Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Eltham Central Park viewed through the bridgeDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparency435m, eltham central park, eltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line, panther place, red rattler, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line, red rattler, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line, red rattler, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencydiamond street, hurstbridge line, level crossing, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, hitachi electric train (1972-2014), hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, hitachi electric train (1972-2014), hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencygreensborough railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencygreensborough railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, tait train

Note Shillinglaw Cottage in foreground and Panther Place.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hitachi electric train (1972-2014), hurstbridge line, panther place, shillinglaw cottage

Note Shillinglaw Cottage in foreground and Panther Place.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hitachi electric train (1972-2014), hurstbridge line, panther place, shillinglaw cottage

Note Shillinglaw Cottage in foreground and Panther Place.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hitachi electric train (1972-2014), hurstbridge line, panther place, shillinglaw cottage

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line

Note two new bridge support piers stored in foreground.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hitachi electric train (1972-2014), hurstbridge line

Note Shillinglaw Cottage in foreground and Panther PlaceDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line, panther place, red rattler, shillinglaw cottage, tait train

Note Shillinglaw Cottage in foreground and Panther PlaceDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line, panther place, red rattler, shillinglaw cottage, tait train

Note Shillinglaw Cottage in foreground and Panther PlaceDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencyeltham trestle bridge, hurstbridge line, panther place, red rattler, shillinglaw cottage, tait train

Walter Withers was a significant Australian landscape artist and a member of the Heidelberg School of Australian Impressionists. In 1903 Withers bought 'Southernwood', a house on 2½ acres (1 ha) at Eltham, to which he added a studio. Because of ill health, he lived during the week at his studio in Oxford Chambers, Melbourne, and on weekends and holidays with his family at Eltham until his death in 1914. The Eltham rail bridge is a unique and valuable historic relic of an earlier steam locomotive transport era in the Diamond Creek Valley and has long formed an important part of a magnificent Eltham landscape. When built in 1902 it was close to the terminus point of the Heidelberg-Eltham rail extension, on the route of the proposed Diamond Valley Railway that was then planned to continue much further up the valley towards Kinglake. This bridge is situated in attractive river-valley parkland amidst the tall and spreading manna gums and candlebarks of the Diamond Creek Valley. The Alistair Knox Park river-valley landscape, of which the timber trestle bridge is an important visual component, has been classified by the National Trust. Large manna gum and candlebark trees adorn the adjacent creek banks, and historic Shillinglaw Cottage is also part of this much-prized Eltham landscape. Eltham is home to a historic wooden railway trestle bridge. Mainly of timber-pier and timber-beam construction, but varied by a few longer steel-joists spans on timber piers at the main stream channel, this substantial bridge has almost two hundred metres of timber deck. Built in 1902, it is the only railway bridge of predominantly timber construction that is still in regular use as an integral part of Melbourne's metropolitan electric railway network and one of extremely few timber rail bridges in the State that still carry trains. Apart from its important continuing social function as a carrier of rail transport for the Hurstbridge line, this impressive bridge and its beautiful parkland environs contribute much to the character of Eltham township and that town's special reputation as an historic centre of environmental and conservation concerns. This section of the Diamond Creek Valley was the subject of a Walter Withers painting in the earliest years of the twentieth century and has strong historic links with our Heidelberg School of painters. Watercolour painting on paper of Eltham's Trestle Bridge in the middle of the day. A small section of the wooden bridge is located to the left of the painting. The focus is predominately on the wattle, manna gum and candlebark trees that is to the right of the bridge. The golden hues typically represent the australian sunlight and landscape. "W.W" in gothic script on the lower right side of the painting. Not dated. withers, eltham, trestle bridge, railway, watercolour

The Outer Circle Railway was opened in stages in 1890 and 1891, as a steam-era suburban railway line. It traversed much of the modern City of Boroondara, including the suburbs of (from north to south) Kew East, Camberwell, Burwood, Ashburton, and Malvern East. At its longest, it ran from Fairfield station, on what is today the Hurstbridge line, to Oakleigh station, on the current Pakenham and Cranbourne lines.Steam train in a cutting on the Outer Circle Railway line. Exhibition enlargement donated by Stewart West from an original owned by Miss Foley.trains, outer circle railway

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