victoria at different stages of his career, with his final working years focused on the northeast of Victoria and the Albury to Melbourne line. After his retirement, Fred continued to share his love of steam miniature trains with the community. Shelley Railway Station - Shelley was once Victoria's highest railway station, located 781 metres above sea level. The Shelley Railway Station was opened in 1916 and closed in 1979. The railway was used early in its life to transport farmer’s livestock from the Upper Murray to Wodonga. From the 1950s the railway was used heavily to transport equipment and machinery from Wodonga to the Upper Murray to help build the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme. The Snowy Hydro Scheme was completed in 1974 and after several years of low level use, the railway was closed. Some remnants of the Shelley Station passenger platform can still be seen today, along with some information boards. The Shelley Railway Station now forms part of the High Country Rail Trail.This collection has local and statewide significance as it captures images of trains, locomotives and personnel who operated the railway services in Wodonga and throughout Northeast Victoria. The railways played a critical role in opening up Victoria and connecting Australia for trade, business, social communication and transport.Shelley Railway Station. This image shows the tank where the hand brakes were lifted. They were applied again at the "up" side of Koetong for about another 10 miles then lifted near Bullioh.railways wodonga, fred rochow, shelley station, high country rail trail

Stonleigh is one of Wodonga’s earliest buildings and stands on land granted to Daniel Rhodes in 1854, in one of the first land sales conducted in Wodonga. The building commenced soon after with the stone walls being 18 inches (46cm) thick. It was a four-room granite rubble stone building with central door and a window on either side, with a separate kitchen, as was typical of the worker's cottage of the day. The original roof would have been shingles but it was replaced with corrugated iron. It passed through several owners including Paul Huon in 1858. Peter Tenner, a farmer and vigneron took over in 1866 when it was described as “built of stone and having a cellar and a detached kitchen plus outside toilet, and a shed or two.” In the late 1880’s it was owned by William Smith who had come to Wodonga as a missionary for the Presbyterian Church and who, together with John Whan, storekeeper, was instrumental in building the Presbyterian Church nearby. Between 1890 and 1910 further buildings were added, consisting of double brick walls, two bedrooms, kitchen, laundry with brick and copper, bathroom and side verandah. William Smith established Wodonga Cordage Works in the Stonleigh buildings. The front room of the house was the display room for the business which manufactured and sold fishing lines, various types of cordage and water bags, the latter being of hand-sewn canvas. After 1954 Stonleigh became a bottle depot and bottle museum under ownership of Ramon Porta. At one stage he had over 50,000 bottles on display. In 1991 it was purchased by Mark Fraser, a cabinet maker, who made extensive renovations at the rear of the premises and internally, but left the façade untouched. Over recent times, Stonleigh was the home of several business including a florist, a patchwork maker and a café. Stonleigh was sold in 2021 and is now a private residence.These images capture one of Wodonga's oldest buildings.A series of photos, both colour and black and white, showing the building "Stonleigh' at different periodsstonleigh wodonga, old buildings wodonga, wodonga businesses, wodonga pioneers

Charlie Robertson Jnr. Charlie Robertson, a Boort district farmer and trainer-driver, won his first race driving a horse called Black Spot in 1912 when he was 16. He drove many winners in the 1920s and 1930s, some of them trained by his father Charles Snr who had raced horses from the 1890s. He had a top trotter in Fair Admiral, who won the 1929 Victoria Trotters Derby among other races. As his career flourished, Charlie Jnr won with such horses as Lee Voyage, Royal Bronte, Johnnie Bronte, Betty Direct, Bonnie Heather and Leading Style. He was given the Globe Derby stallion New Derby to train by owner Jack King of Quambatook. He travelled to Tasmania and Western Australia with New Derby. In Tasmania in 1935, New Derby won the Hobart and Launceston Cups and in WA in 1936 won two heats of the inaugural Inter Dominion. Among New Derby’s wins were the 1932 and 1933 Ascot £500. He left 147 winners when standing at stud at Quambatook. During World War II one of the few venues for harness racing was Wayville in Adelaide. During this period Charlie made many trips across the border to race. On the commencement of night trotting, Robertson won many at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds with Something New, Village Derby and Midnight News, New Gold, Canargo and Tennessee Derby. A bad race smash on Tennessee Derby nearly ended Charlie’s life, but he recovered. In the 1960s Charlie stood the stallion Convivial, who provided him with many winners. He retired from race driving aged 68 and died aged 87 after more than 60 years in trotting.Yellow with cream starscharlie robertson, c robertson, charlie robertson jnr, c robertson jnr

HONOR BOARD Melton State School No 430 Supreme Sacrifice • BARRET, P Peter Maurice Barrett Number 5051 Rank: Private Unit: Private Date of death 18th August 1918 of wounds age 21 St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France Started school August 1904 5 years 10 months Previous school St Michaels Nth Melb Son of Maurice Barrett labourer Melton Brother of John Barrett • BLACK, William William M • EXELL, T S Number 2758 Rank: Trooper 3rd Battalion Imperial Camel Corps Date of death 30th November 1917 of wounds aged 20 years Cairo War Memorial Cemetery Egypt Started school September 1907 aged 10 Previous school Boisdale 3017 Son of George, farmer Melton Railway Station (Melton South) Year of 1918 • LANG, Horace Thomas Number 903 Rank: Corporal Unit: 24th Battalion Date of death: 5th May 1917. Court if enquiry confirmed Dec 1917. Aged 24 Date of birth 27th April 1893 Spring Hill – Kyneton Commemorated Villers-Bretonneux France Started school November 1997. Father: Thomas Lang Teacher Melton 430 Brother of Thomas Lang died 18th July 1918 buried Cairo • LANG, R William Roy Number 2818 Rank: Driver Unit: 1st Australian Light Horse Machine Gen Squadron Date of death 31st October 1917 of wounds Beersheba War Cemetery Israel Started school October 1899 Aged 9 Previous school Camperdown SS 114 Date of Birth: 24th Jan 1890 Son of William John and Mary Lang of Langlands Jandowae Queensland Nephew of Thomas Lang Melton • LANG, Thomas John Thomas NZ CC M Number 15/118 Rank: Lieutenant Unit: Army Pay Department Date of death 18th July 1918 of disease Cairo War Memorial Cemetery Started school November 1896 aged 16 years - Previous school Coliban 1920 Son of Thomas Lang, teacher Melton No 430 • McPHERSON Jas Mrs M: James Sept 1897 Previous Graham St Port Melb Son of Alexander farmer Melton • MISSEN, A P Frederick M Started school August 1899 age 7 years Son of Frederick, fruiterer Melton His sister Adelaide May 11years Previous Ascot Vale 2608 • NORTON, Lewis Thomas CC M Number 1809 Rank: Private Unit: 29th Battalion (Infantry) Date of death 30th September 1918 Cemetery Bellicourt British Cemetery, France Started school March 1901 age 9 years Previous school Galaquil Son of Thomas Norton of Parwan • O’CALLAGHAN, EJ Edward Edward M • O’CALLAGHAN, HT Thomas .. M Number 3859 Rank: Private Unit: 57th Battalion (Infanrty) Date of death 26th September 1917 Bedford House Cemetery, Belgium Started school 11th March 1901 Aged 10 years Father: John O’Callaghan farmer of Melton • PRATT, R H Robert Henry Number: 2203 Rank: Private Unit: 46th Battalion (Infantry) Date of death, 12th April 1917 Favreuil British Cemetery, France Started school in May 1903 aged 6 years Father: Matthew Pratt, Labourer Melton • RYAN J James or John David: RYAN J ? Started August 1896 Previous Christian Brother St Kilda John 11-5 or James 9-11 Charles 6-11 returned from WW1 Frank 8-5 returned Father Daniel Publican • WHITESIDE, John Edward M Number 2182 Rank: Trooper Unit 13th Light Horse Date of death 4th September 1918 of illness aged 29 years Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt Started school July 1897 age 8 Son of Edward Whiteside Labourer Melton Brother of Edward. • WHITESIDE, W F Number: 3995 Rank: Private Unit: 22nd Battlion Date of death, 28th July 1916, died of wounds aged 21 years Puchevillers British Cemetery, France Started school in 1901 Year of birth circa 1895 Brother Edward died 4th September 1918 Father: Edward Whiteside. Labourer Year of 1917 • ANDREW. R H • BARRETT, J John Maurice • BLACK, Harold David • BLACKWOOD, Maxwell James A • BLACKWOOD, Roy .. • CAMERON David or (Donald) William M • CAREW, Edward Edward M • COLLINS, H John Henry H Thomas CC M • CANTLON, A Alfred CC • CHALMER, Frank Ernest CC M • COBURN, A Frederick CC M • COBURN, FS CC M • DODEMAIDE, Frank William • DODEMAIDE, Thomas .. • DODEMAIDE, W J William John M • FIELD, J • FORSYTH J • KEATING, WD William Edward M • KINNERSLY James Edward CC • KINNERSLY Norman Chas Edward CC • LANG Norman William • MINNS, J CC M • McCOLL R Alex R J. McColl • MOULSDALE Charles William M • McNULTY, Frederick James CC • McNULTY, W R CC • McPHERSON J which one? • NEAL, Elvine J Neal M • NEAL, Frank John M • NEAL, John William John M (husband of Isabella) • O’CALLAGHAN, Stephen Edward M • PRATT, David T Matthew CC M • QUINANE, David Peter • QUINANE, Peter .. • RIDDELL, William M • RYAN, Charles Daniel • RYAN Frank .. • SKINNER, Stanley John S’John CC M • SPRING, James George • TYLER, A • TYLER, George George • WATSON, Albert Ernest Alexander M • WADE, Howard James • WADE, Walter .. might be connected with CC • WILLIAMS, Percy Mr Williams • WICKHAM, George George M • WICKHAM, W M • WILSON, Stanley [ Alfred and Maude] M • WILSON, Gordon .. M SUPREME SACRIFICE Roll of Honor Melton State School No 430 Years of 1916,1917 and 1918

Edendale Farm is Nillumbik Shire Council's environment centre situated in Gastons Road, Eltham between the railway and the Diamond Creek. The homestead on the property was built in 1896 and is of historical significance, being the subject of a Heritage Overlay under the Nillumbik Planning Scheme. The Edendale property was originally part of an extensive land purchase in 1852 from the Crown by pioneer Eltham farmer Henry Stooke. He initially purchased 51 acres and later expanded his holdings by purchasing another three adjacent Crown allotments extending northerly from Josiah Holloway's Little Eltham subdivision. Despite clearing the land, Stooke did not build on this property, choosing to live on his property "Rosehill" at Lower Plenty. In 1896 Thomas Cool, Club Manager of the Victoria Coffee Palace in Melbourne purchased 7 acres of the original Stooke land and built the house now known as Edendale. Cool did not farm the land, instead using it as a gentleman’s residence, retiring to Eltham at weekends. In 1918 he purchased an additional 7 acres but in 1919 he sold the property. Later owners included J.W. Cox, the Gaston family and D. Mummery. In the 1980s the Eltham Shire Council purchased the site for use as a Council depot, but this use did not proceed. Subsequently, it was used as the Council pound. The Edendale Farm Pet Education and Retention Centre was established in the summer of 1988/1989 and was set up to replace the existing dog kennels with a high standard pet retention centre. The design style of the building was established to compliment the features of the existing house. It was equipped with 10 retention pens, a veterinary room and a pet education area where school children and other interested parties learnt about pet care procedures. It was later developed into a community farm and was run by an advisory committee and in 2000 it became an Environment Centre. In early 2006 an advisory committee was established for the development of a master plan for future development at Edendale Farm. The committee included Russell Yeoman, a former long-time shire planner and founding member of the Eltham District Historical Society. At the time of filming the Master Plan and future for Edendale was about continuing to develop Edendale as a centre of environment learning and looking at expanding displays and school program, running a lot more of life-long learning and workshops around sustainable living. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p101 A sharp turn from busy Wattletree Road by the railway line, brings a surprise. Only 1.4 km from Eltham’s centre, sheep feed, blissfully unaware of the hectic suburban activity so close by. At the entrance to the 5.6ha Edendale Farm is another surprise. A work of art that looks like huge tree trunks transformed into bowler and top-hatted men. The Fences Act 1968 by Tony Trembath with Mark Cain and John Doyle, 1996, is classified by the National Trust of Australia as having Regional Significance. The title refers to a government act on disputes between neighbors over the placement of fences and boundaries. This takes a ‘wry swipe’ at a community divided by trivial squabbles. It also celebrates making do with limited resources.1 Further along on the left, the office wall is decorated with a massive Eltham Copper Butterfly, designed by Robert Tickner and made by school children with used plastic bottles and other waste material. Nillumbik Council runs Edendale as an Environmental Education Centre, to help preserve and enhance the local environment. As early as 1988 the former Eltham Shire Council realised Edendale’s importance in meeting people’s needs, particularly of children, to enjoy farmland. The centre, with the Eltham North Reserve to the north - including remnant bushland and open parkland - makes up the major part of the public open space for this area. The council considers this area will become increasingly important to the local community for recreational use.2 Educational programs aim to encourage community involvement to ensure the long-term rehabilitation and protection of natural bushland areas. Edendale is used by people of all ages - from school children to adults - for environmental programs and workshops, as well as for recreation, to enjoy the domestic animals and to picnic. Edendale is also home to the Environmental Works staff who manage reserves and roadsides and support Nillumbik Friends environmental groups. The Friends propagate plants at the nursery, which grows indigenous plants and sells these to the public.3 The centre demonstrates the sustainable living the farm teaches, with features like solar hot water and drive lighting and for the fireplace, logs of recycled cardboard. Edendale has had a varied history as a dog pound and even as a retreat for Thomas Cool, Club Manager of the Victoria Coffee Palace in Melbourne. His single-storey weatherboard house built in 1896, which still stands, was grander than most homes in Eltham. Although such buildings were common in many other parts of Melbourne, Eltham’s poverty and remoteness did not encourage such construction. The Victorian rectangular-shaped house, with a corrugated iron roof and veranda, has elegant large rooms, leadlight windows, ceiling roses, two bay windows and ornately carved wooden fireplace surrounds. Cool bought seven acres (2.8ha) from pioneer Eltham farmer Henry Stooke’s 200 acre (81ha) farm, which he had bought from the Crown in 1852. In 1918 Cool bought an extra seven acres (2.8ha) but in 1919 sold the estate to farmer John Cox. In 1933 Cox sold Edendale to Mrs Elizabeth Gaston, after whom the road leading to the centre was named. The property was owned by several Gaston family members, who called it Edendale, then by a police constable, Douglas Mummery, until the Shire of Eltham bought it in 1970. Oddly Edendale was known as Mummery’s for almost 20 years, although Mummery owned it only for a short time.4 The shire used Edendale as a dog pound until amalgamation with other municipalities in 1996. The pound then moved to the Yan Yean Road, Plenty site, which had been used by the former Diamond Valley Shire Council. To the west and north the centre is bounded by Diamond Creek and on the east by the Melbourne-Hurstbridge railway line. Part of the Research creek forms the centre’s southern boundary.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, edendale farm

Shepherding is among the oldest occupations, beginning some 5,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool. Over the next thousand years, sheep and shepherding spread throughout Eurasia. Henri Fleisch tentatively suggested the Shepherd Neolithic industry of Lebanon may date to the Epipaleolithic and that it may have been used by one of the first cultures of nomadic shepherds in the Beqaa Valley. Some sheep were integrated in the family farm along with other animals such as chickens and pigs. To maintain a large flock, the sheep must be able to move from pasture to another pasture. This required the development of an occupation separate from that of the farmer. The duty of shepherds was to keep their flock intact, protect it from predators and guide it to market areas in time for shearing. In ancient times, shepherds also commonly milked their sheep, and made cheese from this milk; few shepherds still do this today. In many societies, shepherds were an important part of the economy. Unlike farmers, shepherds were often wage earners, being paid to watch the sheep of others. Shepherds also lived apart from society, being largely nomadic. It was mainly a job of solitary males without children, and new shepherds thus needed to be recruited externally. Shepherds were most often the younger sons of farming peasants who did not inherit any land. In other societies, each family would have a family member to shepherd its flock, often a child, youth or an elder who couldn't help much with harder work; these shepherds were fully integrated in society. Shepherds would normally work in groups either looking after one large flock, or each bringing their own and merging their responsibilities. They would live in small cabins, often shared with their sheep, and would buy food from local communities. Less often shepherds lived in covered wagons that travelled with their flocks. Shepherding developed only in certain areas. In the lowlands and river valleys, it was far more efficient to grow grain and cereals than to allow sheep to graze, thus the raising of sheep was confined to rugged and mountainous areas. In pre-modern times shepherding was thus centred on regions such as the Middle East, Greece, the Pyrenees, the Carpathian Mountains, Scotland and Northern England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd The Shetland Sheepdog, often known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog that originated in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The original name was Shetland Collie, but this caused controversy amongst Rough Collie breeders of the time, so the breed's name was formally changed. This diligent small dog is clever, vocal, excitable and willing to please. They are incredibly trustworthy to their owners to the point where they are often referred to as "shadows" due to their attachment to family. This breed was formally recognized by The Kennel Club (UK) in 1909. Like the Shetland pony, Shetland cattle and the Shetland sheep, the Shetland Sheepdog is a hardy but diminutive breed developed to thrive amidst the harsh and meagre conditions of its native islands. While the Sheltie still excels at herding, today it is often raised as a working dog and/or family pet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland_Sheepdog The Rough Collie (also known as the Long-Haired Collie) is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Collie as a show dog, and also companion. The breed specifications call for a distinctive long narrow tapered snout and tipped (semiprick) ears, so some dogs have their ears taped when young. Rough Collies generally come in shades of sable and white (sometimes mahogany), blue merle, tri-coloured, and colour-headed white. There is a smooth-coated variety known as a Smooth Collie; some breed organisations, including both the American and Canadian Kennel Clubs, consider smooth-coat and rough-coat collies to be variations of the same breed. Rough Collies closely resemble the smaller Shetland Sheepdogs or "Shelties", but the two breeds do not have an exclusive linear relationship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_Collie This picture shows a typical Scottish scene with a shepherd in kilt and his two sheepdogs.Picture, print of old Scotsman sitting on a stone slab with his dogs nearby. Framed, glass covered colour print. Marked "A SHEPHERD AND HIS FRIENDS", "1897" , "Drummonds" (on picture). Marked "A SHEPHERD AND HIS FRIENDS", "1897" , "Drummonds" (on picture). flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, print, picture, wall decoration, shepherd and dogs, a shepherd and his friends, shetland sheep dog, rough collie

Bill Cahill in conversation at Victoria Hall Melton South July 1974 Chaff Mills Melton’s hey day, as I call it in the days when more hay was grown in Melton and Rockbank than, I’d say in any where in Victoria. We had two chaff mills. If I can remember rightly I’m sure of this, that in one month the amount of hay and chaff that went from Melton to Melbourne was about 1800 tons, that’s hay and chaff. There was a lot of hay went from the Melton Railway Station. I have often seen whole train load going down the Schutt and Barrie, that’s Bonnie’s father’s mill at West Footscray. The mills in those days employed up to from 18- 20 men in each, that was before electricity when the mills were run on steam then, there was no power. At times those chaff mills they got a lot of shipping orders, to the Philipines and other Asian countries. They’d work shifts at night on the second shift at night time they would have an old hurricane lamp hanging above from the ceiling just over the chaff cutter, you could hardly see yourself, or see the anything. Well they worked through the whole night they might have an order come in for perhaps 100tons up 500 tons of chaff to go a boat would be in and be waiting to be loaded in Melbourne and they’d have to go and work two shifts. Then they brought in casual labour to help them through and get the order cut and get it down by rail to ship board to send it away. Talking about the hay I’ve seen wagons of hay in the farmers carting to both mills and also hay going down to West Footscray. There would be a quarter of a mile without exaggeration wagons and teams would be waiting to get into the mill, they would come down at the weighbridge at about 3-4- o’clock, 2 o’clock waiting for the bridge to open to weigh their loads, the ones that would be running late would be there at the weighbridge about half past 7 - 8 o’clock. They would be lucky to get away by night before getting their load off. A funny episode I remember well was a farmer from up, Alan Hurley you would remember him, Sam McCorkell he would put on his load in the afternoon or evening leave it up the yard, and would leave Toolern Vale about 12 or 1 o’clock in the morning and he would get down to the weighbridge and when it was breaking day he would bring half of his fowl yard down with him. The fowls would hop up on top of the load and have a ride down and when it came daylight they’d hop off and away they’d go, and I suppose everybody had some of McCorkells poultry. [laughter from the audience] That always tickled my fancy and everybody would be laughing about the fowls getting off his load of hay. I reckon that was about one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard of. The Victoria Hall, where we are tonight was originally known as the Exford Hall. I believe Bonnie’s father was the original builder and owner of the chaff mills here round the corner which is known as Wards today. Later on I understand that his father had a chaff mill here were this hall is, then Dixon Bros were just a bit on the other side. I believe Bonnie’s father sold it to Dixon Bros, and they shifted this part of the mill here and took it over and joined it up. That’s the history of the early chaff mills. Is that right Bonnie? You might like to correct, I’m about right am I? Bonnie answers yes. The original audio tape was recorded on the reel to reel tape recorder by Bon Barrie using his own tape recorder. Transferred to CD by Tom Wood using computer technology capable of adjusting the recording to a legible speed for reproduction to compact disk. Bill Cahill article featured in the The Mail Expresslocal identities

Covered under National Trust of Australia (Victoria) State Significance and Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p103 The Eltham railway trestle bridge is the only one of its kind still regularly used in Melbourne’s metropolitan railway network. Opened in 1902, it is also one of Victoria’s very few timber rail bridges that still carries trains.1 The bridge is part of the railway line extension from Heidelberg - extended to Hurstbridge in 1912. This extension resulted in one of the greatest social changes experienced in Eltham Shire, as it considerably lessened its isolation attracting tourists, artists and suburban commuters particularly after World War Two.2 The bridge has been classified by the National Trust as historically, scientifically, aesthetically and socially significant at state level. But this has not always been recognised, and in 1977, locals fought to save it from destruction. The Victorian Railways proposed to replace the bridge with an earth embankment and large culverts to avoid maintenance problems and fire. This was rejected by the Eltham Council who protested that the bridge helped maintain the area’s rural character, historic link and beauty, as well as avoiding possible serious flooding on the flood plain if a culvert was blocked. The bridge stands as part of a National Trust classified landscape which includes the Alistair Knox Park, named after the local conservationist and architect who helped to make Eltham famous for its mud-brick houses. The landscape includes tall and spreading manna gums and candlebarks, and the historic Shillinglaw Cottage. Artist Walter Withers, one of the Heidelberg School of painters, painted the bridge early in the 20th century. The 38 span single-track railway bridge over creek and road has 34 timber-beam spans and four steel-joist spans, supported by four-pile timber piers and timber abutments. It has almost 200m of timber deck. All of the timbers have been replaced over the years, but the only change to the bridge’s character was the addition of pylons and wiring for electric trains in 1923. A petition for a railway to the shire was first made in 1883. A large deputation of local citizens to the Commissioner of Railways proposed a route passing through Alphington to midway between Greensborough and Eltham up the Diamond Creek valley towards Queenstown and Kinglake. As a result the Princes Bridge-Heidelberg Railway was opened in 1888. From 1888 locals demanded a railway extension. Kangaroo Ground farmers in particular, led by Shire Councillor and Member for Evelyn, Ewen Cameron, said it would assist local farmers and orchardists send their produce to the Melbourne market. In 1890, before the severe economic Depression, an extension of the line to Hurst’s Bridge (now Hurstbridge) was included in a new Railways Bill. The parliamentary delegations were regaled with a banquet at Hurst’s barn and entertained by the Diamond Creek Brass Band, but the extension was abandoned when the Depression struck in 1892-1893. The extension of the railway to Eltham, completed in 1902, was one of the few built in those hard times. That is why the Eltham timber-trestle railway bridge is a rare example of a broad-gauge rail bridge constructed between 1893 and 1910. At the opening, despite persistent drizzle, 300 children waving flags and banners were among the large crowd welcoming the first train, carrying official dignitaries, to Eltham. It had taken 24 years to bring the railway to Eltham. From then Eltham became a popular destination for outings. Mr Orford of Eltham recalled that after the railway came to Eltham ‘the craze for picnics on weekends and holidays began…. During the wattle season, wattle trains came to Eltham frequently. The visitors roamed the creek pulling great armfuls of wattle blossom to take back with them to Melbourne’.3 In 1926 the railway line was electrified as part of the metropolitan rail network. But the Victorian Railways decided not to complete the formerly planned Diamond Valley Railway to Queenstown (now St Andrews) and Kinglake.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 railway trestle bridge, eltham trestle bridge

William Rutledge [born 1806, Ireland] was a self-made, larger-than-life man who involved himself prominently in business, municipal, political, community and social aspects of life. Eldest son of James and Martha [nee Forster], William arrived in Australia from Ireland in 1829 and within six years had sufficiently established himself to purchase land in New South Wales. He married Eliza Kirk in Sydney in august 1840. They had two sons and five daughters. In 1843 he began his association and life in Port Fairy and soon became prominent and influential in almost all aspects of that developing town. His interests encompassed mercantile, civic, pastoral, shipping, importing, exporting, immigration, politics and social aspects with in the district and colony. He was a major contributor to the building of St John’s Anglican Church, Port Fairy. He acquired three special surveys with historical importance in Victoria. In south west Victoria that interest being especially the Farnham Survey of 5120 acres between Dennington and Tower Hill/Killarney. This was farmed by immigrant tenant and lessee farmers, some of whom were brought to the Australia at William Rutledge’s own expense and by whom he was considered a kind and considerate landlord. His endeavours were not without failures and in 1862 his Port Fairy Company failed with debts of over £170,000. This debt was redeemed in full within a year. According to reported accounts, William Rutledge had a tempestuous manner with an “explosive” temper, although he did not hold grudges. This is countered by accounts of his kindness, generosity, honesty and practical, progressive outlook in all his undertakings. After the failure and closure of his Company, William Rutledge moved to his property at Farnham Park near Warrnambool where he concentrated his interest in breeding sheep and horses. Throughout his life his home was reputed to be convivial and hospitable. William Rutledge died at Farnham Park on June 1st, 1876. William Rutledge's place in the history of settlement in south west Victoria gives importance to this memorial.Stained glass window, south wall, main nave, depicting Jesus bearing the Cross. The background is quite floral. A medallion shape holds the title as printed on a ribbon: "By thy cross and passion good Lord deliver us".In Latin: In Memoriam Gulielmi Rutledge qui A.D. MDCCCVI underimo ante Kal: Feb: natus vitam posuit/ Kal: Jun: MDCCCLXXVI Filae amantissimae hanc fenestram pietatis indirio posueruntrutledge, william rutledge, farnham survey, port fairy, christ church warrnambool

Irish-born John Murray and his wife Mary (daughter of Thomas Sweeney) married in 1849 and settled in Eltham North. John and Mary were amongst the earliest inhabitants of Eltham. John was a farmer and their block of about 80 acres, called ‘Laurel Hill’, was on the eastern side of the Diamond Creek, extending east to beyond Zig Zag Road. It was later extended southward by the purchase of a further 60 acres. He is recorded as a supporter on the petition for a school in Eltham and he served on the National School Board of the Eltham school. John died in 1867 and is buried in Eltham Cemetery with Mary and with two of their grandchildren. Their eldest son Johnnie inherited the property. Then in about 1902 his younger brother James purchased about 50 acres on the western side of the Diamond Creek immediately opposite Laurel Hill, extending west to slightly past Wattletree Road. Eltham North Reserve now lies just beyond the southern boundary. James built a family home on top of the hill on the northern boundary, together with a dairy and milking shed and a food cellar. It is thought that the barn with stables was already there. When Johnnie died in 1912, the two properties (though severed by both the creek and the railway line) effectively merged. The land was worked as an orchard with apples, pears, quinces, and possibly apricots and peaches. Later it became a dairy farm. By 1986, almost all the land had been sold off for residential subdivision and the house had been condemned as unfit for habitation. John's grandson Jim retained a small portion of the land and built a new house. He kept the old one as a storage shed, but it was demolished after he died in 1993. The very old barn is still standing. Located in the Roman Catholic section In Memory of John Murray Who died Dec. 1867 aged 50 years Also his wife Mary Murray Who died 7th Sep. 1909 aged 76 years And of their grandchildren Thomas and Mary Ellen DrainBorn Digitaleltham cemetery, gravestones, john murray, mary ellen drain, mary murray, thomas drain

View looking north along Main Road, Eltham from near present day Dudley Street. On the immediate left is the railway station. The large weatherboard building on the bend (opposite present-day Arthur Street) with signs for General Store, Refreshments and Summer Drinks painted on the side is Luther and Ada Haley’s General Store and Bakery, built 1902. This was the first building in what is now Eltham’s present shopping town centre. Haley previously ran the General Store and Bakery on the corner of Main Road and York Street until his lease expired and the premises were bought by Mrs Sarah Burgoyne in 1902. The store later was known as Staff's Store. Followed by the saleyards, entrance to station, slaughter yard and William J Capewell’s butcher shop. Contained within the saleyards facing the street, a small shelter with the name H.H. Clark upon it. Horace Harold Clark was the son of Eltham State School’s first Head Teacher, David George Clark. As well as being a farmer, he was an Estate Agent and conducted auction sales, presumably from this shelter. On the eastern (right) side of Main Street is Haley’s Paddock, which was used on occasions for community picnics. Capable of holding 10,000 people, with ample shade and hilly surroundings it was an ideal place for any community gathering such as the State Schools’ Picnic in 1904. A worker from the bakery store is standing in the gateway at the rear of the store observing the photographer. People in the ‘Sunday Best’ are milling in front of the bakery or strolling down the centre of Main Road. The picture was most likely taken on a Sunday. With the opening of the railway to Eltham in 1902, Melbourne residents would regularly enjoy a Sunday excursion journey on the train to Eltham for a day’s outing to the countryside or beyond to Hurstbridge from 1912 when the railway was extended. Picture dated as c.1910 based on similar picture published in the Weekly Times, Feb. 1912. Cross Ref: 609 (looking south), 612, 611 (later stage), 613.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 (4 x 5 inch negative missing - scanned from print) Printbaker, eltham, eltham railway station, general store, haley's paddock, luther haley, luther haley general store, main road, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, sign, summer drinks, butcher, railway station, w.j. capewell, eltham town centre, hot water, m.m. clark, eltham sale yards, eltham slaughter yard, staffs general store

Taken from outside the family home on the southest corner of the intersection of Nyora Road and Pitt Street with Eucalyptus Road. Frank Stokes first traveled to the district by train in 1944 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, part of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Frank bought the land and for the next two years would travel by train from Melbourne to Eltham every weekend establishing Stokes Orchard and building a home for his family, which they eventually moved into in 1946. Marjorie North remembered well the winter of 1951, when she took children, including son John together with the Shallard and Squire children “in the Austin A40 up the Main Rd., Eltham to farmer Bell’s property alongside the Eltham College. They were able to make a snow man and throw snowballs. (Diamond Valley News, August 5, 1986.p.42) In the mid 1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard up into numerous rate-able parcel lots, which became affordable for Frank. As a consequence Stokes Orchard was turned into a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate in two stages; Stage 1 encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads c.1976 and Stage 2 encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads c.1979. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned due to the lack of the sewer along Diosma Road and so many of the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead.Representative of the orchard growing areas of Eltham. One of the rare times it has snowed in Eltham.Digital file only - Digitised by EDHS from a scrapbook (containing commercially printed photos of digital scans) on loan from Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes), daughter of Frank Stokes.1951, beryl bradbury (nee stokes) collection, eltham, nyora road, eucalyptus road, snow, stokes family home

In 1840 Henry Dendy, a farmer in Surrey, England acquired a "Special Survey" from the Commissioners for Land and Emigration which gave Dendy the right to choose land in Port Phillip for the "bargain basement" price of only £1 per acre for 5120 acres, (an area of 8 square miles). The Special Survey also included the right to "the shipment of a worker for every £20 spent on land, whose free passage was paid by the Crown, equalling a total of 100 workers ". Accordingly Dendy sold his English holdings and paid the required £5120 and arrived in Melbourne in February 1841. However by this time land in the new colony was selling for £5 - £40 per acre. Because Henry Dendy possessed the order from the Colonial Office in London he was able to successfully oppose Super-intendant LaTrobe's attempts to alter the price of the land. Dendy appointed Jonathan Were, (an entrepreneur, who had arrived in 1839), as his Manager and who later became a partner. Together, Dendy and Were decided on an area 5 miles south from Melbourne, bounded by North Road, East Boundary Road, South Road and to the west by Port Phillip Bay. Were and Dendy pitched their tents in the area now known as ' Park St, Brighton' and sank a well near the corner of 'St Andrew's St and Wells St'. By 1845 J.B Were and Company had bought almost half of Dendy's land and Were built himself "Moorabbin House" in Were St Brighton made from stone, quarried from local cliffs. It was still standing in 1924. Legend records Moorabbin is named after the Aboriginal word for ' Mother's Milk ' The soil is very fertile and well supplied with water especially in the area called 'East Brighton' - now known as Bentleigh and East Bentleigh - By 1850 the area had developed with numerous market gardens, dairy farms, fruit gardens and vineyards supplying food for the growing population of Melbourne.In 1840 Henry Dendy, a farmer in Surrey, England acquired a "Special Survey" from the Commissioners for Land and Emigration which gave Dendy the right to choose land in Port Phillip for the price of only £1 per acre for 5120 acres. This land was called Brighton in the Parish of Moorabbin, County of Bourke and emigrants developed the land establishing market gardens , dairy and poultry farms that provided the food for the growing population of Melbourne. A photocopy of the Genealogy Chart of the Dendy Family that Henry Dendy brought with him when he emigrated to Melbourne 1841Genealogy signs and descriptionsdendy henry, dendy's special survey brighton 1841, governor gipps, captain lonsdale, super-intendant latrobe, port phillip, melbourne, new south wales, squatters, emmigrants, county of bourke, parish of moorabbin, early settlers, pioneers, market gardeners, dairy farmers, fruit farms, moorabbin, bentleigh, brighton, cheltenham, were jonathan binn,

This is a copy of the document brought by Henry Dendy to the Colony in 1841. In 1840 Henry Dendy, a farmer in Surrey, England acquired a "Special Survey" from the Commissioners for Land and Emigration which gave Dendy the right to choose land in Port Phillip for the "bargain basement" price of only £1 per acre for 5120 acres, (an area of 8 square miles). The Special Survey also included the right to "the shipment of a worker for every £20 spent on land, whose free passage was paid by the Crown, equalling a total of 100 workers ". Accordingly Dendy sold his English holdings and paid the required £5120 and arrived in Melbourne in February 1841. However by this time land in the new colony was selling for £5 - £40 per acre. Because Henry Dendy possessed the order from the Colonial Office in London he was able to successfully oppose Super-intendant LaTrobe's attempts to alter the price of the land. Dendy appointed Jonathan Were, (an entrepreneur, who had arrived in 1839), as his Manager and who later became a partner. Together, Dendy and Were decided on an area 5 miles south from Melbourne, bounded by North Road, East Boundary Road, South Road and to the west by Port Phillip Bay. Were and Dendy pitched their tents in the area now known as ' Park St, Brighton' and sank a well near the corner of 'St Andrew's St and Wells St'. By 1845 J.B Were and Company had bought almost half of Dendy's land and Were built himself "Moorabbin House" in Were St Brighton made from stone, quarried from local cliffs. It was still standing in 1924. Legend records Moorabbin is named after the Aboriginal word for ' Mother's Milk ' The soil is very fertile and well supplied with water especially in the area called 'East Brighton' - now known as Bentleigh and East Bentleigh - By 1850 the area had developed with numerous market gardens, dairy farms, fruit gardens and vineyards supplying food for the growing population of Melbourne. A copy of a paper chart of the Pedigree of Henry Dendy in a wooden frame with glassPedigree / of the branch of the family / DENDY moorabbin, brighton, henry dend special survey 1841 y, early settlers, pioneers, market gardeners

View looking north along Main Road, Eltham from near present day Dudley Street. On the immediate left is the railway station. The large weatherboard building on the bend (opposite present-day Arthur Street) with signs for General Store, Refreshments and Summer Drinks painted on the side is Luther and Ada Haley’s General Store and Bakery, built 1902. This was the first building in what is now Eltham’s present shopping town centre. Haley previously ran the General Store and Bakery on the corner of Main Road and York Street until his lease expired and the premises were bought by Mrs Sarah Burgoyne in 1902. The store later was known as Staff's Store. Followed by the saleyards, entrance to station, slaughter yard and William J Capewell’s butcher shop. Contained within the saleyards facing the street, a small shelter with the name H.H. Clark upon it. Horace Harold Clark was the son of Eltham State School’s first Head Teacher, David George Clark. As well as being a farmer, he was an Estate Agent and conducted auction sales, presumably from this shelter. On the eastern (right) side of Main Street is Haley’s Paddock, which was used on occasions for community picnics. Capable of holding 10,000 people, with ample shade and hilly surroundings it was an ideal place for any community gathering such as the State Schools’ Picnic in 1904. A worker from the bakery store is standing in the gateway at the rear of the store observing the photographer. People in the ‘Sunday Best’ are milling in front of the bakery or strolling down the centre of Main Road. The picture was most likely taken on a Sunday. With the opening of the railway to Eltham in 1902, Melbourne residents would regularly enjoy a Sunday excursion journey on the train to Eltham for a day’s outing to the countryside or beyond to Hurstbridge from 1912 when the railway was extended. Picture dated as c.1910 based on similar picture published in the Weekly Times, Feb. 1912. Cross Ref: 609 (looking south), 612, 611 (later stage), 613.Negative black and white film 120 6x9 format 2 stripsAgfa APX 100baker, butcher, eltham, eltham railway station, eltham sale yards, eltham slaughter yard, eltham town centre, general store, haley's paddock, hot water, luther haley, luther haley general store, m.m. clark, main road, railway station, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, shops, sign, staffs general store, summer drinks, w.j. capewell

Francis Box was born in Withyham, Sussex and came to Australia with his parents George and Mary Box and siblings in 1856. He was assigned to work in Beaufort and had various jobs including ‘gold miner’ at Heathcoat where he married Eliza Jane Thompson. Francis decided to return to market gardening after the death of his 1st child Francis George Box in 1875 aged 13months. The child was buried in Brighton Cemetery and Francis then rent/leased the land on the corner of Tucker Road and Elizabeth Street East Brighton ( now Bentleigh) owned by his brother Henry who with another brother John helped Francis clear the land, and establish a market garden. They had 4 children and began to prosper until in 1882 their 2year old child Lena Caroline Box was killed in a fire that destroyed their house. Francis was burned trying to rescue the child. The local community raised money to assist the family. The land boom brought prosperity again and Francis bought more land around Tucker Road which was bequeathed to his children. Francis and Eliza Jane had four more children but one died in infancy and another aged 2 years. Only 5 of their 9 children survived. Francis and Eliza Jane, who died in 1922, are also buried in Brighton Cemetery Jessie Melinda Box 1888- 1975 was born in East Brighton ( Bentleigh) the 8th child of Francis and Eliza Jane Box. She was a teacher in Eskdale, Victoria and married William Robinson d 1983, a farmer at Mitta in 1921. The family later moved to Tucker Road, Bentleigh where they ran a market garden until in 1950 they established "The Hilandale Poll Hereford Stud" at Notting Hill and Rowville. They moved to Mornington c 1960 where they continued their stud farming and enjoyed success at Melbourne, Sydney and local Shows. They had 2 children Jack Francis Robinson b1921, William James Robinson b1925. Box Cottage Museum, a reconstruction of an early settler hut, is named after the Box family who resided there 1865 -1913 . William Box who with his wife Elizabeth Avis Box and 13 children lived and farmed on the block of land in Jasper Road, East Brighton ( now McKinnon / Ormond) that was part of the Henry Dendy Special Survey 1841 . Francis Box, a brother of William Box, was born in Withyham, Sussex and came to Australia with his parents George and Mary Box and siblings in 1856. Francis established market gardens in Tucker Road Bentleigh. Jessie melinda Box was the 8th child of Francis Box Inscribed in Album “ The early photos in this album were found by Mr (Laurie) Lewis when he was demolishing the Old Box Cottage. He gave them to Mrs Avis Box Eldridge who in turn gave them to me. They were not identified. I believe they rightly belong in the Cottage. I have attempted to identify them and present them in a way they can be preserved as a historical record of the era.” A B Leigh A black and white photograph of Jessie Melinda Box a daughter of Francis Box and Elizabeth Jane Thompson Box c 1889YEOMAN & Co 47 Chapel Street, / Prahran* box george, box mary, box william, box elizabeth honor, box alonzo, box mary louisa, dendy henry, were j b, dendy's special survey 1841, brighton, moorabbin, bentleigh, mckinnon, ormond, market gardeners, dairy farms, early settlers, pioneers, tucker road, box francis , thompson eliza jane, box william henry george, box charles francis, , box mabel alma. box jessie melinda, robinson william, robinson jack francis, robinson william james, poll hereford stud farming, rowville, mornington, notting hill victoria, royal melbourne agricultural show, royal sydney agricultural show. cattle breeding,

1855 Stephen Charman donated land to the Methodist Church so that a School could be established to educate the children of the early settler market gardeners and farmers in the Cheltenham area . Education was valued by the general community and as well as schools they established mechanics Institutes and Libraries in Moorabbin Shire. Cheltenham State School No. 84 was among the first schools in Melbourne. Stephen Charman, 1821-1906 a market gardener, donated land for the first Methodist Chapel, Cemetery and School in Charman Rd Cheltenham 1855. The enrolment was 36 pupils with Mr Frederick Meeres as Teacher. 1863 the school is called Beaumaris Common School No 84 with 70 pupils and Walter Meeres as Teacher. 1869 another 2 acres in Charman Road were granted by the Education Board and brick building built . 1872 State School 84 Beaumaris was increasing enrollments and 1878 a new brick school was built to accommodate 174 pupils and the name changed to Cheltenham State School No.84 1894 Mentone State School No.2950 amalgamated with Cheltenham SS No.84. 1910 the buildings were in disrepair, overcrowding was increasing and renovations were made 1912 with further additions in 1925 and 1937. Post WW11 extra prefabricated Classrooms were added as enrollment increased to 1038 in 1955.. Cheltenham East State School 4754 was opened as housing development spread over the City of Moorabbin . (J.Larson Sandringham HS) Probably due to the Scottish heritage of many early settlers the Fife & Drum Band was established at the West Beaumaris (Cheltenham) State School . The Fife is similar to the piccolo, and usually made of wood, consisting of a tube with 6 finger holes and an embouchure hole that produces sound when blown across.The fife was used in folk music traditions to accompany dancing by all social classes. Also in the Military where drums accompanied the fife and originally these 'boy soldier ' bands were used to signal manouevres in the field for the infantry. Later Fife & Drum bands were used for marching bands in schools and community groups, 1855 Stephen Charman donated land to the Methodist Church so that a School could be established to educate the children of the early settler market gardeners and farmers in the Cheltenham area . Education was valued by the general community and as well as schools they established mechanics Institutes and Libraries in Moorabbin Shire. Cheltenham State School No. 84 was among the first schools in Melbourne.Black & White photograph of pupils at West Beaumaris (Cheltenham) State School No.84 in the boy's Fife and Drum Band c 1908Back Handwritten Mrs Whelan / Beaumariswhelan r, marriott geoff, meeres frederick, cheltenham state school no.84, education, keys robert, holloway josiah, king brothers, smith j l; smith mary ann, stanley helen, chaff cutter, horse drawn carts, toll gates brighton, motor cars 1900, steam engines, early settlers, bentleigh, parish of moorabbin, city of moorabbin, county of bourke, moorabbin roads board, shire of moorabbin, henry dendy's special survey 1841, were j.b.; bent thomas, o'shannassy john, king richard, charman stephen, highett william, ormond francis, maynard dennis, market gardeners, vineyards, orchards

JAMES JOSEPH HIGGINS, was born in Dublin in 1821 and, at age twenty, emigrated via Liverpool in 1841 with his wife Ellen and baby daughter Margarete, on board the 'Intrinsic'. They lived in Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, for some years, where their son James John Clarke Higgins was born in 1850. JAMES JOHN CLARKE HIGGINS moved to Brighton East when he married Ruth Simmonds in 1873. The couple lived on Jasper Rd near the corner of Centre Rd for the rest of their lives, and produced eight children HERBERT JOHN HIGGINS was the sixth child born in 1886, to James John Clarke Higgins and Ruth Simmonds, and grew up in Centre Rd, Brighton East, now Bentleigh. He was renting and working a property on Jasper Rd from the time he was married in 1913 to Victoria Matilda Long, daughter of Charles John Long and Annie Matilda Allnutt. Herbert John bought his property on Jasper Rd in 1921. [Metropolitan Board of works plan 3220, Municipality of Moorabbin, shows that in 1928, Higgins Rd was planned (and probably built soon after). Herbert was a dairyman and market gardener. He bred and milked cows and sold milk, cream, butter and eggs to the locals. He supplied hay/corn to be made into chaff to J L Smith’s produce store. He also leased land from other farmers in the area and helped work their land. c1950 he sold the property in lots, some privately, others to the Municipality. Some lots became part of Hodgson Reserve, Higgins Road, Bentleigh, and another lot, the Bentleigh Bowling Club. Herbert and Victoria, known as Queenie, had five children between 1914 and 1928. The youngest Dorothy, who remembered sitting in this pram and later using it to carry papers, wood, vegetable etc., lived on the property in Jasper Road until her passing in 2016. ( Ronald Alexander Higgins, descendant , Helen Stanley CMHS 2017) The family of Dorothy Higgins 1928-2016, were early settlers in Moorabbin Shire establishing a dairy farm c 1873 in East Brighton ( now Bentleigh)Wicker Perambulator, baby carriage, c. 1914, with a lined, painted wicker body, iron spring scrolled frame with leather straps and 4 steel wheels with rubber tyres. The push handle is broken and hood is missing. dairy farms, higgins james joseph, simmonds ruth, higgins dorothy, poultry farms, jasper road bentleigh, city of moorabbin historical society 1961, sheehy t.a., newsletters, ashley r, neville f, blackman n, moorabbin city council, moorabbin roads board toll gates, pioneers moorabin cheltenham, bentleigh, highett

Marjorie Joyce Haeffner informed that she was born at Mosgiel Hospital in Mont Albert Road, Surrey Hills in 1924, soon after it opened. According to electoral rolls, her parents Henry Norman Neil and Mabel Haeffner were living at 22 Wharton Street, Surrey Hills at this time. Henry's parents Henry Thomas Haeffner (1858-1935) and Eliza Jane (ms Chesney - 1868-1940) were farmers in the Tallangatta area. Their farm was called 'Ferndale'. Another farm in the area - 'Spring Creek' - was the address of Marj's parents in 1922 before they moved to Melbourne. Some time after 1926 and by 1931 Marj's parents had moved back to Tallangatta to help out on his parents' farm. This was lost during the Depression. Marj's family moved back to Melbourne; her grandparents stayed in the North Albury area until they died. Electoral roll entries show that there was considerable movement of extended family members between town and country. Marj's parents moved back to Surrey Hills; the electoral roll lists them at 33 Clyde Street in 1936 but Chatham Primary School's list of students records that Marj was there from 1932-1937. She had siblings Jack (enrolled in 1933) and Donald (enrolled in 1934). In 2019 this Edwardian timber home still stands. Marj was an enthusiastic member of a women's cricket club in the 1940s and 1950s. According to Jocelyn Hall's photo register, this photo was taken at the Haeffner home in Clyde Street. After she married Marj did not moved far from her childhood home in Clyde Street. She and her husband Brian Lindsay (known as Lindsay) Higgins bought 31 Langford Street, Surrey Hills, a Californian bungalow on a wide block, and between 1961 and 1970 Marj's children Margaret, Wendy, Deborah, Robyn, Adam and Christopher Higgins were also enrolled at Chatham. Marj's home in Langford Street was sold in April 2019 for $2.08M.A black and white photograph of a lady dressed in white cricket gear standing in front of a house.cricket, women's cricket, (miss) marjorie haeffner, (mrs) marjorie higgins, clyde street

Dry stone construction as a technique is used for much more than paddock walls. Across the volcanic plains of western Victoriaare marvelous sheep dips, stock loading ramps, huts, dams, retaining walls, and the rich and largely undiscovered heritage of indigenous dry stone structures. Dry stone walls indicate many aspects of our rural environment; the geological beginnings of the way the landscape was created, the patterns of early settlement by pastoralists and squatters, the types of stock that grazed the land and the methods of cattle and sheep management, of the efforts to thwart the spread of rabbits .... "For the casual but interested observer dry stone walls are good to look at, to photograph, to get up alongside and see the way they are constructed, to appreciate the varying shapes and sizes of stones and learn of the techniques of keeping often quite rounded stones in place. Apart from walls and other dry stone structures on grazing land we can also see dry stone techniques used in other places and in other phases of our history. Indigenous Australians have built, and continue to build, structures for shelter or hunting or trapping eels and fish in rivers and estuaries around the country. At spots around our coast line there is evidence of simple stone structures built by early maritime explorers. Prospectors in early mining encampments used dry stone construction to build retaining walls or the low walls of rudimentary shelters. If the future of dry stone walls in the Australian landscape is to be assured. wall owners and local governments have to accept and embrace their custodial role in assuring the preservation and celebration of walls. This is not an easy task, but, along with putting the necessary statutory mechanisms to ensure their retention, it is a task that must be pursued. The Dry Stone Walls Association of Australia has as its primary goal the increase in awareness of wall owners and local governments of the importance of dry stone walls. It also seeks to increase the level of training of skilled and semi skilled wallers, and the gaining of rudimentary skills by farmers so that they can maintain their own walls". Melton Star Weekly article about the Stone Wallslandscapes of significance

This seed box was made for Hiram Sibley for his seed house business. He sold seeds priced by the weight or the space they took up e.g. bushel. This box allowed for seeds to be divided by type, size or even date. The box was strong and easy to cart and store. It was also a handy item to 'recycle' as a storage container for other items. The Sibley seed box is a desirable collectors' item. A large variety of sizes and shapes are still available today in various stages of condition. Hiram Sibley developed seeds that were strong and the plants that grew from these seeds produced many seeds. Varieties of Sibley seeds and plants are still advertised for sale in modern times. HIRAM SIBLEY (1807-1888) - Hiram Sibley was born in America. He had a natural mechanical ability and became skilled in many trades. He and his partner Don Watson opened a sawmill then a machine shop and foundry. He became involved with Alfred Vale and Samuel Morse and their work on the telegraph. Eventually he became the first president of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Later, after leaving Western Union in the early 1860s, Sibley bought and sold railroads, manufactured sold, ran timber mills, and became involved in farming and seed supply. In this area he used his skills to engineer seeds that were stronger and develop plants that produced more seeds. The production of seeds became his main business. He bought land cheaply and improved to soil so that he could produce seed and grain, and graze herds of cattle. He became the owner of 14 large farms. Hiram Sibley earned the reputation "as the most extensive farmer and seedsman in this country". The business of Hiram Sibley & Co. was conducted his warehouse in Rochester and his seed house in Chicago. One department of the business sold farming equipment, another department imported ornamental plants from overseas countries Sibley went on to invest a large amount of money in a bank, and to be financially involved in the community by making large donations to public services such as a library and a school of music. At one point he was the richest man in Monroe county.This box is significant for its historic connection with Hiram Sibley, who is famous for many reasons, among which is his very profitable business of seed engineering to improve the production of crops. This box also represents the value of containers used for selling products in the 1880s, being re-used for other useful purposes. The box is an example of goods imported for use in Australia. The text and images of the box are an example of 1880s advertisingBox, wooden, with two brass hinges joining lid to base. Base has two wooden partitions, divided into three unequal sized compartments. Lid's underside has label with drawings of buildings and produce, text with maker's name and description of vegetables. Front edge of box has stencilled text and diagrams. Outside lid, and the other three sides, have no inscriptions. Made by Hiram Sibley & Co., USA. (Box is currently used to store quoits 1436.2 and cones of cotton thread 1436.3.)Marked "HIRAM SIBLEY & CO / SEEDS", "WAREHOUSE - "ROCHESTER N.Y. ", "SEED HOUSE - CHICARGO, ILL.", "SEEDS BY WEIGHT & MEASURE", "PUT UP BY / HIRAM SIBLEY & CO. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. AND CHICARGO, ILL."flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, hiram sibley & co, rochester n.y., seeds, wooden seed box, seed box, seedsmen, arable farming, chicargo illinois, seed house, seed engineering, seed distribution, seeds by weight and measure

A Map drawn in 1852 that shows the 5,120 acres that formed Dendy's Special Survey of 1841. In 1840 Henry Dendy, a farmer in Surrey, England acquired a "Special Survey" from the Commissioners for Land and Emigration which gave Dendy the right to choose land in Port Phillip for the "bargain basement" price of only £1 per acre for 5120 acres, (an area of 8 square miles). The Special Survey also included the right to "the shipment of a worker for every £20 spent on land, whose free passage was paid by the Crown, equalling a total of 100 workers ". Accordingly Dendy sold his English holdings and paid the required £5120 and arrived in Melbourne in February 1841. However by this time land in the new colony was selling for £5 - £40 per acre. Because Henry Dendy possessed the order from the Colonial Office in London he was able to successfully oppose Governor LaTrobe's attempts to alter the price of the land. Dendy appointed Jonathan Were, (an entrepreneur, who had arrived in 1839), as his Manager and who later became a partner. Together, Dendy and Were decided on an area 5 miles south from Melbourne, bounded by North Road, East Boundary Road, South Road and to the west by Port Phillip Bay. Were and Dendy pitched their tents in the area now known as ' Park St, Brighton' and sank a well near the corner of 'St Andrew's St and Wells St'. By 1845 J.B Were and Company had bought almost half of Dendy's land and Were built himself "Moorabbin House" in Were St Brighton made from stone, quarried from local cliffs. It was still standing in 1924. Legend records Moorabbin is named after the Aboriginal word for ' Mother's Milk ' The soil is very fertile and well supplied with water especially in the area called 'East Brighton' - now known as Bentleigh and East Bentleigh - By 1850 the area had developed with numerous market gardens, dairy farms, fruit gardens and vineyards supplying food for the growing population of Melbourne.This Map shows the birth of the Brighton and Moorabbin area. On 18th January1859 Brighton was proclaimed a Municipality and a Borough by October 1863. Meanwhile, following a Petition, the area of East and South Brighton, incorporating Mordialloc, Cheltenham, Mentone, Sandringham and Oakleigh separated from Brighton to form the Moorabbin District Roads Board becoming the first Local Government Authority. Col. William Mair was elected as the first Chairman of the Moorabbin Roads Board. Moorabbin Shire 1871 developed further and was declared a City in1934. The City of Moorabbin was the largest Municipality in Melbourne before the Amalgamation of Councils in 1994 when it was divided in the south to City of Kingston and in the north to City of Glen Eira A Photo-lithographed 1852 Map showing the 5,120 acres that formed Dendy's Special Survey of 1841. Henry Dendy & Jonathan Were chose an area 5 miles south from Melbourne, bounded by North Road, East Boundary Road, South Road and to the west by Port Phillip Bay. Moorabbin County of Bourke / Photo-Lithographed at the department of Lands and Survey. /Melbourne. / Price 1/- brighton, moorabbin, bentleigh, cheltenham, dendy henry, bent thomas, were jonathan, special survey

This photograph is held in the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute Audio Visual Collection. Please contact BMI for all print and usage inquiries. BMI librarian Rosemary McInerney's father George Richmond ran this furnitue business on Armstrong St Nth. Here are his reminiscences of that shoppping area from The Courier March 1st 1978 THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN ARMSTRONG ST. NORTH Mr George Richmond began work in Armstrong street north as a lad in knickerbockers in 1926. He started with Hames and Woodward, a piano, music and record shop, which he took over when both Hames and Woodward died during the war. Mr Richmond was guest speaker at an informal dinner of the Armstrong St North Traders Association held at the Victoria Hotel on Monday night. At the meeting he was made a life member of the association, with which he had been involved since its inception in 1930. “I can remember when a man on a bicycle with a little ladder on his backrode up the street with a long stick and turned on the gas lights under the verandahs,” he said. “It was around that time when there used to be a little man with a broom walking up and down the street, sweeping away what was left behind by horses. “There also used to be a bellringer who would walk up and down Armstrong street announcing a sale in a shop. He used to have a tall black hat, a large black frock coat and had a large mustache.” “Up to 1936, there used to be regular visits by street musicians, who were usually good for a few laughs.” “The last musicians to come through were an Italian trio, who were very good.” Mr Richmond said the depression was a sad time for Armstrong street. “A lot of people had to put their properties up for sale, because not many people could afford to buy things like records then,” he said. Mr Richmond said Fridays were very busy then as it was market day for hundreds of farmers in the area. “The hotels put on extra groomsmen for the stables, and standing in the store I could smell the beer and tobacco drifting down from the hotels.”ballarat, hames, woodward, furniture, richmond, armstrong st nth, shop

This photograph is held in the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute Audio Visual Collection. Please contact BMI for all print and usage inquiries. BMI librarian Rosemary McInerney's father George Richmond ran this furnitue business on Armstrong St Nth. Here are his reminiscences of that shoppping area from The Courier March 1st 1978 THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN ARMSTRONG ST. NORTH Mr George Richmond began work in Armstrong street north as a lad in knickerbockers in 1926. He started with Hames and Woodward, a piano, music and record shop, which he took over when both Hames and Woodward died during the war. Mr Richmond was guest speaker at an informal dinner of the Armstrong St North Traders Association held at the Victoria Hotel on Monday night. At the meeting he was made a life member of the association, with which he had been involved since its inception in 1930. “I can remember when a man on a bicycle with a little ladder on his backrode up the street with a long stick and turned on the gas lights under the verandahs,” he said. “It was around that time when there used to be a little man with a broom walking up and down the street, sweeping away what was left behind by horses. “There also used to be a bellringer who would walk up and down Armstrong street announcing a sale in a shop. He used to have a tall black hat, a large black frock coat and had a large mustache.” “Up to 1936, there used to be regular visits by street musicians, who were usually good for a few laughs.” “The last musicians to come through were an Italian trio, who were very good.” Mr Richmond said the depression was a sad time for Armstrong street. “A lot of people had to put their properties up for sale, because not many people could afford to buy things like records then,” he said. Mr Richmond said Fridays were very busy then as it was market day for hundreds of farmers in the area. “The hotels put on extra groomsmen for the stables, and standing in the store I could smell the beer and tobacco drifting down from the hotels.”ballarat, hames, woodward, furniture, richmond, armstrong st nth, shop, street, night

This photograph is held in the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute Audio Visual Collection. Please contact BMI for all print and usage inquiries. BMI librarian Rosemary McInerney's father George Richmond ran this furnitue business on Armstrong St Nth. Here are his reminiscences of that shoppping area from The Courier March 1st 1978 THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN ARMSTRONG ST. NORTH Mr George Richmond began work in Armstrong street north as a lad in knickerbockers in 1926. He started with Hames and Woodward, a piano, music and record shop, which he took over when both Hames and Woodward died during the war. Mr Richmond was guest speaker at an informal dinner of the Armstrong St North Traders Association held at the Victoria Hotel on Monday night. At the meeting he was made a life member of the association, with which he had been involved since its inception in 1930. “I can remember when a man on a bicycle with a little ladder on his backrode up the street with a long stick and turned on the gas lights under the verandahs,” he said. “It was around that time when there used to be a little man with a broom walking up and down the street, sweeping away what was left behind by horses. “There also used to be a bellringer who would walk up and down Armstrong street announcing a sale in a shop. He used to have a tall black hat, a large black frock coat and had a large mustache.” “Up to 1936, there used to be regular visits by street musicians, who were usually good for a few laughs.” “The last musicians to come through were an Italian trio, who were very good.” Mr Richmond said the depression was a sad time for Armstrong street. “A lot of people had to put their properties up for sale, because not many people could afford to buy things like records then,” he said. Mr Richmond said Fridays were very busy then as it was market day for hundreds of farmers in the area. “The hotels put on extra groomsmen for the stables, and standing in the store I could smell the beer and tobacco drifting down from the hotels.”

This photograph is held in the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute Audio Visual Collection. Please contact BMI for all print and usage inquiries. BMI librarian Rosemary McInerney's father George Richmond ran this furnitue business on Armstrong St Nth. Here are his reminiscences of that shoppping area from The Courier March 1st 1978 THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN ARMSTRONG ST. NORTH Mr George Richmond began work in Armstrong street north as a lad in knickerbockers in 1926. He started with Hames and Woodward, a piano, music and record shop, which he took over when both Hames and Woodward died during the war. Mr Richmond was guest speaker at an informal dinner of the Armstrong St North Traders Association held at the Victoria Hotel on Monday night. At the meeting he was made a life member of the association, with which he had been involved since its inception in 1930. “I can remember when a man on a bicycle with a little ladder on his backrode up the street with a long stick and turned on the gas lights under the verandahs,” he said. “It was around that time when there used to be a little man with a broom walking up and down the street, sweeping away what was left behind by horses. “There also used to be a bellringer who would walk up and down Armstrong street announcing a sale in a shop. He used to have a tall black hat, a large black frock coat and had a large mustache.” “Up to 1936, there used to be regular visits by street musicians, who were usually good for a few laughs.” “The last musicians to come through were an Italian trio, who were very good.” Mr Richmond said the depression was a sad time for Armstrong street. “A lot of people had to put their properties up for sale, because not many people could afford to buy things like records then,” he said. Mr Richmond said Fridays were very busy then as it was market day for hundreds of farmers in the area. “The hotels put on extra groomsmen for the stables, and standing in the store I could smell the beer and tobacco drifting down from the hotels.”ballarat, hames, woodward, furniture, richmond, armstrong st nth, shop