Notification of meeting for election of members including 5 members elected by parents, 5 nominated by District Inspector and Head Master, 1 representative nominated by municipal council.PARENTS' NOMINATIONS: (5 to be elected) Mrs. C. R. Badger, Housewife, RINGWOOD NORTH. Mr. A. G. Harding, Chief Navigation Instructor T.A.A., WARRANDYTE, Mr. R. W. Holt, Solicitor, Loughnans Rd. RINGWOOD. Mr. F.J. Loosley, Factory Manager, NORTH RINGWOOD, Mr. W. Matthew, Branch Supervisor, EAST RINGWOOD. Dr. Paul Matthews, Medical Practitioner. RINGWOOD. Mrs. Pullin, Secretary, Mullum Rd., RINGWOOD. Mr. A. R. Wilkins, Electrical Supplier, RINGWOOD. DEPARTMENTAL NOMINATIONS: ( 5. No election) Mrs. W. Coombs, Housewife, MITCHAM. Mr. J, Fullarton, Departmental Manager, WARRANDYTE. Mr, D. Purdie, Auditor, Loughnans Rd., RINGWOOD. Cr. R. Spencer, Statist, Hillcrtest Ave., RINGWOOD. Cr. P. Vergers, Orchardist, Mullum Rd., RINGWOOD. MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES: ( Nominated by Municipal Councils. No election) Cr. B. Hubbard, Borough of Ringwood. Cr. W. R. Wilson, Shire of Doncaster & Templestowe. Not yet notified - City of Nunawading. Not yet notified - Shire of Eltham.

Digitised video (1.89GB). Duration: 25 minutes. Recorded October, 2019 (Video is available for viewing at Ringwood & District Historical Society Archives by appointment)In this presentation to Russ Haines in recognition of distinguished service to history in Victoria, David Harper - RDHS Vice President, Don Garden - immediate past President of the Royal Historical Society, Jim Connor - Eltham District Historical Society, and Richard Carter - former RDHS President, speak of Russ’ untiring efforts for RDHS and other history groups during his twelve years as RDHS President.

Mary-Lou began exhibiting in the mid 1980s and over the years has been involved in producing unique pieces as well as developing a large range of domestic ware. In 1984, six months after graduating from a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Phillip Institute of Technology, Mary-Lou was invited to present a solo exhibition at Devise Gallery in South Melbourne. This objective, she says, compelled her to find a studio and was an incentive to focus on developing her ceramic practice independently.Mary-Lou Pittard holds close ties to the Shire of Nillumbik - living and working within Eltham. Her Eltham North Mudbrick Studio employed 5 assistants until recently when Mary-Lou and partner Chris Pittard have scaled down operations. They now produce everything themselves and find that this enables them to focus on producing unique, sculptural ceramic works. Mary-Lou is currently exploring the fine qualities of porcelain and combining these with her ongoing passion for decorative colour and form. 'Decorative Bowl' is a wheel-thrown/moulded bowl, oblong in shape and has been manipulated by hand. Narrow sections have been incised from the main body, perhaps a practical design feature for air circulation, and the rim has been altered to form a jagged edge. Bold colourful shapes decorate the interior of the bowl. They have been applied directly to the bisque surface and subsequently covered with a transparent glaze which protects them and enhances their permanency.mary-lou pittard, ceramic, chris pittard, eltham, nillumbik

Brian was born in Melbourne in 1949. Early life was spent in the stimulating bush environment in Montrose. Ramon Horsefield saw a spark and Brian began to paint in oils at the age of thirteen. He contunued tuition with Graham Moore, in class and at night classes. An Art Diploma at Swinburne was not completed. This did not crush his creative spirit and he resumed tuition with Graham Moore. Within a few years he was winning prizes. Many and varied jobs allowed him to survive whilst aspiring to become a full time painter and bring up his growing family. In 1977 Brian resigned from his last employment as a picture framer. He leased a shop in Main St, Mornington and set up classes. Brian taught painting and had his own studio behind the school. Later he was to move and build his "bushland gothic" home in North Warrandyte. Here he developed his reputation as a painter. Brian had his first solo exhibition in 1979. Many more were to follow. He has won many prizes, was a finalist in the 1992 Moran Portrait prize. The Alice Bale Scholarship which he won, entailed a year traveling and studying in Europe. Brian returned home in 1996. Sharing his skills with many students over the years, he taught privately and at various art societies. His oils, pastels and charcoals capture the light of landscape, portrails and nudes. In 2012 it will be thirty-five years since Brian has had a "real job". At times this has been really difficult. He is now semi retired after suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis for a decade. Now he paints what he loves to. His portraits capture the very essence of the sitter. In 2009 he remarried and moved back into the bushland of North Warrandyte. 'Duet' by Brian E. Armstrong was donated by the Artist to the Eltham Copper Butterfly Appeal Auction.Oil on canvas painting depicting a 'Duet' scene with two children. One is shown playing the flute whilst the other is playing the piano. The painting is fashioned in sombre colours and muted tones, with alternating tones of violet prominent.Signed- Brian E. Armstrong '87 On label - artist's name: Brian E. Armstrong Address: 844.2925 Title of Painting: Duet Medium: Oil on canvas On Frame: 82 enclosed in circle. 31 1/2. C Enclosed in circlebrian e. armstrong

Wayne Alfred is a member of the Namgis Tribe of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. As a master carver he has an extremely high level of carving skill and knowledge about his peoples cultural objects, customs, tribal stories and legends. The Totem Poles of the North Pacific Coast in British Columbia and Alaska are traditionally carved out of red or yellow cedar, which has a spiritual and practical purpose. The wood was known for its durability, its resistance to rotting and the inner bark was utilised in ropemaking, clothing, hats, baskets and so forth. The Kwakitul People consider the cedar tree to be among the most sacred of all things provided by the Creator. They believed the Cedar tree to be the axis of the world and a pathway to the upper world. The wood is shaped using implements such as adzes, axes, chisels, carving knives, and chainsaws. Misinterpreted as Gods and idols to be worshipped, totems usually serve six purposes, such as a house pillar for support, a memorial or mortuary pole to commemorate (and house) the deceased, a potlatch pole (used for important traditional indigenous celebrations), a ridicule pole used to shame and a heraldic or family crest pole. Characters and symbols on these totem poles usually display family crests, history, wealth, social rank, inheritance, and privilege, as well as animalistic imagery derived from native animals and mythological creatures. Their sequence are indicative of past family events, ancestors, myths, and heraldic crests, with the bottom figure usually being the most prominent. In this work the 'thunderbird' is symbolic of power, strength and of ancestory. The Commonwealth Games Totem Pole was presented to the people of Nillumbik on behalf of the Canadian Government in recognition of Melbourne as the hosts of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Team in 2006. Carved in cedar wood, this totem pole incorporates bold cuts and colours (such as red and green) offset by strong black. A relative degree of realism is used to depict the alligator located on the bottom of the pole, a man and a 'thunderbird'/eagle located on the top. With protuding element. No inscriptions. Bold cuts used to outline the characters and symbols as well as decorative and stylised features all over the pole. public art, kwakwaka'wakw, namgis, alfred, north pacific coast, british columbia, canada, totem pole, carved, commonwealth games, melbourne festival, cedar

113 pagesnon-fictionFinal report folllowing a review on the most appropriate local government structure for the middle and outer Melbourne metropolitan area covered by various municipal districts including Diamond Valley, Eltham, Heidelberg and Whittlesea in Melbourne's north. Contents include Structural issues, Boundary issues (for each location), Financial issues, The Proposals for each municipality and Final recommendations, produced by the Local Government Board council amalgamation, annexation, local government

Charles Withers (aka Bill) with his good friend from school, Mervyn Britain with mock trenches and rifles at the Withers family home, Southernwood, Eltham. The view is possibly looking to the north [Charles son, John Withers explained that his father and friend liked to play war games.]Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, eltham, 1916, southernwood, trenches, scan - 620 format 6x9 negative, charles meynell pitt withers, mervyn britain

The original house was built around 1850 was one of Kangaroo Ground's earliest homes, part of which remains today. Built by Scottish farmer Andrew Harkness who acquired the property in 1849 at the top of the hill with magnificent panoramic views as far as Kinglake, the same year he married Sarah Oswin. The property was known as Garden Hill from at least 1865. Andrew and Sarah had four sons and five daughters. Harkness was a founder of the Kangaroo Ground School and one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board (1858-71) of which he was a member, the pre-cursor to the Shire of Eltham (1871-1994). He was also a Trustee of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. His daughter Fanny married farmer Alexander White who purchased the property in 1893. Alexander White died in 1906 and ownership transferred to Fanny White. Son, Robert White was a Councillor of the Shire of Eltham at the time the Shire acquired two acres of land on the adjacent property from the Mess brothers for the creation of the Shire of Eltham Memorial Park (1921) in which the Shire of Eltham War Memoirial tower was erected (1926). Fanny White donated a small section of land from the Garden Hill property to facilitate entry access to the park. The White family sold the property to Sir Herbert Gepp in 1925. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p29This 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, kangaroo ground

Situated in King Street, Eltham, Alistair Knox built his home and office in 1962-1963 with mud-bricks made from the local soil and recycled materials blending the house with bush around it. Knox popularised the Eltham earth building movement, begun by Montsalvat founder, Justus Jorgensen. Alistair Knox (1912-1986) was also an Eltham Shire Councillor 1971-1975 and Shire President in 1975. He established the inaugural Eltham Community Festival in 1975. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p145This 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, alistair and margot knox house, alistair knox design, mudbrick construction, eltham, king street

The original house was built around 1850 was one of Kangaroo Ground's earliest homes, part of which remains today. Built by Scottish farmer Andrew Harkness who acquired the property in 1849 at the top of the hill with magnificent panoramic views as far as Kinglake, the same year he married Sarah Oswin. The property was known as Garden Hill from at least 1865. Andrew and Sarah had four sons and five daughters. Harkness was a founder of the Kangaroo Ground School and one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board (1858-71) of which he was a member, the pre-cursor to the Shire of Eltham (1871-1994). He was also a Trustee of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. His daughter Fanny married farmer Alexander White who purchased the property in 1893. Alexander White died in 1906 and ownership transferred to Fanny White. Son, Robert White was a Councillor of the Shire of Eltham at the time the Shire acquired two acres of land on the adjacent property from the Mess brothers for the creation of the Shire of Eltham Memorial Park (1921) in which the Shire of Eltham War Memoirial tower was erected (1926). Fanny White donated a small section of land from the Garden Hill property to facilitate entry access to the park. The White family sold the property to Sir Herbert Gepp in 1925. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p29 Garden Hill, on Yarra Glen Road, Kangaroo Ground, near the War Memorial is well named. The old house and gardens overlook a magnificent panorama extending to Kinglake. The original house, built around 1850, was one of Kangaroo Ground’s earliest, and part of it remains in today’s timber house. The house was built by the early and prominent settler Andrew Harkness. Later it was occupied for a long time by Sir Herbert Gepp, renowned Australia wide.1 Harkness and Gepp are buried in the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. Scottish farmer Harkness, who was born in 1817, acquired this property in 18492 and he and his family occupied it until the early 1920s. Harkness cleared its 152 acres (61.4 ha), fenced it and grazed sheep and cattle. Harkness proved a valuable community member. When only ten families lived in the district, he and other settlers set up a school in 1852, with Andrew Ross as the first teacher. Harkness was also one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board, of which he was a member for around 15 years. He was also a trustee of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. Harkness married in 1854 and had four sons and five daughters. The first part of the timber house he built included a kitchen-living room and a parlor. The living room’s large fireplace was bricked-in and modernised in 1940. Beside it is the old baker’s oven with its original iron door replaced by a wooden one. It is thought two wattle-and-daub huts, used for a bedroom and bathroom, were built to the west. Harkness’ son-in-law, farmer Alexander White, who had seven sons, bought the property in 1893. Harkness’ grand-daughter Flora married Ewen Cameron who became Minister for Health and was later knighted; he was not related to Ewen Hugh Cameron, a Member of the Legislative Assembly. In 1923 the White family sold the property, called Kilby Park, to Sir Herbert Gepp, who renamed it Garden Hill. Gepp used the property, which was still on the original New South Wales title, as a hobby farm. Robert White stayed on to manage the farm for a while, living in a house on the property. Gepp was born in 1877 and at 16 years began working as a junior chemist with the Australian Explosives and Chemical Company at Deer Park near Melbourne. Gepp was a pioneer in applying enlightened labour policies in industry. He initiated the Broken Hill Progress Association, to improve living conditions. It laid the ground work for the welfare schemes pursued by companies after World War One. During the mid 20th century Gepp was the most prominent liberal thinker associated with conservative politics. As a friend of Prime Minister John Curtin, he contributed to post-war reconstruction. Gepp returned to private industry and retired in 1950. Gepp made significant contributions to the solution of the great metallurgical problems of the mining industry. He was an advocate of the role of science in industry, government and the economy and helped to establish several organizations including the CSIR and the Institute of Public Affairs.3 After Sir Herbert died in 1954 his son Orwell continued to farm the property part-time. When Lady Gepp died in 1963, the land was divided among the five children, although Orwell continued to farm it as a hobby. In 1966, a daughter, Mardi Gething, now married, settled in the house. Another daughter, Kathleen, built her house close by on the property. After the Board of Works designated the property as part of a reserve for a possible reservoir, the family sold all, except the minimum 20 acres allowed, to the Board in the 1970s. Orwell then leased what was the family property from the Board to continue grazing. The two sisters and brother continued to live on the property.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, kangaroo ground

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

The grave of Thomas Sweeney, former convict turned respectable citizen. The Murray and Sweeney families were both early settlers of the Eltham district and connected by marriage. Their family plots are located side by side in the Catholic section of the Eltham Cemetery. Irish-born Thomas Sweeney is regarded as the first settler in Eltham. He was transported to Sydney in 1823 after being convicted of arson. He was granted his freedom in 1838 and married Margaret Meehan in the same year. They moved to Melbourne and in 1842 Thomas purchased 110 acres beside the Yarra River in the vicinity of present-day Sweeneys Lane. He called the property ‘Culla Hill’ and built a small slab hut (reputedly with Wurundjeri help; Margaret is said to have run an informal hospital for them in return). This was followed in 1846 by more substantial buildings consisting of a three-roomed Irish-style ‘longhouse’ and a barn made of stone and handmade bricks, with doors large enough to accommodate a fully loaded wagon. When the gold rush came, Thomas prospered by selling meat and potatoes to the prospectors, enabling him to purchase a further 308 acres in 1856. He promoted the construction of a bridge over the Plenty River and the establishment of a school at Eltham. Roman Catholic Church services were held at Culla Hill in the early years. When he died in 1867, he was regarded as a respected member of the community. Thomas and Margaret are buried in Eltham Cemetery with many of their descendants. Their first son John continued to farm Culla Hill until his death in 1909. Culla Hill passed out of the Sweeneys' possession in 1939. The house and barn remain today, though lesser outbuildings have gone. The facade of the house is much the same as it was in the 1840s. Sacred To the memory of Thomas Sweeney Who died Sep 6th 1867 Aged 65 years May his soul res in peace Also his wife Margaret Died Oct 3rd 1884 aged 73 years And their daughters Annie Died Aug 22nd 1860 aged 21 years Johanna Died Aug 19th 1872 aged 22 years Margaret Died 7th Sep 1913 aged 72 years R.I.P. Also In Memory Of John Sweeney Died 24th May 1909 Aged 65 years Also of his wife Ellen Died 8th March 1910 Aged 64 years R.I.P Also In Memory Of Caroline Infant daughter of John & Ellen Sweeney Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p55 From the piety and poverty of 19th century Eltham, 20th century artists and environmentalists, to today’s comfortable middle class, Eltham Cemetery records it all — and more. A visit to Eltham Cemetery reveals an important social record since its beginnings in 1858. The cemetery was situated on about six acres (2.4ha) (now around 4.8ha) at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Metery Roads.1* It is thought that Metery Road was originally called Cemetery Road, but in the early 1940s, a resident, possibly a councillor, objected to the name resulting in the change.2 Much can be gleaned about the developing Eltham community from burial styles and the names of former local residents. Originally the cemetery was divided into Christian denominations, like others of that time, following the United Kingdom burial system. In 1861 the cemetery included Church of England, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Wesleyans (later Methodist) sites. Graves also indicated social class. Some had grand tombstones, perhaps fenced with ornamental cast iron railing, but most in the 1860s and 1870s were constructed of modest stone slabs.3 This indicated the poverty of the district, which was largely inhabited by farmers on small landholdings. A poignant reminder of the high rates of infant mortality of those times, are the many infants and young children recorded on the headstones. Major changes occurred in the cemetery in the late 20th century as Christian adherence weakened and society became more egalitarian and informal. In the early 1970s a non-denominational lawn section for burials was established. Since then all new areas have been non-denominational to accommodate the more diverse local community. Now, instead of large ornamental headstones, some mourners have chosen boulders, reflecting the natural Eltham style, while others choose graves in the lawn areas or niches in walls. In the late 1970s, the University Donor Section was established north-west of Candlebark Lawn for those who donated their bodies for The University of Melbourne medical research. In the early 1980s the natural Australian garden style, popular in Eltham, was mirrored in a new section called Ashes Walk. Local landscape architect Gordon Ford, who had popularised this style, designed the Walk using boulders shaded by native plants beside curved pathways. Landscape architect Robert Boyle later redesigned Ashes Walk and developed other parts of the cemetery in keeping with this style.4 Appropriately Ford, who died in 1999, was interred in the Native Garden Section in a cluster of sites shaded by a large eucalyptus tree.5 By 2007, about 6400 interments were recorded in the Eltham Cemetery. Close inspection reveals notable names in the district’s history. The grave of Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who became a respected citizen, can be found in the Roman Catholic section near the path. Eltham Primary School’s first headmaster, David Clark, is buried in a modest grave in the Church of England section to the east of the path from the main entrance. Sir William Irvine, Victorian Premier from 1900 to 1902, whose grave is in the north-east Presbyterian section was at various times Victoria’s Chief Justice, Deputy Governor and Treasurer.6 Further south is the grave of social reformer Bertram Wainer, born in Scotland in 1928 and died in 1987. He campaigned to legalise abortion and exposed police corruption in allowing illegal ‘backyard’ abortions. Other prominent local residents interred in the cemetery include: Justus Jörgensen, who founded Montsalvat; Alistair Knox, the mud-brick housing pioneer and Eltham Shire Councillor from 1971 to 1975 and President in 1975; Clem and Nina Christensen, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. Others were: composer Dorian Le Gallienne; artist Peter Glass; Stephen Dattner, a prominent Melbourne furrier; ALP parliamentarian for Greensborough, Pauline Toner and political scientist and commentator, Professor William Macmahon Ball.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, annie sweeney, caroline sweeney, ellen sweeney, eltham cemetery, graves, gravestones, johanna sweeney, john murray, john sweeney, margaret sweeney, mary ellen drain, mary murray, thomas murray, thomas sweeney

Wingrove Cottage built 1858-1859 of hand made bricks is historically significant for its long association with Charles Wingrove, a prominent figure in Victorian local government, as secretary to the Eltham District Road Board and Shire Council from 1858 to 1904, and Shire Engineer and Secretary to the Heidelberg Road Board. The cottage was used as the office of the Eltham District Road Board and Council for many years It is one of the Shire's oldest dwellings, and one of the few surviving 19th century buildings associated with early Eltham and located in the original Eltham Village Reserve. The symmetrical planting of a pair of Pencil Pines (not visible in photo) is also historically and aesthetically significant as characteristic of the early period of planting in the district and because they are a distinctive landscape feature. In October 2002 new owners demolished the outbuildings attached to the rear of the cottage. Community protest at the demolition resulted in Council issuing a Stop Work order. The owner was issued with a court order in September 2003 to develop a conservation management plan and restore the heritage listed property. The owner sold the property in 2005 to Cameron Construction in 2005 who undertook the restoration work. In 2007 a planning application to build two offices and seven dwellings at the rear of the property was ultimately rejected. The cottage is now the main office for Cameron Construction. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p57 Wingrove Cottage on Main Road beside Eltham Primary School, is one of the Shire’s most important historical buildings and was central to local government for almost 50 years. The cottage was built in stages from 1858 to 1888 for Charles Symons Wingrove JP. He was the Eltham District Road Board’s first paid secretary and later the Shire Secretary when the board became the Eltham Shire Council. Wingrove held those positions, and that of engineer for a time, for 46 years. He was also one of the main figures in the Municipal Association of Victoria. As Eltham’s first paid municipal officer, Wingrove used one room in his 11 – (originally two) roomed home, as the office for the board then the council. Meetings were held there from the late 1850s (as well as at more central locations) until Wingrove’s retirement in 1904. The cottage is a rare example of a local government office occupying a Road Board /Shire Secretary’s purpose-designed house. The cottage is also significant because it is the oldest largely intact building from the original Eltham township reserve (south of Dalton Street).1 The township had its origins in the 1848 Nillumbik Parish Plan and was one of the state’s earliest township reserves. The rectangular house of handmade bricks, roofed with grey slate tiles and with a veranda encompassing three sides, is reminiscent of those in the central goldfields including Castlemaine. Its overhanging eaves and gables were unlike houses in Melbourne at the time. Wingrove, who was born in 1827, had been a gold digger and a road surveyor. Impossible to imagine in today’s world, Wingrove was also the Shire of Heidelberg’s secretary and engineer for part of the time that he was secretary in Eltham. Living next door to the primary school was a mixed blessing. Wingrove and his wife Katherine, who had ten children, sent their eight surviving children to the school. But they had occasional disputes with the school authorities when their cattle wandered into the schoolyard. Eltham showed Charles Wingrove its appreciation of his services by giving him two illuminated addresses, one after ten years and the other at retirement. Wingrove died in 1905 aged 76 and was buried in the St Katherine’s Church of England cemetery in St Helena. His grave is surrounded by those of family members including his wife, Katherine and two babies, Henry, 12 months and Isobella, 15 months, who died in the mid-1860s. Cottage ownership passed to his wife, then to daughter Caroline and then to daughter Bessie, a Melbourne University graduate and artist. During the Great Depression their brother Walter was the ratepayer. At one stage the Wingrove property extended to Metery Road and included a small creek. The family ran a small dairy and orchard, with associated farm buildings, which were later removed. In 1949 part of the property was compulsorily acquired by the Eltham Primary School, which infuriated owner Bessie Wingrove. She protested in a letter about this ‘monstrous act of unmitigated tyranny’.2 She was the last Wingrove to occupy the cottage and died in 1955. Wingrove descendants sold the house in 1974 and the property was subdivided. In the 1960s the Eltham Shire named the park opposite the cottage in Wingrove’s honour. The cottage has since had several owners including psychiatrist Dr Daniel Kahans, who practised there. In October 2002 late rear additions which had been substantially altered were demolished contrary to council planning controls. This caused a community outcry and resulted in legal proceedings against the owner. Fortunately the historical significance of the demolished section was not as great as the older front part of the building, which has been retained and was later restored.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, cameron construction, charles symons wingrove, eltham, eltham road district board, eltham shire council, main road, wingrove cottage

This building is the earliest building remaining on site today. It was built in 1875 and was the second school building replacing the original 1856 building of stone walls with wooden shingles on the roof. That building needed to be replaced after the stone walls collapsed outwards. In August 1912 the school issued a requisition for remodelling of the school concerned with replacement of the existing windows with larger and wider windows to allow additional light into the school rooms and the erection of a wooden partition in the centre of the room. An extension to the building at rear and skylights in the roof were added in 1921. Only two low wooden stairs were originally provided to enter the porch. These were rebuilt by 1928. A steel mud grate was introduced 1930s/1940s and an infant shelter shed circa 1945. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p49 Eltham Primary School at Dalton Street, bustling with hundreds of students, has changed dramatically since it began in July 1855.1 A reminder of its early days is the building in local sandstone with a slate roof. First head teacher was David G Clark who was officially in charge from June 1856 until 1889.2 This school was not the settlement’s first. That was the Church of England Little Eltham School, west of Diamond Creek in 1853 and closed in 1872. In 1855 David Clark and his sister Catherine, opened what was to become the present school, with eight students. The school operated elsewhere in a temporary slab building, also used for worship by the Wesleyans,3 which allowed the wind and rain easy access. As well as having to endure such Spartan conditions, the students paid one penny a week for the privilege. But in June 1856 the patrons objected to the conditions, and they and the Clarks wrote to the National Schools Board, asking for a suitable school. They asked for a grant to buy land for a school, and to appoint the Clarks. As a result, inspector Mr A B Orlebar visited the school. He found 33 children aged from four to 13 and noted, among other things: ‘There is no attempt at classification, and this is owing chiefly to the want of books, every child bringing with it any spelling or reading book he or she may find at home,4 and partly to the master and mistress having little idea of anything but individual instruction.’ Of Mr Clark, Mr Orlebar said: ‘I cannot pass him as coming up to the full standard of a probationer. He promises however to pursue a course….if the commissioners take him into their service.’ Of Catherine: ‘She makes a promise similar to that of her brother. Pupils were orderly and the school seemed well conducted. I cannot therefore hesitate to recommend them both personally as probationers.’ Later at a public meeting, Mr Orlebar pledged the commissioners would give £150 for a school, if this was matched by local residents. The meeting decided the commissioners would acquire two acres (0.8ha) for the school site. The building, constructed with local sandstone, was completed in December 1857, measuring 40 feet x 16 feet (12mx5m) and 10 feet (3m) high. It was divided into two rooms – one for the school and the other for teacher accommodation. So the Eltham school was born, in an area regarded as ‘one of the poorest in the colony’. Excerpts from inspectors’ reports in the following years, show that in some ways school has not changed that much since then: ‘Discipline only moderate. Too much chattering!’ (1873); ‘Several slates were cleaned with saliva applied by the hand! Damp rags would be much nicer.’(1891).5 In 1863 the Board of Education took over the school giving it its current name and number, Eltham Primary School No 209. Overcrowding has dogged the school over much of its history. In 1875 overcrowding spilled part of the school into the local courthouse. But that year the sandstone building, which is still standing, was built for 100 children, costing £553 and replacing the National School building. Now, this section, even following renovations, still bears part of its original graciousness, with lofty timber ceilings, tall vertical windows and original floors.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, dalton street, eltham primary school, state school no. 209

Built in 1891 for Head Teacher John Brown. His predecessor and the school's first Head Teacher, John Clark, lived in his own house 'Shoestring' in Metery Road, adjacent to the school. At the time of this photograph, the building was being used for before and after school care. Its present-day (2023) use is for school administration offices. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p49 The former head teacher’s residence on 690 Main Road, was built in 1891 for the head teacher, John Brown. His predecessor David Clark lived in his own house known as Shoestring at Metery Road, possibly built in the late 1850s. With the school, Wingrove and Jarrold Cottages, it makes up the original Eltham township south of Dalton Street’s only group of 19th century buildings. The two Monterey Pines were popular vegetation in the late 19th and early 20th centuriesThis 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, dalton street, eltham, eltham primary school, headmaster's residence, main road, state school no. 209

The present store was built circa 1900 to replace another which had been destroyed by fire in 1898, which had replaced a predecessor on the opposite side of the road in 1865. The store was also used as a post office until early 2000s. The general store is historically significant because it has a long association with Kangaroo Ground and has been an important centre of community life for more than 120 years - Council meetings used to be conducted in the front room of the store at a time when Kangaroo Ground rivalled Eltham as the major centre of the Shire. The general store is historically and aesthetically significant as one of a group of three well preserved public buildings in the Kangaroo Ground hamlet and as a major heritage component of Kangaroo Ground which was one of the earliest settled areas of the Shire and which has the character of an English village rather than an Australian settlement. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p77 Today the general store is an uncommon form of trade but the one at Kangaroo Ground continues a long tradition of friendliness and service. For more than 100 years it has been a centre of community life. In the settlement’s early days a previous general store, on the same site, was the meeting place for the Eltham District Road Board, precursor to the Eltham Shire Council. For years Kangaroo Ground rivalled Eltham as the shire’s major centre. It developed very differently from the rest of the shire as its rich soil attracted prosperous Presbyterian Scots who had large agricultural properties.1 The present store was built to replace another one, which had burnt down in 1898, after replacing a predecessor on the other side of the road in 1865. The store retains its outward character and its cellar, although inside it has changed considerably. It now includes a café and offers local produce, milk bar products, grocery items, gas and other fuel. Until early this century the store was also used as a post office. Kangaroo Ground’s first postmaster was Andrew Ross, who first operated from the school opposite, then from his hotel next to the present tennis court site. The first postmaster at this store was Edward Weller, followed in 1868 by James Anderson. At that time a mail coach ran three times a week between Eltham and Woods Point through Kangaroo Ground, Yarra Flats, Healesville, Fernshaw, Marysville and Matlock. Some early postmasters were Rodger, McLaughlin, Greenway and Burns.2 Burns was the only postmaster operating from the store. The others operated from Andrew Ross’s hotel. The mail service improved in 1892 when coaches ran from Melbourne to Queenstown (now known as St Andrews) and changed horses at Kangaroo Ground twice daily. The only telegraph office in the district at that time was at the Kangaroo Ground Post Office. Telegrams to outlying areas such as Queenstown and Kinglake had to be sent by hand. A local resident in the early 1900s often rode his pony to deliver telegrams and was paid one shilling a mile porterage. The store has also contributed to the lighter side of Kangaroo Ground life. During the years that Con Wraight owned the store, between 1906 and 1946, a new piano was needed for the Kangaroo Ground Hall, so monthly dances were held to raise money. When the piano was bought, a grand ball was held in the Kangaroo Ground Hall to celebrate the occasion and supper followed at Mr Wraight’s barn, cleaned especially for the occasion. Every New Year’s Eve, a Scottish piper would set off from between the store and the schoolhouse, playing his pipes, and march to Cameron’s Pigeon Bank homestead on the Kangaroo Ground-Warrandyte Road. Between 1914 and 1922, the store was a station for the Kangaroo Ground Bush Fire Brigade’s tanker. It consisted of a wooden barrel on a cart, fitted with a hand-pump, and stood on the side of the road outside the store. Joy Ness, who belonged to an early Kangaroo Ground family, moved here in 1940 and recalled her impressions of the store at that time: ‘It was a very dark shop stained in a dark colour and on the walls just below the ceiling hung hurricane lamps, ropes, kitchen utensils and other goods for sale. ‘Goods were weighed on a brass scale with weights, on which mothers also weighed their babies, because the nearest Infant Welfare Centre was at Greensborough. The bacon was cut with a hand slicer and later a pot-bellied stove warmed the store. Farmers and other locals used to gossip around it as they collected their daily mail. In those days the butter and cheese were kept in the cellar as no ice was delivered for cooling.’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-yarra glen road, kangaroo ground general store

Covered under National Estate, National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Local Significance and Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p95 Thanks to an Australia first effort by local residents, the historic Shillinglaw Cottage still survives. The cottage at Panther Place, Eltham, once stood about 100 metres away on Main Road. But in 1963 it faced demolition to make room for the Eltham Shire Offices (since demolished). However residents rallied to save Shillinglaw Cottage and became the first in Australia to remove and reconstruct an early settler’s brick building. A fundraiser was the residents’ compilation of loved recipes into the cookery book, Flavour of Eltham. The cottage, built in the late 1870s by noted pioneer builder George Stebbing, is one of Eltham’s earliest buildings and associated with significant early settlers. It is on the National Estate and National Trust Registers. The cottage was constructed with handmade bricks in the Flemish Bond style, typical of cottages and farmhouses in Flanders, Europe. It features burnt ‘header’ bricks over the façade, which gives a chequered effect. The roof is made of slate, while the windows are 12-paned sash with relieving arches. It is not clear who were the first owners of the cottage. The National Trust claims that Stebbing built it for farmer Thomas Cochrane.1 Others say Cochrane first owned the land but Stebbing was Shillinglaw’s first owner and remained so until 1887. The Shillinglaw family then bought it and lived there for around 80 years until 1963 when they sold it to the Eltham Council.2 Farmer Thomas Cochrane bought the Shillinglaw Cottage site from land developer Josiah Holloway. The site was the largest in what Holloway called Little Eltham, of some 30 acres (12 ha), extending along the creek from Henry Street to Luck Street. In 1874 Cochrane sold the land to George Stebbing. Meanwhile in 1861, Stebbing was the owner and occupier of a house at Pitt Street, Eltham, which he had built. Evelyn Observer journalist James Rossiter rented the Pitt Street house, then in 1881 Phillip Shillinglaw occupied it. Stebbing constructed several buildings of note in the area, including the Uniting Church at John Street, the building beside it – a former bank – and St Margaret’s Church of England in Pitt Street. Stebbing was also an Eltham Shire Councillor from 1871 to 1873 and a trustee and treasurer of the Eltham Wesleyan Church.3 In the 1870s he is recorded as the owner of up to five houses. Earlier he had been described as a bricklayer and later became a farmer. In 1882 Stebbing returned to the Pitt Street house and Shillinglaw occupied the new house in Main Road, which he owned from 1887. Shillinglaw was a prolific poet and preached at the Eltham Primitive Methodist Church, where he also served as Sunday School superintendent and led the Young People’s Society Christian Endeavour. The Shillinglaws saw many changes in their property’s boundaries – the major one occurring at the turn of the century when land for the railway and Eltham station was acquired from their holding. The northern part of the remaining land was then used for some of the first commercial developments in what was to become the Eltham Shopping Centre. Later still, the land immediately north of the cottage was bought by the Eltham War Memorial Trust for the War Memorial Buildings and the fire station. The Trust’s land eventually passed to the council. The council bought the remaining two acres (0.8 ha) with the house, and with the exception of the commercial development between the fire station and the post office, all of the former Shillinglaw land is owned by the council or government instrumentalities.4 Since the late 20th century, the cottage has had varied uses, such as a handcrafts store and as a restaurant.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, shillinglaw cottage

This tiny picturesque building near the corner of John Street has served the community since 1878. At that time it served as an agency of the Heidelberg branch of the Commonwelath Bank of Australia. It has a small space inside measuring about 3.6 metres by 4.5 metres. It was built by George Stebbing who was also responsible for other heritage buildings nearby in Eltham. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p93 The tiny picturesque building on Main Road, Eltham, near the corner of John Street, has served the community since 1878. At that time the building, which inside measures only about 3.6m by 4.5m served as an agency of the Heidelberg branch of the Commercial Bank of Australia. The yellow and orange Victorian brick structure was built by Mr George Stebbing.1 Mr Stebbing, who also built the Anglican and former Methodist churches and the Shillinglaw Cottage, had come from England and lived in Pitt Street. The bank is a fine example of a once common but now rare building style – the single room bank. It compares with another in the municipality, also a former Commercial Bank of Australia branch, the timber Little Bank Building in Hurstbridge, built around the early 1900s.2 The Eltham bank, which was said to store gold from the Eltham - Research mining areas, has had exciting moments. A bullet hole still visible in a cedar bench testifies to the drama in 1949 when a youth held up the bank. After the 19-year-old opened an account as John Henderson, he walked to the door and then turned pointing a pistol. But it was shots fired by the clerk, Lindsay Spear, that saved the day, frightening the youth, who drove off empty-handed in a grey sports car. He was later apprehended and given a two-year sentence. Soon afterwards the agency was upgraded to a branch. However by 1954 the bank no longer needed the branch and the adjoining Methodist Church bought the building. It proved useful for the Church’s young people who furnished it and used it for their meetings. A youth club developed, led by young adult member, Ross Gangell. The building was also used as a Sunday School, which with junior membership numbered 27.3 Around 1960, Mrs Alma Bell, of the Methodist Church Women’s Guild, suggested using the building as an opportunity shop to raise funds for a chaplain at the Eltham High School. The women later asked the nearby St Margaret’s Anglican Church to help them in the shop. In 1960 the Eltham Combined Churches Opportunity Shop was established and staffed by Methodist and Anglican parishioners, notably Methodist Mrs Gwen Miller. The shop originally opened on Child Endowment Days to help the needy, but later for years, it opened twice a week. In 1962 it donated clothing and shoes to the Eltham Bushfire Appeal. By 1963 the chaplaincy scheme ceased. So the £450 raised was then donated to the Council for Christian Education and to the participating churches. Funds were also donated to local charities including the Eltham and Research Fire Brigades, the Austin Hospital Auxiliary, the Benevolent Society, the Red Cross and the Diamond Valley Hospital.4 In 2008 the Opportunity Shop volunteers continue to work together to help the local community. Although crammed with second-hand goods, the simple, almost stark interior, is still evident and is relieved only by a front rectangular window and an unused fireplace. Outside, the chimney, the corrugated iron peaked roof, and the surrounding varied plants, add to the charm of this sound building which continues to serve the community well.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, cba bank

Eltham's original Wesleyan Methodist Church Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p97 The pretty Uniting Church building at the corner of John and Main Roads Eltham has served the community since 1881.1 Originally called the Eltham Wesleyan Church, the church became the Eltham Methodist Church in 1902, the year it united with the Primitive Methodists.2 As the church community developed, influencing and being influenced by the wider community, its buildings changed accordingly. Eltham Wesleyans first worshiped together in 1850 at the home of William and Mary Crozier on 24 acres (9.7ha) bounded by Mount Pleasant Road and Pitt Street. From 1855 the Wesleyans worshipped in a slab-and-bark hut; then in 1858 in a chapel on Henry Street close to Maria Street (now Main Road). Meanwhile, in 1860, the Primitive Methodists opened a brick chapel at the corner of Susan and Bridge Streets. The John Street building – in the Early English Gothic style with biochrome brick window frames, buttress heads and pinnacle – was designed by architects Crouch and Wilson. Church member George Stebbing built the church as he did Eltham’s St Margaret’s Anglican Church and Shillinglaw Cottage. The Church Honour Roll is a poignant reminder of how church members have served the wider community: 27 members enlisted and 11 died in World War One. Despite the Great Depression, 1931 was a time of expansion for the church. Its red-brick hall was opened by prominent Methodist and philanthropist F J Cato of the Moran and Cato Grocery chain. The hall enabled the church to attract people from outside through activities like its gymnasium – with 40 boys and youth participating – and the girls’ callisthenics club, which competed at the Ballarat South Street Competitions. The church also held concerts, bazaars, picnics and sports, with badminton and tennis played on the church court at 23 John Street. Two stained-glass windows commemorate tragic events. A dove representing the Holy Spirit and Comforter marked the death in 1936 of member Effie Lowerson from scarlet fever at 14 years. The other depicting the Biblical story A sower went forth to sow, commemorates Ross Gangell, who died in 1961 at 23 years of a rare blood condition. Eltham’s population expanson resulted in the growth of the church and an extension in 1971, designed by member and architect Colin Jones. The church was linked to the hall and additions included a foyer, vestry, meeting room and toilets. The design reflected the Eltham style of the time, with its simplicity, extensive clear glass, reused baked clay-bricks from the 1881 church, heavy ceiling beams and solomite (compressed straw) ceiling. On June 26, 1977 the church became part of the new Uniting Church in Australia consisting of the former Methodist and Congregational and most of the Presbyterian Churches. In 1981 membership peaked at 159 – about 20 years after most Protestant churches – and continued to reach out to the wider community.3 In 1987, 147 children attended Selihoo, the weekly after-school program organised with St Margaret’s Anglican Church. From 1993, the church with other local churches, participated in LINC (Love in the Name of Christ), helping the wider community in various ways including babysitting, transport, gardening and visiting. Despite such initiatives, church numbers declined, and on June 23, 1996, the church merged with the Montmorency Uniting Church.4 However, the church continued to proclaim its message of love in community service and strong social justice action, such as in Jubilee 2000, supporting debt relief to the world’s 45 poorest countries. Some of the many church members who have had an outstanding impact on the wider community include Philip Shillinglaw, farmer and poet, and Arthur Bird (after whom the Arthur Bird Reserve is named), a pioneer orchardist and the Sunday School Superintendent for 33 years. Others were: the Rev Dr Cliff Wright, who established the Methodist Youth Fellowship and was prominent in the World Council of Churches, the Rev Brian Howe, who became Deputy Prime Minister and Tim Marshall, awarded the Order of Australia in 2000 for his work on salinity.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 uniting church, eltham methodist church

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

Situated at the top of the hill in Arthur Street, the former Jelbart residence and barn were part of a major change that transformed Eltham's character in the late 1960s. Built from the mid 1940s through mid 1950s when Eltham was a rural community, the Jelbrat residence and barn are all that remain of a family property of some 250 acres (100 ha). With growing population pressures, in the late 1960s, owners Ron and Yvonne Jelbart decided to subdivide their property creating the Woodridge Estate in the early 1970s, a major factor towards the transformation of Eltham to the suburb it is today. The Jelbarts had moved to Eltham in the early 1940s when they purchased a poultry farm in New Street, now Lavendar Park Road. (The local Black Friday bushire of January 13, 1939 had started at C.A. (Clarrie) Hurst’s Eltham Poultry Farm and Hatchery in New Street.) Jelbart was primarily a businessman importing office machinery but desired farm beef and dairy cattle so the couple purchased the virgin bushland at what was then at the end of a dirt road, Arthur Street. With post war shortages of most building materials, they followed the example of the Eltham Artists' Colony (later called Montsalvat) and built thier home from mud-bricks and recyclked materials. The barn was first to be completed in 1945 which they made their home whilst building the main residence. It took eight years to complete the two buildings. Both the main residence and the barn are now separate homes, and along with the remaining property being sub-divided further in 1998 are now part of the Kinloch Gardens Estate at 93 Arthur Street. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p139 Standing on a hilltop at Arthur Street, Eltham, the Jelbart residence and former barn were part of a major change that transformed Eltham’s character in the late 1960s. Built from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s when Eltham was a rural community, they are all that remain of what was once a family property of around 250 acres (100 ha). As population pressure increased in the late 1960s, owners Ron and Yvonne Jelbart, decided to subdivide their property. The break-up of this property into the Woodridge Estate in the early 1970s, was a major factor towards transforming Eltham into the suburb it is today.1 Although standing only a few minutes from Eltham’s busy hub and hundreds of houses in Woodridge, scarcely any urban sound disturbs the peace. Views from the two buildings are almost exclusively of trees and extend to Mt. Dandenong to the south-east, the Great Divide to the north, and Melbourne city to the south-west. The Jelbarts had lived in Eltham since the early 1940s when they bought a poultry farm in New Street, now Lavender Park Road. Although Jelbart was primarily a businessman importing office machinery, he was keen to farm dairy and beef cattle, so the couple bought rough bushland at what was then the end of Arthur Street. But a shortage of building materials following World War Two hampered their plans to build their new home, so they followed the example of the Eltham Artists’ Colony (later called Montsalvat) and used mud-bricks and recycled materials.2 With great determination the family and friends constructed their house. Massive timber frames and huge quantities of mud-bricks were made on site. The barn was built first in 1945, and two years later, while camping inside, the Jelbarts started building their house. It took eight years to construct the two buildings, even with the help of professional tradesmen. The buildings, with timber frames infilled with mud-brick and plastered, are reminiscent of the English Tudor style. The Jelbarts are of Cornish stock. Much of the timber framework came from demolished bridges or warehouses, and recycled slate was used for roofs and floors. Quality second-hand materials were readily available in the late 1940s and 1950s when there was much demolition in Melbourne and little respect for heritage. A former 19th century Toorak mansion Woorigoleen provided the magnificent stone fireplace, the timber panelling and the parquetry floor in the living room. The large stone gateposts at the entry of the property came from Melbourne University. Almost no mechanical equipment was used to build the 55 square house and the 25 square barn. Massive timber frames were erected using block and tackle pulleys and timbers were shaped, sawn and drilled by hand. Son and architect Ian, with his family, have lived in and extensively renovated both buildings since the early 1970s. Ian transformed the steep ridge of the property into a plateau, where the main house Kinloch stands, surrounded by terraces and lawns. The grounds retain many native plants, including massive yellow boxes – some nudging 80 years. Ian attached 70 metres of pergolas draped with wisteria, roses and grape vines, to three sides of the house. The beautiful garden is featured in the book Through the Rose Arbour by Rosemary Houseman. The two-storey barn – now a house – retains traces of its original use. The cow-shed with milking and feed-rooms, and the machinery-shed remain. The house, separated on the ground floor by a breeze-way, soars two storeys and includes a mezzanine. These are connected by spiral staircases, to timber-beamed and plaster-lined high-pitched ceilings. The house also descends to a wine cellar. Curiously the roof is of corrugated iron on the south and slate on the north, to save costs. Small-paned windows and three French doors open onto the front lawn, which extends to Jelbart Court.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, arthur street, jelbart barn, jelbart home, kinloch gardens

Situated at the eastern end of York Street, Eltham, 'Shinrone', the former home of Professor William (Mac) MacMahon Ball was one of the first in the Shire of Eltham to incorporate mud-brick. Professor MacMahon Ball, a political scientist, writer, broadcaster and diplomat and family moved to York Street, Eltham in 1945 into a timber cottage built around the 1890s and in poor repair. Mac asked Alistair Knox to renovate the home and he expanded the living area and added verandahs. In 1948 Montsalvat artist and sculptor Sonia Skipper supervised the building of most of the mud-brick studio. Neighbour Gordon Ford made the mud-bricks. Mac also asked John Harcourt, who had worked with him as a journalist in shortwave broadcasting, to build a pise (rammed earth) and stone addition to the largely timber house. Harcourt built two bedrooms - including an attic bedroom - a balcony with a shower and toilet, a nd a fireplace and chimney of local stone. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p141 At the eastern tip of York Street, Eltham, stands Shinrone, the former home of one of Australia’s intellectual leaders. Professor William Macmahon Ball, was one of the first to bring Asia as a foreign policy issue to the Australian public.1 He was a political scientist, writer, broadcaster and diplomat. The house was one of the first in Eltham Shire to incorporate mud-brick,2 because of the acute shortage of building materials after World War Two. Its novice builders later become leaders in Eltham’s built and garden design. Mac (as he was usually called), who was the son of a Church of England minister, was born in Casterton, Victoria in 1901 and died in 1986. In 1945 he helped establish the United Nations, as political consultant to the Australian Delegation at the San Francisco Conference.3 Then in 1946 Mac was appointed British Commonwealth Representative on the Allied Council for Japan, which is recorded in detail in his diary.4 In 1948 Mac led an Australian Government Goodwill Mission to South East Asia. However, Mac was perhaps most successful as an academic and public speaker.5 He was a commentator on the Australian Broadcasting Commission, from the early 1930s to the early 1960s. He was also Controller of the Short-Wave Broadcasting Unit during World War Two, which later became Radio Australia. From 1923 he taught at The University of Melbourne, then became foundation Professor of Political Science in 1949 and was Chair until his retirement in 1968.6 In 1942, as the government expected a Japanese invasion, Mac’s wife Katrine and their only child Jenny, moved from Kew to Eltham as temporary evacuees. However Mac and Katrine lived in Eltham for almost the rest of their lives. After staying with friends, they rented a house in Reynolds Road, where, as it was wartime, they needed to keep horses for transport and a cow and poultry for milk and eggs. In 1945 the family moved to the house at York Street, which was then a timber cottage, built around the 1890s and in poor repair. The underground well, cellar and part of the garden are all that remain of what stood on the original 18 acre (7.3ha) allotment. Thanks largely to Katrine’s hard work, the house was gradually renovated and extended. The long rambling house was partially built by several young neighbours, who were inspired by the cheap mud-brick and stone building style of Montsalvat, the Eltham artists’ colony. Mac asked Alistair Knox to renovate Shinrone, named after an Irish village near Katrine’s family home. Knox later popularised the mud-brick style of house construction, for which Eltham became known. He expanded the living area and added verandas. In 1948 Montsalvat artist and sculptor Sonia Skipper supervised the building of most of the mud-brick studio. Another neighbour, Gordon Ford, who was to have a major influence on the Australian garden style, made the mud-bricks. Mac also asked John Harcourt, who had worked with him as a journalist in short-wave broadcasting, to build a pisé (rammed earth) and stone addition to the largely timber house. Harcourt built two bedrooms – including an attic bedroom – a balcony with a shower and toilet, and a fireplace and chimney of local sandstone. With pioneering work naturally came mistakes, including one particularly dramatic incident when Harcourt was building walls with unsupported sections. Jenny Ellis, Mac’s daughter, remembers being awakened from sleep by a thundering shudder. The wall of her room had fallen down – fortunately away from her! In 1950 artist Peter Glass – another neighbour and later landscape designer – built Katrine a mud-brick pottery. As a result, the house features at one end Harcourt’s characteristic steep gable roof, while at the other the flatter construction characteristic of Knox. Mac referred to the home as the Eltham ‘experimental building site’.7 Surprisingly, the combination works, perhaps partly because it has the warm inviting feel of timber, mud-brick and stone.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, alistair knox, gordon ford, john harcourt, mudbrick construction, pise construction, professor macmahon ball, shinrone, sonia skipper, york street

The dam at the entrance to the Nerreman Gateway in Eltham was built according to an internationally acclaimed theory developed by the builder's father. In 1920, Victorian engineer B.A. Smith was awarded the American Society of Civil Engineers J. James R. Cross Gold Medal for his Technical Paper titled 'Arched Dams'. It was the first time this medal had been awarded outside the United States. The concrete arched dam across the Eltham West Drain was built in 1940 by B.A. Smith's son and engineer, D. B. (Bernie) Smith to water the 24 acre (9.75 ha) hobby farm owned by himself and new wife, Isa Smith. Upon completion of the dam a pump-house was constructed beside the creek but before the water could be pumped up the hill they had to dig a trench and lay 500m of 100mm water main to an elevated holding tank. The Smiths made the pump-house their home for several years until they constructed their home at the top of the hill overlooking Eltham and views extending to Kinglake. Following Bernie's death in 1983, Nerreman Park was subdivided between 1993 and 1995. Gordon Ford designed the landscaping and the pump-house was demolished. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p137 The dam at the entrance to the Nerreman Gateway in Eltham, was built according to an internationally acclaimed theory developed by the builder’s father. In 1920, Victorian engineer B A Smith was awarded the American Society of Civil Engineers J. James R. Croes Gold Medal, for his Technical Paper titled Arched Dams. It was the first time this medal had been awarded outside America. An international example of the application of Smith’s work can be found in the design of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, Nevada, USA. Built between 1930 and 1936, it is recognised by the ASCE as one of ‘America’s Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders’.1 The concrete arched dam across the Eltham West Drain was built by B A Smith’s son and engineer, D B (Bernie) Smith. Bernie’s dam followed his father’s theory, having a curvature that takes maximum advantage of concrete’s great strength in compression. The water load is carried into the abutments because of this curvature, which permits a wall thickness of only 225 millimetres thick at its crest, despite the dam’s capacity of more than 4.5 megalitres. The Eltham dam was designed to water the 24 acre (9.75 ha) hobby farm belonging to newly married couple Bernie and Isa Smith. Bernie, from Armadale, and Isa, from a farm at Tyntynder near Swan Hill, were attracted to the hilly topography and the creek running through the property. It extended from Ryans Road, Eltham, to Karingal Drive, Montmorency and was adjacent to Meruka Park. The Smiths named it Nerreman Park using the Aboriginal word Nerreman meaning ‘River Bend’ as their creek had a pronounced bend.2 In 1940 the first thing Bernie did was to build a dam, and with Isa’s help, a pump-house, to secure a water supply for their cattle, pigs, chickens, orchard and vegetable gardens. It was also available for the fire-plugs, which they placed all over the property in case of bushfire. The couple built the pump-house beside the creek and installed a Tange three-plunger pump, which had originally supplied the City of Wodonga with water. But before the Smiths could pump water up the hill from the dam they had to dig a trench and lay about 550 yards (500m) of a four-inch (100mm) water main up to an elevated holding tank. The trench was dug with a single furrow plough drawn by an old draught horse. Living in rough conditions did not deter the Smiths, who made the pump-house their home, where they still lived when their first child was born in 1944. They later built their home at the top of their property overlooking Eltham, with magnificent views to Kinglake, the Dandenong Ranges and Melbourne. From 1946 it took them almost 20 years to complete the 36-square house with its 12-foot (3.6m) high ceilings. Material for the concrete roof and walls faced with sandstone, was ripped out of the ground on their property by plough pulled by tandem Clydesdale horses. Isa was a strong woman – two days before their second child was born – she set three huge sandstone boulders in place in the bottom wall of the garage. She also mixed all the cement for the house. A collapsed kitchen wall did not discourage her from rebuilding it in a week, while her husband was away working in the country. She later recalled: ‘We stood back to admire this beautiful wall we’d built and while we were looking at it, it came tumbling down’.3 Following Bernie’s death in 1983, Nerreman Park was subdivided, between 1993 and 1995. Local Gordon Ford designed the landscaping and the pump-house was pulled down. But the dam remains as a reminder of exceptional engineering4 – and of a remarkable couple.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, karingal drive, smiths dam, bernie smith, gordon ford, isa smith, nerreman gateway, nerreman park estate, dams

Situated in King Street, Eltham, Alistair Knox built his home and office in 1962-1963 with mud-bricks made from the local soil and recycled materials blending the house with bush around it. Knox popularised the Eltham earth building movement, begun by Montsalvat founder, Justus Jorgensen. Alistair Knox (1912-1986) was also an Eltham Shire Councillor 1971-1975 and Shire President in 1975. Knox established the inaugural Eltham Community Festival in 1975. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p145 Lack of money was a strong incentive for Alistair Knox to do what he did best when he built his house and office at King Street, Eltham in 1962-63. He used mud-bricks from local soil and recycled materials, characteristically blending the house with the bush around it. The result was a work of art. Knox popularised the Eltham earth building movement,1 begun by Montsalvat founder Justus Jörgensen. He was also an Eltham Shire Councillor from 1971 to 1975 and Shire President in 1975. For Knox mud-brick building was not just a building style, but a spiritual experience and a way of relating with nature. At 40 he rediscovered God and his building reflected his theological, political, philosophical and particularly environmental world view, which was far ahead of its time.2 He also contributed to building development in his use of concrete slab foundations when stumps and bearers were the norm. Knox was introduced to mud-brick construction in 1940 by Jörgensen, then shortly after, Knox joined the Navy. In 1946 Knox studied Building Practice and Theory at Melbourne Technical College (now RMIT University). There he befriended fellow student and artist Matcham Skipper who belonged to what was then called the Jörgensen Artists’ Colony. Knox decided to build an earth building in Eltham, partly because the post-war huge building demands resulted in expensive and scarce building materials. He asked artist Sonia Skipper for help who, with Matcham, had constructed mud-brick buildings at the Artists’ Colony. The simple rectangular low-lying house at King Street is framed by native plants and a 3.6 metres wide pergola surrounds the building. Wedded to the landscape, a door in every room at the perimeter, opens outside. The property also includes a forge, a small hut built by son Macgregor at 15, and a mud-brick tower for chickens. Building materials were foraged from a wide variety of sources. Some of the joinery material came from old whisky vats. When the Oregon of the highest quality ‘was put through the wood-working machines, it gave off a deep smell of whisky that made the whole atmosphere exotic and heady’.3 Amateur builders, including schoolboys from Knox’s Presbyterian Church, made some of the mud-bricks. But the building was finished with the professional help of Yorkshire builder, Eric Hirst. Inside, the light is subdued with the mud-brick, beamed timber ceilings and floors of slate, timber or orange-brown tiles. Skylights, with rich blue and red leadlighting, illuminate one entrance area and this feature is repeated as edging on the door. The centre of the house is like a covered courtyard, with rooms built around it. The central room, 11 metres x 7 metres, was built in the same proportions as Knox’s mud-bricks. Clerestory windows on four sides infuse the room with a soft light. A huge brick fireplace extends beyond one corner and opposite is a small one where timber can only be placed vertically. The slate for the floor was discarded from the Malthouse Brewery now used as a theatre in Southbank. In the middle is a large refectory table and benches that seat 18. Like much of the house, it is rugged, yet beautiful. Made of Western Australian Jarrah by Macgregor with a chain saw and an adze, it retains knot and nail holes. Each wall has an opening, 2.4 metres at the ends and 3.6 metres at the sides. Only one has doors and these concertina doors are made of the backs of old church pews. The main bedroom has an ensuite with a marble hand basin discarded from the Victorian Parliament building; and a dressing room, where two wardrobes of polished timber recovered from a tip are attached to the walls. Separate from the house is the strikingly original circular-shaped office made of bluestone sourced from the original Army campsite at Broadmeadows.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, alistair and margot knox house, alistair knox design, mudbrick construction, eltham, king street

Sculture in bronze of Alan Marshall by Marcus Skipper, 1995 Alan Marshall, AM., O.B.E., Hon.LL,D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia's most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940's he spent some time living at Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan's occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged Children's Societies. Alan's books are numerous and include novels, short stories, children's books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies "I Can Jump Puddles" and "This is the Grass". Others include "These are My People", "Ourselves Writ Strange", "People of the Dreamtime"; "The Gay Provider" and "Wild Red Horses". In 1971 he wrote the Centenary History of the Shire of Eltham, "Pioneers and Painters". Covered under National Trust of Australia (Victoria), State significance. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p159 Outside the Eltham Library a bronze figure of a short one-legged man with a crutch invites people to the world of literature. The bronze statue, by Marcus Skipper, is of author Alan Marshall, who is famed for his autobiography I Can Jump Puddles, about growing up and overcoming the effects of polio. That plucky little boy later lived in the Nillumbik district for more than 50 years, and on his death in 1984, was buried in the Nillumbik Cemetery at Diamond Creek. Although a hugely successful author, his grave is modest with only a tiny boulder and simple bronze plaque on a grassed plot. From 1955 to 1972 Marshall lived in a tiny fibro-cement bungalow at the rear of a house at Park West Road, Eltham, owned by his older sister, Elsie McConnell. It was there that he wrote most of his autobiographical trilogy and his history of the former Eltham Shire, Pioneers and Painters. His long association with Eltham Shire began in 1918 when his family moved to Diamond Creek. Then in 1920 he began work as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices on Main Road, Kangaroo Ground near the Yarra Glen Road, while boarding at the hotel next door. Marshall later bought a block of land in Research, which had three bark huts. In one of these he wrote his first book These Are My People. He later sold the land but lived in a caravan there and in 1955 wrote I Can Jump Puddles.1 Proud of its citizen, the Eltham Shire named a park after Marshall at the corner of Main Road and Leanne Drive, Eltham. In 1985 the Shire initiated the Alan Marshall Short Story Award. It was Marshall’s early life in the country that taught him to live courageously in spite of his crippling polio, and he inspired many. This informed his writing – full of courage, championing the battler and love of the bush. Alan Marshall was born in 1902 at Noorat in Western Victoria, as the only son of Billy a drover, horse breaker, hawker and then general store owner. At the age of six, Marshall contracted infantile paralysis and was later hospitalised in Colac for 18 months. With his father’s encouragement, Marshall learnt to swim, wrestle and box, ride a bicycle (downhill), ride a horse and drive a car. Marshall won a scholarship to Stott’s Correspondence College to study accountancy. To help him continue his studies and find employment, his family bought 12 acres (4.8ha), in Ryans Road, Diamond Creek, opposite Windmill Court. There they ran cows, some poultry and an orchard. But life with a disability and during the Depression was hard for Marshall, who for 20 years, endured long periods of unemployment and loneliness and was often exploited at work.2 However, life improved in the 1930s, when he published short stories and articles in newspapers and magazines, including a column of advice to the lovelorn, which he wrote for nearly 20 years. At age 42 Marshall published his first book and in the next 30 years he published more than 20. His most successful book was I Can Jump Puddles, which sold more than three million copies internationally. It was made into a film, released in 1971, by Czechoslovakian director Karel Kachyna. Marshall was one of the first Australians to write about Aborigines who called him Gurrawilla - teller of tales - when he lived with them in Arnhem Land for eight months.3 In 1941 Marshall married Olive Dixon, with whom he had two daughters, Catherine and Jennifer. Marshall and Olive divorced in 1957. In 1972 Marshall was awarded an OBE for his work with the handicapped. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Melbourne University, an Order of Australia for services to literature and the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples.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, alan marshall, art in public places, eltham, eltham library, marcus skipper, panther place, public art, sculpture

Built in 1953, the Rice House was leading Melbourne architect Kevin Borland's first commssion and was one of two houses of its kind. The design of the shell-like structure was inspired by the Arch of Ctesiphon, built in the second century south of Baghdad. Cement with a waterproofing agent was applied in layers to a form of regularly spaced timber arches covered in hessian. This ctesiphon system was developed in the United Kingdom by engineer J.H. de Waller in 1947. Commissioned in 1951 by Harrie and Lorna Rice, after Harrie, then an art student, met Borland at The Age Small Homes Service. Borland suggested they buy land in Eltham because at that time it was the only council in Melbourne that would grant a permit for such an innovative house. Covered under Victorian Heritage. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p157 Inspired by an ancient arch in Iraq, a house stands on top of a hill in a private position, off Ryans Road, Eltham. One of only two houses of its kind, it was leading Melbourne architect Kevin Borland’s first commissioned house, which he built in 1953. The shell-like structure, partially screened by giant trees and cacti, was inspired by the Arch of Ctesiphon south of Baghdad, built in the second century.1 Cement with a waterproofing agent was applied in layers to a form of regularly spaced timber arches tightly covered by hessian. This ctesiphon system was developed in the United Kingdom by engineer J H de Waller in 1947. This house was the first of three such structures built in Victoria, of which only one other remains, although substantially altered.2 It is the Wood House and supermarket, at the corner of Cleveland Road and High Street Road, Ashwood, designed by Robin Boyd in 1952. The Rice House demonstrates Kevin Borland’s innovative and experimental work. It is an outstanding example of the post-war period of experimentation in domestic architecture in Melbourne – by Robin Boyd, Kevin Borland and others – for The Age Small Homes Service from 1947 to 1953. This was partly an expression of late-Modernism and also necessitated by the post-war shortage of building materials. In Eltham, the post-war shortage of building materials largely resulted in mud-brick houses. Examples of Borland’s public work include contributions to the Olympic Swimming Pool in Melbourne and the Preshil Junior School in Kew. After more than 50 years of living in the house, Harrie and Lorna Rice still love it. Facing north-east with large windows overlooking the garden and two courtyards, it is well lit and benefits from a through breeze. The couple commissioned the extraordinary house after Harrie, then an art student, met Borland in 1951 at The Age Small Homes Service. Harrie was so impressed by the recently graduated Borland’s enthusiasm, that he asked him to design them an interesting house for a low budget.3 The unusual design presented several hurdles for the young couple before they could construct it. Borland suggested that they buy land in Eltham, because at that time it had the only council in Melbourne that would allow such an innovative house. Another hurdle was to gain finance for this remarkable house. The State Savings Bank Manager refused finance on the grounds that it was ‘unliveable’ and a ‘disgrace’. Fortunately, through a family connection, the couple borrowed money from the National Bank. But they discovered years later, that the bank’s evaluation stated the two ‘concrete sheds’ were of no value!4 The house built in off-white concrete, consists of two sections. The main house has four arches supported by brick and concrete walls that create a series of inter-connected rooms. Inside, the ceiling follows the roofline. Originally this section was only ten square metres, because of building restrictions at the time. But in 1973 Borland added two rooms and a carport. The second structure of two arches was originally a garage and a studio for art teacher Harrie Rice. To accommodate the growing family, in the mid 1950s, Borland converted the second structure into two children’s bedrooms, a kitchenette, a bathroom and a living room. The two structures were originally linked by a covered way of suspended draped-concrete, but this collapsed in the 1980s. The design has several maintenance problems. Cracks developed where two halves of the shells were joined. Then the material sprayed over the cracks became brittle, causing leaks. Fortunately Harrie found another material he could use. The valleys between the arches collect water, requiring annual painting with a waterproof material to prevent leaking. Lorna framed the house with native and exotic plants, which provide privacy and as a bonus, the garden attracted the rare Eltham Copper Butterfly.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, rice house, ryans road

Thousands of elderly people at this centre have contributed much. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p161 Thousands of elderly people, who have contributed much to Nillumbik and beyond, have made their home in the treed Eltham Retirement Centre. The centre, which opened in 1956, has housed the disadvantaged in particular, through good times and hard, including floods, fire and even burglaries. As part of the Melbourne Citymission, a non-denominational Christian organisation that cares for people living with disadvantage, the centre was built to celebrate 100 years of the Melbourne Citymission’s work since 1854.1 Standing on a former poultry farm called Willandra (Still Waters), the centre includes independent units, hostel, nursing home accommodation and a Day Therapy Centre, which is available for non-residents as well.2 Despite being metres from the busy Main Road and railway station, the centre provides a quiet oasis on 6.8 hectares bordered by the Diamond Creek to the west, and the railway line to the east. The centre was originally named Judge Book Memorial Village after Judge Clifford Book, Deacon of the Collins Street Baptist Church. Book was also President of the Baptist Union of Victoria and Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge. He was so respected that, at his death, several Pentridge prisoners asked to attend his funeral. In 1993 the centre’s name was changed to clarify that it was part of the Melbourne Citymission. However Judge Book’s name continues in the Judge Book Memorial Garden, opened in 2006. The Diamond Creek has flooded the centre several times, however rarely causing serious damage. Volunteer Alan Field recalls a flood in 1974 when the resident manager Reverend Norman Pearce and his wife, were rescued by boat from their home with their budgerigar. On February 3, 2005, when the creek almost flooded Metzner Hall, 35 ambulances evacuated residents to nearby nursing homes, hostels and local homes. Residents were also evacuated during the 1965 bush fire, but fortunately a change of wind direction saved the centre. Residents have also endured several burglaries. Despite much rebuilding and modernisation over the years, traces of the original farmhouse remain in the administration areas. In 1991 the Willandra Hostel was built and in 2001 the Eltham Lodge Nursing Home with each room having a garden view. Several buildings are named after people who have given special service to the centre including the Norman Pearce Day Hospital after general manager and pastor Rev Pearce. Metzner Hall was named after the Metzner family who had been active in the auxiliary since it began and had donated generously to the Recreation Hall fund.3 A bridge was named after Sister Lila Murray who had worked at the village for 42 years in various capacities including as relieving manager. Field remembers Sister Murray as ‘the Mother Teresa and soul of what the village aspired to, with love and care’. Since 1957 the Eltham Auxiliary, later called the Residents’ Association, has worked to improve the residents’ quality of life by volunteering and raising funds. An outstanding volunteer, Field, who was drawn to the centre in 1971 with his wife Chris, has held positions on the early Eltham boards, auxiliaries and Residents’ Association. Much of his work has been supporting people with no family and those of limited means. He says he and his wife look at their work as having shared ‘our lives with amazing people’. The wealth of experience and wisdom in the Retirement Village has benefited many people, including local school children. Residents have acted as proxy grand-parents at local schools, by assisting small learning groups or telling their life stories. Conversely, students from local schools have visited to perform, or to assist in programs like craft activities. Resident Val Bell, whose mother Rose Bullock lived at the centre before her, sums up the centre’s most important attribute for her: ‘The Christian care. They could not be more caring’.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, diamond street, eltham, eltham retirement centre, eltham retirement village, judge book memorial village

A habitat corridor and it strengthens the community. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p185 Barak Bushlands lie west of the Diamond Creek on the corner of Falkiner Street and busy, noisy Main Road. They form part of an important habitat corridor linking the Yarra River to the Kinglake National Park.1 Manna Gums, tawny frogmouths and platypuses are some of the indigenous plants and animals that have made their home there. The bushlands are the result of more than nine years of hard work by the local community with the Nillumbik Council, to transform a degraded flood plain into this refuge of natural beauty. In 1997, shortly after moving into the new Riverside Estate on Falkiner Street, Eltham, several residents noticed the sorry state of the Diamond Creek and surrounding area. Part of it was used as a cow paddock and although small patches of vegetation survived, the area was infested with weeds, rabbits, rubbish and drainage from the housing estate. At various times the 4.4 hectares had been used as a market garden and for shire stock piles. The residents began to restore the area by revegetating land along the Diamond Creek. In 1998 they established the Friends of the Diamond Creek Falkiner Street Reserve2 and 35 families joined from the 90-house Estate. Carolyn Mellor, as the Friends’ Land Manager, undertook a four-year horticulture course to guide this massive project for a volunteer organisation. Since 1999, she has been the Friends’ President. In 1999 the Friends urged the Nillumbik Council to undertake a feasibility study into establishing a wetland system and urban forest. Work began in 2002 with Nillumbik Council funding the project, supplemented by government grants. The Friends also received grants from Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria.3 Aided by the Friends and other community members, the Council created the Barak Bushlands consisting of a forest, a wetland, a bridge, a path and open space. The beautiful wetland treats most of the estate’s stormwater runoff. Storm water is filtered through plants in the wetland ponds then is released slowly into the billabong, before flowing into the Diamond Creek. The wetland also helps to minimise flooding and the improved water quality provides a flora and fauna habitat. The Friends and other volunteers planted more than 27,000 plants, more than one third of which they grew from seeds they collected at Lower Eltham and Wingrove Parks. Eltham High School students planted thousands of these through a Year Eight program introduced for this purpose. Other groups who assisted were: Green Corps, local Scouts and Guides – 2nd Montmorency, 1st Diamond Creek and 1st Eltham Cub Packs, Eltham College students, Eltham East Primary School, Landcare members, Eltham Lions Club and the Eltham Baptist Church. To maintain enthusiasm for the mammoth task, the Friends and other volunteers ‘adopted’ trees to water and wrote their names on the stakes. In 2004, to recognise the area’s original occupiers, the reserve was named Barak Bushlands. William Barak, who lived from 1824 to 1903, was the last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe of the Wurundjeri-willam people.4 Traces of these original inhabitants remain in scar trees (bark sections removed to make a shield or canoe). That same year the Friends’ group was a finalist in the prestigious Federal Government, Banksia Environmental Awards. The Friends have also participated in Clean Up Australia, removing tonnes of rubbish and regularly testing the billabong, wetland and creek, for pollutants. For years the Friends, together with the Australian Platypus Conservancy, have tagged, measured and checked the health of platypuses from the Diamond and Mullum Mullum Creeks. With Latrobe University the Friends have conducted night walks to view owls, possums, bats and sugar gliders.5 Challenges for the council and the Friends continue with a large rabbit population, some vandalism, weed eradication and maintenance. However, thanks to this community effort, locals can now escape confined urban living on small blocks of land and enjoy the beauty of indigenous plants and animals. Working together has also strengthened the local community,This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, barak bushlands, diamond creek (creek), eltham

Rear view of Eltham Library showing loading dock and ramp to the front of the building. Designed by multi-award winning architect, Gregory Burgess, for which he won the 1995 Royal Australian Insitute of architects (Vic.) Merit Award in the New Institutional category. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p183 Award-winning Eltham Library, with its earthy tones blending into the nearby parklands, celebrates some of the best of Eltham’s spirit. Designed by multi-award winning architect, Gregory Burgess, the library at Panther Place, won him the 1995 Royal Australian Institute of Architects (Vic) Merit Award in the New Institutional category.1 The design is typical of Burgess’ work, emphasising natural materials and forms, and the integration of building and site.2 In its distinctive architectural character, Burgess celebrated the spirit of Eltham’s artist/architect Justus Jörgenson and mud-brick builder Alistair Knox. However this library, which opened in 1994, follows decades of efforts to acquire a suitable library for local residents. It was only in 1971 that Eltham acquired its first purpose-built library. In the 1930s books were borrowed from a mobile library run by Mr Foster of Bible Street. From the 1930s to the early 1950s, adults borrowed books from the newsagency and general store in Main Road (still a newsagency) near Arthur Street. As late as the 1950s, adults borrowed books in the shire office foyer, then in Main Road near the corner of Arthur Street.3 In the early 1950s the ratepayers voted for lower rates rather than a library, in a referendum to build a public library financed by higher rates. Children depended on volunteers for their library service until 1966. In 1946 the inaugural meeting of the Eltham War Memorial Trust’s Women’s Auxiliary, decided to support the Trust by raising funds to buy land and build a Children’s Library, Baby Health Centre and other facilities. The auxiliary formed the Children’s Library Committee, which included Mrs Morrison, Mrs Bow and Mrs Currie. They ran a library service in the stage area of the Eltham Hall, at the corner of Arthur Street and Main Road. In 1952 the books were relocated to a room in the newly opened Baby Health Centre on Main Road. Then in 1961, the Children’s Library received its own hall beside the Eltham Pre-School Centre on Main Road. From there, each month, volunteers delivered books to every school in the shire. In 1966 the Children’s Library closed after 17 years of service, following the transfer of the Trust land and buildings to the Shire of Eltham. The books were donated to nine schools in the shire and to Community Aid Abroad. An important boost to the library service came in 1965, when the Heidelberg Regional Library Service was formed by the City of Heidelberg with the Shires of Eltham and Diamond Valley. Its first library service for Eltham Shire was a bookmobile van. Books for children and adults were finally housed in one building in 1966, when the shire converted the Brinkkotter house in Dudley Street, into a library. At last in 1971, the Eltham Library moved to new premises attached to the shire offices near Panther Place. However these were demolished in 1996, by State Government appointed commissioners during council amalgamations. Meanwhile the Heidelberg Regional Library Service was disbanded in 1985 and the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service was established. The burgeoning population brought pressure for a bigger library. Eltham was one of several municipalities in the 1970s and 1980s, battling with the State Government for adequate funding for public libraries. Funds were so tight, that in 1987 Eltham councillors threatened to close the library. However public petitions persuaded them to set aside funds to replace the cramped library facilities. In 1992 the Federal Government gave $887,496 towards the $3 million cost of the 1560 square metre library.4 The result is a light and spacious building with surrounding verandas, made of sustainable natural materials including earth and recycled and radially sawn timbers. It includes a gallery and function areas. In 2004 Mr Burgess won Australian architecture’s highest accolade: the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal. He has received more than forty professional and community awards.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, eltham library, panther place

One of seven sites in Eltham and Greensborough where the butterfly survives. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p181 The rare Eltham Copper Butterfly, Paralucia pyro-discus, was saved from near extinction by a community campaign in the late 1980s. Thanks to that effort, the butterfly, a form of the Fiery Copper Butterfly, with a wing span of only 2.5cm, can be seen in parts of Eltham and Greensborough from late November to April. As late as 1987 the butterfly was thought to be near extinction. But that year, entomologist, Michael Braby, found several colonies, including two major ones in natural bushland on Diosma Road, Eltham. However these were threatened with destruction, as their habitat was to be destroyed by a development of 71 houses. The colonies were on a 14 hectare subdivision owned by Esanda Finance, an ANZ Bank subsidiary. It would cost around $5 million, to reimburse the bank for the land.1 The butterfly, which depends on woodland, a stunted form of the Sweet Bursaria bush, and the Notoncus ant, was considered too fragile to relocate. Braby’s discovery led to a sometimes fiery two-year campaign, which even became an election issue. It involved the local community, local and state governments and the developer, before a compromise was reached. The larvae have an intricate relationship with the small black ant, Notoncus. During the day, the larvae shelter in nests made by the ants around the base of the trunk and roots of the Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa). The ants are thought to protect the larvae from predators and parasites, as they attend them from the nests to feed on the Bursaria leaves at night. In return, the larvae excrete a sugar solution, which the ants love to eat. The butterfly was first recorded in Victoria in 1893, and first collected scientifically from Eltham in 1931. But it was only officially named in 1951, by Victoria’s then top butterfly expert, David Crosby.2 However, from 1970, rapid housing development in Eltham destroyed much of the butterfly’s habitat. The discovery of several major colonies in 1987 met with great excitement, and 250 people attended the first local public meeting. The State Government commissioned Crosby to investigate how to protect the butterfly, and the council froze development for three weeks. Then Esanda agreed to suspend development for several months, until a compromise was reached. Crosby recommended that 62 of the 71 lots be kept to ensure the butterflys’ survival. However this would cost $1 million to $1.5million in compensation to Esanda.3 Greensborough MP Pauline Toner, launched a $1million fundraising campaign and many artists donated their works to the appeal. Toner offered Clifton Pugh’s painting Eltham Copper Country to millionaire Alan Bond for $1 million, after having heard that he had offered $6 million for the Van Gough painting Sunflowers. However Bond did not accept. The butterfly was considered a ‘hot’ election issue during the by-election, following Pauline Toner’s resignation. Liberal party candidate, Margaret Brown, was accused of falsely saying she had been involved in the butterfly campaign so as to win votes. Sadly, the $1million appeal fell short at $426,000, so a compromise was reached. The State Government donated the Education Department site on Eucalyptus Road, but only nine lots of the Diosma site were bought, and the rest of the development went ahead. On March 3, 1989, Ms Toner died of cancer, and the Eucalyptus Road site was named in her honour. Around 2000 the butterfly was further threatened by proposed developments on Pitt Street, facing the Pauline Toner Reserve and between Diosma and Nyora Roads. Fortunately the Friends of the ECB, with the Shire of Nillumbik, ensured that more habitat was made available.4 The butterfly now survives in seven sites in Eltham and Greensborough, including the main sites at the Pauline Toner Reserve on Eucalyptus Road, the Western and Eastern colonies on Diosma Road, and the Yandell Reserve in Greensborough.5 The butterfly survives also in Castlemaine and in the Kiata and Salisbury areas. However, it remains endangered.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 copper butterfly, pauline toner butterfly reserve