Pheasant Creek General Store and Post OfficeEarly photograph showing store and post office with owner passing mail to man with horse, while a man on dray talks to man with a dog.Photograph of Pheasant Creek General Store and Post Office taken c.1935post office, store, pheasant creek

Kinglake West corner with post office (formerly Tommys Hut) and Carman's garage on left. In the days of dirt roads.Early photograph of intersectionPhotograph of Kinglake West corner with the post office on the right and Carman's shop and garage on the left.post office, kinglake west, tommys hut, carman

Photograph of original Kinglake West Primary (State) School building with children and families. School built in 1896 by the pioneering families as Education Department would not build a school. Built on land selected by the Snell family.Only known photograph of the original school buildingPhotograph of original Kinglake West Primary School building education, school, pioneers, kinglake west

Donkey team with wagon at Kinglake Post OfficePhotograph of Donkey team and wagon at Kinglake Post Office

kinglake, state, school, primary, buildingPhotograph of KInglake State School original building with teachers residence attached, opened in October 1879 and burnt down in February 1927

Big Ben, tree, Kinglake photograph of Big Ben, Kinglake

post card depicting horse and cart crossing log bridge at Kinglakeearly post card of Kinglake area including bridge and transportpost card of log bridge Kinglakekinglake, post card, log bridge, horse cart

Cr L P Mitchell was a councillor with the Shire of Whittlesea from 1947 until the 1970s. He was Shire president in 1954. The Laurimar estate on Yan yean road Doreen is named after the Counillor and his wife - Laurence and Mary.4 components of this collection: compact, medal, dress and documentsCompact inscription: Presented to Mrs L P Mitchell from Debs 1955 Medal inscription: Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria. Not transferrable 1958. (member no) 1996

Access Denied was a joint advocacy campaign between the City of Whittlesea and the local community in the lead up to the 2014 Victorian State Election. The campaign called on all political parties to commit to extending the railway line from South Morang to Mernda and building access ramps on the Hume Freeway at O’Herns Road in Epping North. The campaign was a success and secured almost $650 million in promises from the incoming Labor Government to build these projects. Badge, metal back with pin, white plastic printed front, black and red textConnect O'Herns Road / Access Denied / Get on Board / www.accessdenied.net.au / Build Mernda Railbadges, campaign badges, south morang railway, mernda railway

Letter from Ellison, Hewison & O'Collins Solicitors, Melbourne to the Shire of Whittlesea in reponse to a request for the names and addresses of the purchasers of blocks of land on the Station Entrance Estate and Railway Platform Estate, Thomastown. Both estates where originally subdived and sold in the mid 1920s. The collection includes a letter, a list of owners and their address details and the lot they own, and plans of both estates, which have been cut out of the original estate sale posters. Streets include High Street (Epping Road), Mount View Road, Pleasant Road, Central Avenue, Highlands Road and Main Street, ThomastownLetter, paper 3 pages, 2 plans. Letter from Ellison, Hewison & O'Collins Solicitors, Melbourne to the Shire of Whittlesea in reponse to a request for the names and addresses of the purchasers of blocks of land on the Station Entrance Estate and Railway Platform Estate, Thomastown.

Bridge over Darebin Creek, Settlement Road Bundoora. Looking west towards Thomastown, April 1967. Bridge post includes Australian Labor Party election poster for Greensborough Electorate. Bob Fell was the ALP candidate at the 1967 state election which he lost.Photographs, black and white print on paper. Bridge over Darebin Creek, Settlement Road Bundoora 1967.

Bluestone bridge across the Plenty River, Mernda. Commissioned by Moses Thomas, Secretary Morang District Road Board 1867bridges, moses thomas, mernda, bridge inn road

Blackbraes Farm is listed in the Whittlesea Heritage Overlay HO14, Photographic survey, 10 Cravens Road Merndablackbraes farm, mernda

sign

Orginally at Mernda Primary School Plenty Road Mernda, lost, recovered from an antique shop in Geelong in 2016, purchased by Councilhonor board

Prize awarded to Vision Australia Foundation as special prize for their success at the Whittlesea Agricultural Show. Unfortunately no records have yet been located to understand what this success involved, however handicrafts would be likely possibly.Image of paper certificate and sash awardedWhittlesea Agricultural Show Special Prize awarded to Vision Australia Foundation Exhibit: Most Successful Group 2003 Group: Sa Founded 1859 I.J. Ewert Esq., President Mrs J Sutherland J.P., Secretaryawards, vision australia foundation

David Wadelton is an Australian artist who lives and works in Melbourne. He is best known for his cyber-pop paintings, almost photorealist in style. This work was commissioned as part of a project titled: Photographic essay of Lalor. lalor

“Like "Red Gums, Hunters Lane", this painting is a deliberate attempt to infuse some new qualities into my work of that period, particularly in the painting of local subject matter. The heightened chroma and simplification of forms accentuated by a more rhythmic quality, endow the picture with a decorative characteristic which places it outside the category of the picturesque. Such colour harmonies, despite the heightened intensities, particularly in the road, do nevertheless exist, and it is the artist's prerogative to select and emphasize these certain qualities in his quest for expression. Unlike oil painting, watercolour and gouache can be unforgiving media, and once a commitment is made to the initial marks and washes on the paper, one must employ a certain deftness of touch to develop the work and retain the initial freshness. Some technical planning before painting is essential.” John BorrackPart of the John and Gillian Borrack Federation Bequest, donated to the City of Whittlesea in December 2001 by Gillian and John BorrackJohn Borrackmernda

Paper document with phone numbers for Whittlesea, Wonga Park and Yan Yean

The key was found in the subsurface context adjacent to the original location of the former Wollert Church on the corner of Lehmanns and Epping roads in Wollert in May 2022. The City of Whittlesea gifted the Key to Working Heritage on 2 April 2023.Corroded iron key for church doorfaith, religion, church, wollert church, carome homestead

Ferguson’s Paddock, Hurstbridge. A plaque on a boulder commemorates Peter Brock. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p167 On a rock in Ferguson’s Paddock, Hurstbridge, a plaque commemorates Peter Brock. It includes the words: ‘Boy from Hurstbridge without special privileges, grew to become champion of racetracks around the world but he never forgot his beginnings’. Brock came from a well-established local family. Born in Hurstbridge in 1945, he lived in Anzac Avenue as a child, attended the Hurstbridge Primary and Eltham High Schools and lived in the district most of his life. His father Geoff owned the Diamond Valley Speed Shop in Greensborough. Brock’s forbears were amongst the area’s earliest settlers. From Scotland, the Brocks arrived in Tasmania in 1830, to graze sheep. Family members moved to Sunbury, then Preston, grazing sheep in the Bundoora area. John Brock owned Janefield, possibly named after his wife. In 1855 he granted around two acres (0.8ha) of his estate for a school.1 In 1866 Lewis Brock bought 264 acres (107ha) in Nutfield, the first non-Aboriginal person to own that land. They planted an orchard, then from around 1935, Brock’s uncle Sandy and his grandfather Lewis, ran a dairy on the property. In the 1980s Brock and his then partner Bev, bought most of the property, which they sold after their separation in 2006. Brock’s father was a Hurstbridge Football Club President, but Brock’s uncle Sandy, of Brocks Road, Doreen, has been particularly active in local affairs. He was President of the Mernda Football Club (then Plenty Rovers), President of the Panton Hill Football League and he founded the Arthurs Creek and District Landcare Group. He also gave more than 50 years of service to the Whittlesea Agricultural Society, the Volunteers for Australian Football and the Doreen Rural Fire Brigade. Community service was important to Brock too. Brock, with his then partner Bev, established the Peter Brock Foundation in 1997, the year he retired from full-time V8 Supercar racing. The Foundation’s grants have included $100,000 towards the upgrade of a walking track in the Hurstbridge Parklands and other projects include a holiday house for the families of child cancer victims. Brother Lewis saw Brock as a spiritual person, who had a great affinity with people. He saw Brock as a role model of someone who could achieve their dreams. ‘The family didn’t have much money, yet that didn’t stop Peter realising his dreams. He was strong and didn’t let difficult times crush him.’ Despite his later successes, Brock’s most treasured trophy was for running 100 yards (91.4m)at his primary school in 1955, and he appreciated his head master Ted Griffiths’ encouragement of his sporting endeavours. At high school Brock became captain of Everard House. In his first year he bought a 1928 Austin 7 for £5. He cut the car into a box shape with an axe and enjoyed driving it – despite it having no brakes - at his grandparents’ farm at Nutfield. The turning point in Brock’s life came at age 23, when he built an Austin A30 in an old henhouse in Wattle Glen, using a Holden engine. He was laughed at until it won the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1968. Brock’s career then took off and he became a professional driver. Brock won Australian motor sport’s best-known event, the Bathurst 1000, nine times. Brock endured a bitter split from Holden in 1986 over control of his Holden-backed vehicle modification business and a car performance-enhancing device he called the ‘energy polariser’– despite it having no scientific evidence to support its claims. But Brock returned to Holden in 1994. Then in 1997, aged 52, Brock retired from fulltime V8 Supercar racing. However he continued to race at motor sport events. Brock won several awards, including an Order of Australia Medal in 1980, the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, and the Centenary Medal. On September 8, 2006, Brock died; after his car hit a tree during the Targa West Rally in Western Australia.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, ferguson's paddock, hurstbridge, peter brock memorial, peter brock

Nillumbik Shire Council transferred to the former Diamond Valley Shire Offices in Greensborough after municipal restructuing. The offices became the official Nillumbik Shire Council Offices on 16 October 1995. The former Shire of Diamond Valley Civic Centre or Shire Office building was officially opened on 26th February 1972. Archtiects were A.K. Lines, McFarlane & Marshall and it was built by L.U. Simon Pty Ltd, The Diamond Valley Shire had been created in 1964 from part of the City of Heidelberg. On December 15, 1994 the Shire of Nillumbik was established. Under the Council amalgamations imposed by the Kennett government, the Shire of Eltham, Shire of Diamond Valley and City of Heidelberg ceased to exist with the establishment of Nillumbik Shire Council and the City of Banyule.The new Nillumbik shire surrended the west riding from Eltham to Banyule but in place gained parts of the former Diamond Valley Shire which itself had been created in 1964 from parts of the City of Heidelberg. Three unelected and non-local Commissioners were put in place by the government bringing democracy into question by many members of the local community. The Commissioners determined to abandon the former Shire of Eltham offices located in Main Road, Eltham and in turn occupy the former Shire of Diamond Valley offices located at the boundary of the new shire with Banyule, in Civic Drive, Greensborough. In July 1996 the Commissioners sold the former Eltham Shire Offices and had them bulldozed leading to many years of communiity protest over the process and future development applications. The site has remained vacant ever since. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p43 It was the need for roads that led to this district’s first council. In 1853 a committee was formed to improve the rough roads, some in Kangaroo Ground being almost impassable in winter.1 The committee fundraised by voluntary levies and grants to improve in particular, the main road between Kangaroo Ground and the Plenty River. From this committee arose the Eltham District Road Board, in 1856, which was the precursor to the Eltham Shire Council. The Board’s first chairman was Kangaroo Ground farmer, John Barr. Secretary was the former committee’s secretary, Andrew Ross, Kangaroo Ground’s first school teacher, and founder of the district newspaper, The Evelyn Observer.2 Most of the board’s income came from a toll-house north of the Lower Plenty Bridge, which funded such projects as a road from Kangaroo Ground to the Caledonia Diggings. In 1871 the Shire of Eltham was proclaimed, with its boundaries the same as those of the Road Board, and Councillor A Donaldson of Kangaroo Ground was the first president. Eltham was at the southern tip of the shire, which extended north to Kinglake and east beyond Yarra Glen. In 1878, part of Kinglake was added to the shire, while the area east of Watts River, near Healesville was removed. In 1912, then again in 1958, the shire was further reduced. Yarra Glen, Steels Creek, Tarrawarra, parts of Healesville and Christmas Hills, were transferred to the Shire of Healesville. In 1972 a smaller area, at Kinglake, was transferred to the Shire of Yea, leaving 277 square kilometres in the Eltham Shire. Perhaps no other Victorian municipality has had so many meeting places. Although from 1858 to 1904, the council convened at the office in the home of Secretary Charles Wingrove, the board, and later the council, also met at other more central locations.3 The board moved from the Fountain of Friendship Hotel to the Eltham Courthouse, to the Kangaroo Ground schoolhouse. It then met at the Kangaroo Ground Hotel, which some considered put it in danger of interruptions by people ‘the worse for liquor’.4 In 1885 the council met at the hall on Mr J Donaldson’s land at Kangaroo Ground. After Wingrove’s retirement, the council rented space at the Kangaroo Ground General Store and Post Office. Then, in 1917, the council bought the former office of The Evelyn Observer, after its printing works transferred to Hurstbridge. In 1934, fire destroyed the shire office, which was temporarily relocated to the Kangaroo Ground home of Shire Secretary, Mr P J McMahon. In 1941, the shire office moved to a new building (which included a public hall) in Eltham, at the corner of Arthur Street and Main Road, where the Eltham Village Shopping Centre was eventually built. Growth required new offices, which opened in 1965, on the former Shillinglaw property in Main Road.5 In 1994, as part of municipal restructuring under the Jeff Kennett Liberal Government, most of the Eltham Shire formed part of the new Shire of Nillumbik. It joined with the north section of the Diamond Valley Shire and parts of the Healesville and Whittlesea municipalities. The Diamond Valley Shire had been created in 1964, from part of the City of Heidelberg. Turbulence followed Nillumbik Shire’s formation. Under the Commissioners the council transferred to the former Diamond Valley Shire offices in Greensborough, and the Eltham council offices were demolished. In March 1997 the first five-member Nillumbik Council was elected. But, in October 1998, the government suspended the council and appointed an administrator . Early in 1999, shire residents voted to increase councillors to nine: comprising five ward councillors and four shire-wide councillors. Elections were held in March 1999. Then, before the March 2002 elections, nine new wards were created.6 In 2008 these were reduced to seven. Today [2008] the council governs a varied population of more than 60,000 people living in townships and on bush properties in the green wedge.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, greensborough, nillumbik shire council offices, civic drive

Monash Bridge spans the Diamond Creek at Hurstbridge. It was built in 1917 for the Shires of Heidelberg, Eltham and Whittlesea. It is considered Nillumbik Shire's finest engineered bridge and was construced by the engineering company of Sir John Monash. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p117 Monash Bridge is considered the Shire’s finest engineered bridge and was constructed by the engineering company of that great Australian, Sir John Monash.1 The bridge spans Diamond Creek on the Hurstbridge-Arthurs Creek Road, linking Hurstbridge with Yarrambat and Arthurs Creek. Monash Bridge, also called Hurst’s Bridge, was built in 1917, by the Reinforced Concrete and Monier Pipe Construction Company Pty Ltd, for the Shires of Heidelberg, Eltham and Whittlesea. Although Monash was probably in action overseas during World War One when the bridge was designed and constructed, he evolved the basic design in the 1900s and it was a standard design for the firm. However J A Laing, a designer at the firm, was probably the designer, as his initials are on bridge drawings held by the Eltham District Historical Society.2 The bridge is an excellent early Australian example of an open spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge and has a single span of 29 metres. It is unusual in Victoria, but similar to many reinforced concrete arch bridges in Europe and America, built from the late 19th century. In Victoria, Monash pioneered the use of reinforced concrete – then a revolutionary construction material. His company, Monash & Anderson, had the exclusive licence for the Monier patent for the system of reinforced concrete construction for Victoria and New South Wales. A well-known example of the Monier arch bridge is the Morell Bridge in South Yarra. The sweeping arch of the Monash Bridge combines grace and utility and blends with the surrounding rural landscape. Its design and construction have allowed it to carry increasing volumes of heavy traffic, but in modern times the one lane is considered by some to prevent easy passage through Hurstbridge. However others consider this an asset to deter too much more traffic, which would diminish Hurstbridge’s charming rural character.3 This is the third bridge across the Diamond Creek at this site. The original bridge was a log bridge upstream, constructed in the 1850s by early settler, Henry Hurst, after whom Hurstbridge was named. The bridge spanned the creek, where it divided his family’s property. In the 1880s a timber bridge replaced it, known as Hurst’s Bridge. However a more permanent bridge was considered necessary when the new railway arrived in 1912, bringing with it expectations of growth in the town and the surrounding fruit-growing district. Monash Bridge’s official opening on November 3, 1917 was a gala occasion, which took place before about 1000 spectators. Two who attended the opening had a particularly sound knowledge of the locality. One was Fred Hurst, Henry’s brother, who used to ford the creek at or near the bridge’s site more than 50 years before. The other was John McDonald of Arthurs Creek, who had built the old wooden bridge over the creek about 40 years earlier.4 Although John Monash was a fine engineer, his fame came from his brilliant war career, rather than from his engineering or his many other achievements. Monash was Corps Commander of the Australian Forces. His brilliance was recognised with his awards: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Knight Commander of the Bath. Monash was also decorated by the French, Belgian, and American Governments.5 After the war, Monash worked in many prominent civilian positions, the most notable as head of the Victorian State Electricity Commission. He was a leading and loved public figure, involved in many public and private organisations. He was president of the Australian Zionist Federation and involved in the Boy Scouts. Monash University is named after him. By the 1920s Monash was probably regarded as the greatest living Australian.6 Despite most of his life working as an administrator and leader, rather than a fighting soldier, he became integral to the ANZAC legend. Monash died in 1931.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, hurstbridge, monash bridge

Fern gullies around Jehosaphat Gully Covered under National Estate. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p125 The magnificent Kinglake National Park, fringing Nillumbik’s north, is the largest national park close to Melbourne. Thanks to the vision and hard work of a band of local people, the park was created from what was rapidly becoming degraded land. Seeing a threat to Kinglake’s indigenous flora and fauna, several prominent local people campaigned for a national park, which was established in 1928.1 Since then, the park has grown through donations and acquisitions of land, from around 13,800 acres of land (5585ha) to 22,360 hectares. The Sugarloaf and Everard Blocks – of almost 8000 hectares – stand in Nillumbik and the park extends into Mitchell and Murrundindi Shires and the City of Whittlesea. Mt Everard commemorates William Hugh Everard, State member for Evelyn when the park was established. Before 1928, European settlers had degraded the Kinglake area, which was named after the celebrated English author and lawyer, Alexander William Kinglake. Remains of gold shafts and diggings in the park are reminders of Kinglake’s first settlers, who hoped to strike it rich at the gold diggings. But like other gold fields in this shire, they proved not very lucrative and soon timber cutting replaced mining in importance. However, before long, the accessible timber supply ran out, so in the 1920s agriculture took over – particularly potatoes and berry fruits – which involved large-scale clearing.2 The park’s instigator was retired Melbourne University Professor of Music, William Laver.3 As chair of the Kinglake Progress Association he began negotiations to have crown lands on the southern scarp of the Great Dividing Range reserved as a national park. Even before the park was proclaimed, from 1927, KPA members cut tracks to the major scenic points. Professor Laver was one of several people who gave land for the park, donating around 50 acres (20ha), including the Jehosaphat Gully.4 Laver chaired the park’s first Committee of Management, which raised money to employ a ranger and provide facilities, including tracks and roads for fire protection vehicles, toilets and shelters. The committee charged fees for firewood collection, some grazing of livestock, and visitor entrance, and obtained small State Government and Eltham Shire grants. In 1957 the State Government provided revenue for national parks. Then, in 1975, the State Government took over the management and the Committee of Management became an advisory committee, which disbanded in 1978. Originally, the park covered crown land in the Shires of Eltham and Whittlesea; then Wombelano Falls in Yea and other areas were added. In 1970 the park extended into the Shires of Eltham, Healesville, Whittlesea and Yea.5 Bush fires have been an ongoing problem. In 1939 hundreds of eucalypts and acacias had to be sown around the Jehosaphat Gully to rejuvenate the forest. To manage bushfires, the Committee of Management, then the State Government, worked closely with the Forestry Commission, shire councils and local fire brigades. Early national parks focussed on recreation. But by the 1980s, conservation, education and scientific research became more important, playing a vital role in preserving representative samples of the natural environment. Each year many thousands of people use the park’s extensive network of walking tracks amongst the protected plant and animal life as well as camping, cycling and horse riding. The park, along the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, has lookouts revealing magnificent views of the Melbourne skyline, Port Phillip Bay, the Yarra Valley and the You Yangs. Vegetation in the Masons Falls area includes messmate forest, Austral grass-trees, ferns and Hazel Pomaderris. In spring, orchids, lilies, everlasting daisies, correas, grevillea and heath appear. Around Jehosaphat Gully are wet and dry forest, fern gullies and banksia. Animal life includes wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, possums, gliders and bandicoots. Male lyrebirds can be heard mimicking in the Jehosaphat Gully, particularly in the Everard Block in winter.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, kinglake national park, jehosaphat gully

In 1996, after more than 100 years at its original location, Bundoora Primary School [Bu1915] moved from its Plenty Road site to Blossom Park. The original building is still in use as part of a childcare centre.Digital copy of newspaper articlebundoora primary school, plenty road bundoora, blossom park

Kentucky Fried Chicken opened its store in Plenty Road Bundoora in 1988.Digital copy of newspaper articlekentucky fried chicken, kfc bundoora, plenty road bundoora, local businesses, fast food

Stuchbery Farm was situated on the Plenty River bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. Alan and Ada Stutchbery moved to the valley in 1890, first living in a tent where four children were born. Alfred built a home and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden and developed a dairy. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p179 The dramatic steep-sided Plenty Gorge lies along the divide of two geological areas, and separates the Nillumbik Shire and the City of Whittlesea. On the Nillumbik side are undulating hills and sedimentary rock, and in Whittlesea, lies a basalt plain formed by volcanic action up to two million years ago. This provides the Plenty Gorge Park with diverse vegetation and habitats, making it one of Greater Melbourne’s most important refuges for threatened and significant species. The park, established in 1986, consists of around 1350 hectares, and extends 11 kilometres along the Plenty River, from Greensborough to Mernda. It provides a wildlife corridor for around 500 native plant and 280 animal species. The area’s plentiful food and water attracted the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people and then European settlers. By 1837 squatters had claimed large runs of land for their sheep and cattle. The Plenty Valley was among the first in the Port Phillip District to be settled - mainly in the less heavily timbered west - and was proclaimed a settled district in 1841. But by the late 1880s, the settlers’ extensive land clearing for animal grazing, then agriculture, depleted the Wurundjeri’s traditional food sources, which helped to drive them away. Many Wurundjeri artefacts remain (now government protected), and so far 57 sites have been identified in the park, including scarred trees, burial areas and stone artefacts. Pioneer life could be very hard because of isolation, flooding, bushfires and bushrangers. Following the Black Thursday bushfires of 1851, basalt was quarried to build more fire-resistant homes. Gold discoveries in the early 1850s swelled the population, particularly around Smugglers Gully; but food production made more of an impact. In the late 1850s wheat production supplanted grazing. In the 1860s the government made small holdings available to poorer settlers. These had the greatest effect on the district, particularly in Doreen and Yarrambat, where orchards were established from the 1880s to 1914. Links with a prominent early family are the remains of Stuchbery Farm, by the river’s edge bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La Trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. The Stuchberys moved to the valley in 1890, and the family still lives in the area. In 1890, Alfred and Ada first lived in a tent where four children were born, then Alfred built the house and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden, and developed a dairy. The family belonged to the local Methodist and tennis communities. Their grandson Walter, opened the Flying Scotsman Model Railway Museum in Yarrambat, which his widow, Vi, continues to run. Wal was also the Yarrambat CFA Captain for 22 years until 1987. Walter sold 24 hectares in 1976 for development - now Vista Court - and in 1990, the remaining 22.6 hectares for the park. Remaining are an early stone dairy and remnants of a stone barn, a pig sty and a well. Until it was destroyed by fire in 2003, a slab hut stood on the Happy Hollow Farm site, at the southern end of the park. The hut is thought to have been built in the Depression around 1893. This was a rare and late example of a slab hut with a domestic orchard close to Melbourne. Emmet Watmough and his family first occupied the hut, followed by a succession of families, until the Bell family bought it around 1948. There they led a subsistence lifestyle for 50 years, despite encroaching Melbourne suburbia. The Yellow Gum Recreation Area includes the Blue Lake, coloured turquoise at certain times of the year. Following the 1957 bushfires, this area was quarried by Reid Quarries Pty Ltd for Melbourne’s first skyscrapers, then by Boral Australia. However in the early 1970s water began seeping into the quarry forming the Blue Lake and the quarry was closed. The State Government bought the site in 1997 and opened it as a park in 1999.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, ada stuchbery, alan stuchbery, dairy, stuchbery farm, farm buildings, yarrambat, plenty gorge park

Black and white negative from Wal Jack collection of the W2 557, East Preston, route 9, Photo c1930. crossing "The Hump" over the Epping (Whittlesea) railway line alongside Preston Workshops. Photo may not be by Wal Jack as a size that he did not use.trams, tramways, w2 class, the hump, east preston, route 9, tram 557