Montmorency Timber Co. was a timber merchant and suppliers of home heaters based in Were Street MontmorencyCopy of advertisement for the Montmorency Timber Co. from the Diamond Valley Mirror 14 September 1960montmorency timber co., were street montmorency

12 Margaret Avenue Montmorency. 4 bedroom home, Alistair Knox mudbrick and timber, on 1150 sq m., auctioned 23 February 2013, sold for $775,000Real estate advertising leaflet, 1 sheet, printed in colour both sidesmargaret avenue montmorency

'Saxam' was the home of the Kaye family (1886-1888) then William Santon, a former councillor and Mayor of Heidelberg. Saxam Homestead is a distinctive and substantial timber homestead built in the late 1880s as one of the notable rural properties in the St Helena area. In 2014 the house still stands but is in poor condition with most interior features removed. Digital copy of black and white photograph. saxam, santon family, william santon, kaye family

'Saxam' was the home of the Kaye family (1886-1888) then William Santon, a former councillor and Mayor of Heidelberg. Saxam Homestead is a distinctive and substantial timber homestead built in the late 1880s as one of the notable rural properties in the St Helena area. [Photo G. Studley]. Seated are Mr and Mrs Kaye, standing William Santon who was a local footballer, councillor and later Mayor of Heidelberg. In 2014 the house still stands but is in poor condition with most interior features such as this fireplace removed. Digital copy of black and white photograph.saxam, william santon, santon family

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph of advertising.Description of house for sale.poulter avenue

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph.poulter avenue

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph.

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph.

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph.

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph.

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Links: 01339.01377.01406.01483.01488.01527.01653 Digital copy of colour photograph.

Built circa 1930s this timber house has 6 rooms and fronts Poulter Avenue Greensborough. It was for sale in 2015 and photographs were taken by a GHS member.These older home sites are being redeveloped and photos give some idea of how Greensborough looked in the early 20th century.Digital copy of colour photograph.

"Saxam" was the home of the Kaye family (1886-1888) then William Santon, a former councillor and Mayor of Heidelberg. Saxam Homestead is a distinctive and substantial timber homestead built in the late 1880s as one of the notable rural properties in the St Helena area. In 2014 the house still stands but is in poor condition with most interior features removed. A significant Greensborough house.Digital copy of black and white photograph. saxam, churinga, william santon

"Saxam" was the home of the Kaye family (1886-1888) then William Santon, a former councillor and Mayor of Heidelberg. Saxam Homestead is a distinctive and substantial timber homestead built in the late 1880s as one of the notable rural properties in the St Helena area. In 2014 the house still stands but is in poor condition with most interior features removed. The site had a heritage overlay as shown. The overlay was reduced in 2014 to protect the house while allowing residential development on the site.Saxam is one of the only remaining farmhouses in the Greensborough area.Copy of map and planning scheme.saxam

Elizabeth Avis- Box 1835-1913 was born in Sussex, married William Box in 1854 and arrived in Melbourne in 1855. William’s parents George and Mary Box and his siblings sailed with them. William & Mary at first leased land in the area of the ‘Dendy Special Survey Brighton 1841’ and then purchased the property with the pioneer cottage 1868 & 1869. William & Elizabeth established a market garden and raised 13 children. 1888 they built a larger 2nd house in front of the original cottage. William died in 1902 and Mary sold 9 acres in 1908 to W. .Snowden Anderson – it later became Joyce Park where the reconstructed Box Cottage Museum now stands. After Elizabeth died her daughters Ada and Violet lived on the 1 acre property until 1917 when August Reitman, a potter and monumental mason, leased the house and land. He established his pottery business and purchased the property in 1935. The business moved in 1953 but continued to use the cottage as a workshop/ storeroom until it was sold to Lewis Timber P/L in 1970. Elizabeth & William Box settled in the pioneer Cottage in Jasper Road East Brighton 1868 and established a market garden whilst raising their 13 children. This Cottage was reconstructed in Joyce Park, Ormond 1984 and is the home of City of Moorabbin Historical Society. In 1960 many local residents responded to a call for the donation of historical artefacts and the Box Cottage Museum now preserves this eclectic collection for the community.The original Last Will & Testament of Elizabeth Avis Box September 1914In the Supreme Court / of Victoria / In the Probate Jurisdiction / In the Will of Elizabeth Box late of / Jasper Road Bentleigh in the State of / Victoria Widow deceased. Be it known ............. Given at Melbourne this ( 21st September 1914) Signed A Carter / Registrar top left corner 79637 / Snowball ( X232) Bottom left corner 10/9/...box elizabeth, box william, moorabbin, bentleigh, brighton, ormond, pioneers, market gardeners, box george, box mary cripps, reitman august, anderson w. snowden, joyce park ormond, box cottage museum dendy’s special survey brighton 1841,

Elizabeth Avis- Box 1835-1914 was born in Sussex, married William Box in 1854 and arrived in Melbourne in 1855. William’s parents George and Mary Box and his siblings sailed with them. William & Elizabeth at first leased land in the area of the ‘Dendy Special Survey Brighton 1841’ and then purchased the property with the pioneer cottage 1868 & 1869. William & Elizabeth established a market garden and raised 13 children. 1888 they built a larger 2nd house in front of the original cottage. William died in 1902 and Mary sold 9acres in 1908 to W. .Snowden Anderson – it later became Joyce Park where the reconstructed Box Cottage Museum now stands. After Elizabeth died her daughters Ada and Violet lived on the 1acre property until 1917 when August Reitman, a potter and monumental mason, leased the house and land. He established his pottery business and purchased the property in 1935. The business moved in 1953 but continued to use the cottage as a workshop/ storeroom until it was sold to Lewis Timber P/L in 1970 Elizabeth & William Box settled in the pioneer Cottage in Jasper Road East Brighton 1868 and established a market garden whilst raising their 13 children. This Cottage was reconstructed in Joyce Park, Ormond 1984 and is the home of City of Moorabbin Historical Society. In 1960 many local residents responded to a call for the donation of historical artefacts and the Box Cottage Museum now preserves this eclectic collection for the community. A certified true copy of the Death Certificate of Elizabeth Avis- Box 1835 -1914 in a wooden picture frame, obtained from The Births, Deaths and Marriages Office Melbourne Victoria 18/6/1985 THIRD SCHEDULE / DEATHS in the District of East Brighton in the State of Victoria Registered by George William Ward / Dated 1914 / 1st July 1914 Jasper Rd Bentleigh Shire of Moorabbin County of Bourke / Elizabeth Box / Home duties/ …… Dr A T Joyce Certified ‘true copy of an entry in a register’……… Signed by Paul Kenny Registration Officer 18 June 1985 box elizabeth avis, box william, moorabbin, bentleigh, brighton, ormond, pioneers, market gardeners, brighton cemetery, box george, box mary cripps, reitman august, anderson w. snowden, joyce park ormond, box cottage museum dendy’s special survey brighton 1841,

This was used to brabd sheeep to identify the owner. The brand was dipped in branding fluid then placed on the sheep's back following shearing.Crude wooden brand made of 6 pieces of pine wood box timber to form the letter Eshearing, branding, wool industry

These men are Ken North (standing) and Mick Evans (seated), serving with Australian Army in the Middle East. this photograph was sent home to his daughters by Mick Evans and is inscribed "To Betty, Shirley and June". Mick later served with the 'Rats of Tobruk'.This is a memento sent from father to children during World War II. Photograph of two soldiers, one seated. Mounted in timber frame. Frame size: 25 x 20 cm.Inscribed "To Betty, Shirley and June"mick evans, ken north, rats of tobruk, tobruk, world war ii, australian army

Home in Roses Gap Laharum area Home of Hugh RussellPhoto shows man seated and reading book in front of timber lean to. Towel hanging over leaning door. Cast iron pot hangs from timer rail in foregroundbuildings, houses, people

A major rebuilding project took place. Brothers John & Thomas Morgan with local storekeeper Harold Goodwin Taylor designing and building a grand new Guest House with 22 bedrooms plus the original bungalows. Unheard of at the time the guests bedrooms had hand basins with hot & cold running water. This was achieved by building a weir on Stony Creek and piping the water to a high holding tank at the guest house. The dining room was a grand affair, a 4.5 metre high ceiling with beautiful gold leaf cornices, art deco ceiling and wall lights with feature plaster lights in the form of blue bells, wall to wall carpet and Kentia palms completed the picture. Ladies & gentlemen dressed for dinner, the ladies resplendent in their long evening gowns and jewellery would come down the stairway from the entrance hall to the lounge then the dining room. The tables were beautifully appointed with damask table cloths & fine silverware. The kitchen was well appointed with a huge coal fired range and a donkey for hot water. Milk & cream, bacon & pork, chicken & eggs together with vegetables were all home grown on the property. A large ballroom with a beautiful timber floor was the scene after dinner for many dances and party nights with guests from other establishments and locals joining in for the night. A huge fernery was also a feature of the gardens. During the day tennis parties would be held on the courts, together with horse riding and guided walks were taken out by local guide Gilbert Rogers.Photo of newly built Grampian Houseaccommodation, guesthouses, accommodation, grampian house

This is an article about Gus Knight. It does not refer to him by name, but calls him "Man of Crooked Sticks" , who he had watched making an armchair out of twisted gum-tree boughs. The author also mentions Gus's home, which was constructed of timber cut a hundred yards away. The article appeared in "The Herald" newspaper on 3 February 1933, in the "in Town and Out" section.Newspaper article titled "Man of Crooked Sticks"people, knight

The photos show the Russell bee-hives at Roses Gap. The tree near the hut is the present site of Chinaman Lodge home. One of the copies is a transparency located at No 243 in the slide box.The photos show a group of bee-hives lined up in front of a timber shed. The hives and shed are in a clearing. There is a large tree near the shed and the clearing is edged with thick bush in the background. The two copies are of two photos taken at slightly different angles and distances from the shed.misc industries, bee-keeping, scenery, cherrypool

Jane and Samuel Delley emigrated to Australia in 1857. By 1870 they and their young family had settled in the area at the entrance of the Fyans Valley and on the west of Fyans Creek. There they built a home and recognising the needs of passing travellers and timber-getters, they established Delley's Inn, providing food and refreshments to all in need.Timber dwelling with bark roof and two chimneys, one at either side of the house. In front stand four men and two women with two wagon drays in the foreground. The area is enclosed by picket fencing close to the house and a rough timber fence on the rear of the boundary. Delley's Inn,1870 on reverse in pencilbuildings, houses, accommodation, delley's inn

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "Leaving the cars at Hurstbridge we walked the main street of the old village settlement, now a suburb. Near the station was a fine Edwardian house complete with palm and pines. Opposite was the Police Station, 1930-60 with a portable lock-up behind and the residence beside it. No. 794 was the Post Off1ce 3099 the-original shop-front window now has mail-boxes below. Close to the Railway entrance the butcher's shop remains unchanged, but across the road the linear shopping centre tries to keep the character of the olden times. The Fire Bell once hung on a tall gum outside No. 832. Palms in front gardens indicate the age of some of the homes, about 70 years. A corrugated iron shed still stands on the front fence line next to No. 840. Adding to the streetscape is an example of the standard timber early 20th century four veranda post suburban villa."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour, hurstbridge, shops

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "On the Arthurs Creek Road is a bridge designed by Monash, which we admired before walking across the little park with a mud-brick and timber shelter, to the Hurst family graveyard. There are two marked graves, one, Henry who was shot by Burke the bushranger and a cairn has a plaque listing others buried here from 1866 onwards. Burke was captured and tied to the wheel of a dray under the eucalypt near the waterhose/standpipe. Close by the kindergarten, at this place are three trees on the National Trust Register, a Canary Island pine, a Canadian cedar and probably a spruce. Radiata pines and a thick bolled peppercorn surround the little cemetery. Continuing along Main Street we notice elm trees planted as a war memorial, then on the left a 1930 timber house, a 1910 store and residence, resplendent with wrought iron trim, a double fronted Hardware Store and cypresses on the back alignment of a new vacant block. On the right side of the street is a less interesting attempt at an 'in character' shop. Further on are more early homes, one tucked away at the rear with two tall palms by the front steps. Another curiosity is a rounded veranda corner and there are more galvanised iron sheds or garages, before a mud-brick Dentist's Surgery. Beyond the round-a-about is St Peters Church, of mud-brick construction shared by Catholic and Anglican parishioners, overlooking the river flood plain. Leaving Hurstbridge on the Kinglake Road, we ate our picnic lunch beside the communication tower and enjoyed views of Melbourne, Yan Yean Reservoir and the distant Dandenongs beyond the spreading suburbs. Next we drove to the North West boundary of the Shire at Masons Falls Road towards Whittlesea. On the way to the North East Boundary we passed St Peters, a yellow wooden Church with a Tudor Archway; built in the early 1920's in the style of the 1860's. From the Healesville-Kinglake road the rolling hills had European aspects, the hedged fields and chestnut trees. Then it was back down the Hurstbridge Road through 'Aussie' bush of towering gums, with bracken and scrubby understorey, the Kinglake National Park, before more open country with deciduous trees planted in line, and a creek lined with willows."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour, hurstbridge, monash bridge, arthurs creek road

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "In some respects Eltham is a 'back-water' and it has its own distinctive flavour. On the outskirts the homes date from the 1960's, 70's and 80s with a sprinkling of 'earth homes', mud-brick or pise, rammed dirt. Crossing Main Road into Beddoe Street and Thompson Crescent a very pleasant drive past pines and old fence lines, front lawns unfenced, the occasional ·old farm building, we eventually looked down on a huge circular roof of a 1992 adobe home. Other distinctive places included the Pauline Toner Butterfly Reserve, Gordon Ford's splendid garden at Fulling in Pitt Street, cypress hedges and old houses in Bridge Street and in every direction Eltham's special feature - a totally treed horizon. We were now in the part of the Shire closest to Melbourne - Montmorency - not on the way to anywhere, with no through road going across it, developed in the 1950's and 1960's with conventional gardens, now converted to native plants. The rail looped between Greensborough and Eltham and a shopping street (Were Street) served the area, growing up the hill from the station. It was a typical outer Melbourne suburb with lawns and roses with patches of originality. The shopping precinct still has 1950 characteristics - walls which sloped back, projecting roofs, the original shop fronts are nearly all tiled below the old windows. There's an air of past times about the School, the Dairy, the Butcher's (now a milk bar) and the Castlemaine stone face of the Commonwealth Bank. The final stop for the tour was at the mud-brick Woodburn residence, adobe of 1949 with additions. After War Service, Bill Woodburn had commenced an Architecture course at Melbourne University and after second year in the Christmas vacation, with his wife, Betti, built the two bedroom house - with amazing saving of costs. In the three and a half months they made over 3000 bricks (external walls 18" x 12" x 4", internal walls 12" x 9" x 4"), sifted top soil for mortar and laid them, on concrete foundations and slab floor, made all the structural window frames, door frames and roof members to carry 'super six' asbestos sheets, laboured for the electrician and plumber, did all the glazing and, still without electricity, moved in in March 1949. Rooms have been added, at first with glass walls, later using concrete blocks, to accommodate three daughters and a son. The house not only grew from the earth, but also with the family."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour, woodburn house

This "homemade rake" is constructed from a branch of a tea tree. This item demonstrates that in the mid to late 1800's the isolation of the Kiewa Valley was more pronounced than during the early 1900's. The availability of gardening implements to the residences within the Kiewa Valley was scarce to non existence. with the upgrading of roads into the valley and the boost to the Valley's population (S.E.C. Kiewa Valley Hydro Electricity Scheme) transport into the valley, firstly via commercial Hawkers in their mobile caravans and later by commercial trucks. This "home made" rake is very significant because it highlights the ingenuity of local farmers and graziers in overcoming the semi isolation of the Kiewa Valley and its regions from the commercial availability of gardening implements enjoyed by gardeners in the towns and cities of the 1800's and the early 1900's. This "home made" garden rake highlights the ingenuity of the "Australian" character per se. A slice of this ingenuity can be seen by the amount of inventions, per capita, produced within Australia throughout its history.Handle is a long, stripped branch of tea tree. The head of the rake is a 2.3 cm. wide piece of wood, compressed between two 0.5 cm. pieces of metal joined with bolts, nuts and rivets. The holes drilled into the wood hold metal tines 10.5 cms. high. There should be 16 tines but 4 are missing. This type of rake is/ was used in dairiestimber, dairy, farm, rural, implement

This "home made" squeegee was manufactured in the mid to late 1900's by an ingenuous dairyman as a solution to the removal of cow "pats" from the concrete floors of his "milking" sheds. The tea tree made squeegee (being made from nature's anti bacterial material) was an excellent hygienic implement to use. This "home made" wooden squeegee is very significant to the Kiewa Valley and its surrounding regions because it highlights the natural ingenuity found in the pioneer farmer, grazier and other rural folk. It demonstrates the "mother of invention and adaptation" is very strong in rural areas where "off the shelf" products were a rare quantity. Part of the natural psyche of the rural Australian inhabitants is the ability to produce inventions that overcome physical restrictive conditions, "the man/woman of all trades" is an apt description of the pioneers of yesteryear and of those to come.The squeegee handle is a long branch made from a tea tree, inserted into the upper flat side of a slab of tea tree wood which is flat on one side and curved on the other, the natural curve of the tree trunk. This squeegee was used on dairies for removing cow manure.timber, dairy, farm, rural, implement

THE WEEK REVIEWED (Article; Bush Fires: A pictorial survey of Victoria's most tragic week, January 8-15, 1939. Published in aid of the Bush Fire Relief Fund by the Sun News-Pictorial in co-operation with its newsagents, pp2-3) THE fiercest bush fires Australia has known since its discovery are quiescent at the moment, and Victoria, in the comparative coolness of the change which came with rain on Sunday night, has begun·to count its losses. In the fiery eight days, from Sunday to Sunday, at least sixty-six men, women and children have lost their lives in forest fires, or have succumbed to burns and shock; many others have died from heat; and several serious cases of burns are being treated in hospitals. Two babies in Narrandera district have died, and ten others are in hospital, because of milk soured by the record temperatures of those eight days. Forest damage totals at least a million pounds, and incalculable damage has been done to the seedlings which were to have been the forests of the future. Water conservation will be seriously affected by the silting-up of reservoirs and streams from which protective timber has been taken by the all-engulfing flames. More than a thousand houses have been destroyed, and these, with 40 mills, and schools, post-offices, churches, and other buildings, represent a loss of at least half a million. At least 1500 are homeless. For their aid, money raised in appeals has now passed the £50,000 mark, and the biggest relief organisation ever set up in peace time has swung into operation. The First Hint Victoria's first hint of what was to come appeared on Sunday, January 8, when most parts of the State awoke to find a blistering day awaiting. At 12.20 p.m., when the thermometer reached its highest for the day, 109.6 degrees, the first fire victims were at that moment going to their death on a bush track five feet wide off the main road to Narbethong. They were the forestry officers Charles Isaac Demby and John Hartley Barling, who went to warn Demby of his danger when he parted from his companions, and was himself surrounded by the treacherous fire. It was not until 8 o'clock next morning that the tragic news was flashed throughout the State. Searchers found the two charred bodies close together, one seeking protection in the nook of two logs. Barling's watch had stopped at 1.20. In the meantime, tragedy was spreading its cloak. By Monday, big fires were raging at Toolangi, Erica, Yallourn, Monbulk, Frankston, Dromana, Drouin South, Glenburn, and Blackwood, with smaller outbreaks at many other centres. In the ensuing week, while women and children were evacuated as fast as the flames would permit, Erica-scene of the 1926 fire disaster-thrice escaped doom by a change of wind. Indeed, those who have been in the fire country these past days say that the numbers of times a change of wind has saved towns from destruction is amazing. In the towns they speak of miracles. Monday's Miracles The escapes from Monett's Mill at Erica and from the Hardwood Company's Mill at Murrindindi, near where Demby and Barling went to their death, were Monday's miracles. Twenty came out alive from each mill. At the first a 60ft. dugout provided an oven-like refuge; at the second, 12 women and children survived in the smoke-filled gloom of a three-roomed cottage while their eight men, their clothes sometimes afire, poured water on the wooden walls. Three houses out of ten remained when the fire had passed. Record Temperatures Sunday had been the hottest Melbourne day for 33 years; Monday dropped to a 76.1 degree maximum; but Tuesday dawned hotter than ever, the mercury reaching 112.5. By now rumor was racing ahead of fact; whole towns were being reported lost; the alarm was raised for scores of missing persons. But fact soon overtook rumor, and within a few days the staggering toll began to mount to a figure beyond the wildest imaginings of the panic-stricken. Six died from heat on this torrid Tuesday, and the fires spread in a wide swathe from south-west to north-east across the State. Fish died in shallow streams. A curtain of smoke hid the sky from all Victoria, and hung far out to sea. It alarmed passengers on ships. On the Ormonde, on the voyage to Sydney from Burnie, women ran on deck, believing fire had broken out in the hold. Days later the smoke reached New Zealand. In Melbourne thousands of fire-volunteers were leaving in cars: vans, motor-buses-anything reliable on wheels-to aid the country in its grim fight. In the fires at Rubicon and. Narbethong, seventeen were facing death this day. But not till Wednesday, when Melbourne breathed again in a cool change, while the country still sweltered in temperatures up to 117 degrees, did the news come through the tree blocked roads. A woman and her little daughter, trapped on the road, were among those who died. Their bodies, and those of menfolk with them, were found strewn out at intervals along the road, where the furnace of the surrounding fire had dropped them in their tracks as they ran. Twelve died at a Rubicon mill, five on the road at Narbethong. At Alexandra, not far distant, a baby was born while the fires raged, and stretcher-bearers brought in the injured. On Thursday the State Government voted £5000 for the relief of fire victims. The Governor (Lord Huntingfield) and the Lord Mayor (Cr. Coles) visited some of the stricken areas, and dipped into their pockets personally. Later, the City Council, too, voted £5000. Friday, The 13th Friday, the Thirteenth, justified its evil name. A blistering northerly came early in the morning, presaging destruction, and forcing the mercury to a new record of 114 degrees. Racing fires killed at least ten in those terrible 12 hours. Four children were engulfed in the furnace at Colac. Panic drove them, uncontrollable, into the smoke-filled road when the fire raced down behind their home. They choked to death. In other parts fires were joining to make fronts of scores of miles. Kinglake was being menaced on two fronts, £60,000 worth of timber was going up in smoke in Ballarat district. Warburton was surrounded. Residents at Lorne, favoured resort, were being driven to the sea-front by a fire which destroyed at least 20 homes. Healewille. with flames visible from the town at one stage, was in a trough between two fires which burned four guest-houses, seven homes and left its surrounding beauty-spots wastes of bowed-over, blackened tree-fern fronds; with its famous Sanctuary, however, intact. Most of Omeo was destroyed this black day: Noojee. while 200 residents crouched in the river, was being reduced to a waste of buckled iron and smoking timber; Erica was once again saved by a change of wind. Beneath a pall of smoke, the Rubicon victims were buried at Alexandra. Friday night and the early hours of Saturday saw the streets of beleagured towns strewn with exhausted fire-fighters. Their flails beside them, ready for the next call, they lay where exhaustion overtook them-on footpaths, beside lamp-posts, in gutters, in cars, under trucks. Saturday's dawn brought clear skies and lower temperatures in many parts, and from the burnt-out areas came a great rush of tragic reports. The death-roll rushed past the fifty mark with incredible speed. Some had been trapped on roads, others at mills; some, after burying their treasures, had clung too long to the places they had made their homes for many years. Four men lost their lives because one went back for his dog. By Sunday, when the first of the saving rain came, nearly another score of names had been added to the list.Newspaper magazine, 48 pages (incl. covers). Fully digitised and searchable PDFPublished in aid of the Bush Fire Relief Fund by the Sun News-Pictorial in co-operation with its newsagents.bushfires, 1939 bushfires, black friday, warrandyte

Pen and ink sketches accompanied by appropriate text in double page spreads. Contents cover : Blue stone bridge, Introduction, House cnr Church and Hailes Street, House - 25 Hailes Street, Yandell Reserve, Greensborough Hotel, Lobb's Kiosk, House - 49 Grimshaw Street, View of Greensborough (from Delphin Crescent), Railway Station, Old Barn (near Greensborough Railway Station), Partington's Flat and River Valley, Rand Street Bridge, Lower Main Street, Greenbriar Nursery, Hitching rail, Ashmead - Dr Cordner's Home, Greensborough Primary School, House - cnr St Helena and Diamond Creek Raods, Sondermeyer's Hill, Methodist Church, Football Pavilion, Cemetery, St Katherine's Church, St. Helena, Civic Centre, Briar Hill Timber Mill, 24 River Street, Kelly's Garden Supplies, 158 Main Street, Old Swimming pool, 105 Main Street.Hardback; 62 p. : ill., map ; 19 x 25 cm.ISBN 0909807108 Signed by author and illustrator Two copiesgreenhills, greensborough