EDHS Newsletter No. 266 October 2022 It is 150 years since the Colony of Victoria introduced the Education Act in 1872. At our next society meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 12th October we will look at the early history of some of the schools in the Eltham district. What were the driving forces behind the establishment of some of these schools and what challenges were encountered along the way? At this meeting Dr Geoffrey Sandy will speak about the Church of England Denominational School at Little Eltham, Dr Andrew Lemon will talk about the history of Research State School, Jim Connor will speak about the Eltham Primary School and Irene Kearsey will comment on some of the findings from her recent project digitising the early class records of Eltham Primary School.1:21:48 duration Digital MP3 file; 28.0MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, 150th anniversary, dr andrew lemon, dr geoffrey sandy, irene kearsey, jim connor, public education victoria

Collection of Personal Papers regarding a house built using former PMTT tramcars. Comprises: 1 - Auction notice - folded A3 light card, "Moonta 18 School Road Ferny Creek" - giving details of the property, agents, floor plan and auction date of 19/11/1983. Agents R. Woodard and D&S Ham (2 copies held) 2 - Newspaper clipping from the Progress Press with a sketch and article - "Home built from trams" 3 -"Fares please for tram treat" - Herald Sun, 24/9/1983. 4 -Auction notice - 21/11/1983 - property passed in. 5 - hand written note, with plan of the trams and location map - not dated 6 - set of six hand written notes recording conversations with various people regarding a house in Ferny Creek with trams, including the Public Trustee 1976 and 1977. 7 - Auction notice for "Charrawalla" - School Road, Ferny Creek dated 7/5/1977 from The Age. Not all items numbered, See also Reg Item 1356, 1833 and 1518 for related items.trams, tramways, mmtb, pmtt, ferny creek, tramcars, melbourne, houses, sale of land

The two Scholar's Concession tickets for first and second terms of 1976 allowed the holder to travel from Wattle Park to Latrobe university via a nominated route with the conditions of travel on the rear. Cost was $34 for each ticket. Ticket Nos. 06423 and 07189. Both issued at Camberwell Depot. The Employees Pass was issued to those who did not have a pass issued to them personally, such as travel to and from a training facility. The person to who this was issued to was a MMTB employee. The MTT Perth Ticket dated 20 Feb. 76 is a machine issued bus ticket recording ticket issuing details.Demonstrates a scholar's tickets issued during the mid 1970s.Set of two scholar's concession tickets, preprinted card with hand written details, providing the persons name and travel details, both contained within a plastic sleeve. Contained within the 1st term ticket was a blue Employee's pass for the MMTB and a Perth bus ticket.tramways, mmtb, perth, scholar's tickets, school tickets, employees pass, buses

In 1987 (Dec. 5—Dec. 15), the Eltham College Concert Band did a tour of China. Upon return, a VHS tape was made of the tour as a memento of the occasion. Sufficient material of useable quality and content has remained to allow two DVD’s to be produced by tape to disc transfer. Disc 1 runs for 94 mins. and Disc 2 for 77 mins. Original tape ran for about three hours so not all that much has been lost. In general the video work was by Mr. Brian Maclean, year 12 Co-Ordinator at the college and is very professional for the video equipment of the day. There is a full ‘cast list’ at the end with credits for all band members and those who organised it all. Very much a school magazine of characters but a movie instead. video recording, eltham college, china tour, eltham college concert band

General chit chat and banter between group of senior citizens at an afternoon tea held for them at Research Primary School.Compact audio cassette GTape 90 Converted to MP3 file; 92.4MB, 1:14:13 Case and cassette labelled "Research Primary School; Afternoon tea with senior residents Nov 1st, 1984"audio cassette, audio recording, oral history, research primary school, senior citizens

Item compiled by Graeme Mc Coubrie recording his tram sightings - see front page. For each tram sighted, he has entered the tram number, when built, class and conversion dates. These would have been based on the book Destination City, 2nd edition which was received with the donation and other materials of the mid to late 1950s.Demonstrates a teenagers recording of the tramcars seen by him and their details.Exercise book, Camberwell High School, ruled sheets, was centered stapled, with pages cut at the top for tramcar number contents.tramcars, personal papers, notebooks

20th Eltham Community Festival and last under the auspices of the Shire of Eltham. The Grand Parade focussing on the theme "Echoes of Eltham - Celebrating the visions of Eltrham from the past and into the future" was headed by Jock Read on his horse Lofty who had been filmed in an Anzac Day Parade on an earlier horse which had featured in the television show Matlock. The parade travelled north along Main Street to just past the Post Office then back south to Panther Place. Parade participants included 1st Eltham Brownies, 1st Eltham Venturers, 2nd Eltham Sea Scouts, 2nd Eltham Venturers, 3rd Eltham Brownies, Australian Democrats, Briar Hill Primary School, Circus Chaos, Country Fire Authority, Diamond Valley People for Disarmament, Diamond Valley Railway, Eltham Community Health Centre, Eltham District Horse and Pony Club, Eltham East Primary School, Eltham Fire Brigade, Eltham Junior Football Club (Panthers), Eltham Little Theatre, Eltham North Primary School, Eltham Playhouse Co-op, Eltham Pre-school, Eltham Roller Skating Club, Eltham South Pre-School Centre, Eltham Steam and Stationary Engine Society, Greenhills Neighbourhood House, Heidelberg Municipal Band, Hurstbridge Learning Co-op, Jocklebeary Farm, Kangaroo Ground Primary School, Learning Co-op Primary School, Lower Plenty Primary School, Main Road, Montmorency Gardening Club, Montmorency South Primary School, North Warrandyte Fire Brigade, Plenty Valley 88.6 FM, Research Pre-school, Research Primary School, Ron Sampson, Salvation Army Band (Briar Hill), Sherbourne Primary School, Shire of Eltham, State Emergency Service (Eltham) and Woodridge Pre-school. The parade commentary was provided by Plenty Valley FM 88.6 with guest commentator, Shire President Cr. John Graves. Following the parade is video footage from a helicopter of Alistair Knox Park, displays along Main Road and activities in Alistair Knox Park and the Rugby oval along with stationary engines, helicopter joyrides, Eltham People's Choir, music entertainment. Scenes also from the Diamond Valley Railway at Eltham Lower Park and finishing with the fireworks display. At the end of the video is a promotional video for Dynavision Video Production, a local video production company that produced the video and Diamond Photos (Kodak Express). One of the highlights of the festival was a tree planting ceremony in Alistair Knox Park to celebrate 123 years of the Shire of Eltham led by Shire President Cr. John Graves and representatives of the Wurrundjeri, traditional land owners of the area.VHS Video cassette (poor quality) Converted to MP4 file format 45:01, 535MB DVD copy of VHS cassette (better quality)1st eltham brownies, 1st eltham venturers, 2nd eltham sea scouts, 2nd eltham venturers, 3rd eltham brownies, 1994, aerial photographs, alistair knox park, arthur street, australian democrats, briar hill primary school, circus chaos, country fire authority, diamond valley people for disarmament, diamond valley railway, eltham community health centre, eltham district horse and pony club, eltham east primary school, eltham festival, eltham fire brigade, eltham junior football club (panthers), eltham little theatre, eltham lower park, eltham north primary school, eltham people's choir, eltham playhouse co-op, eltham pre-school, eltham roller skating club, eltham south pre-school centre, eltham steam and stationary engine society, grand parade, greenhills neighbourhood house, heidelberg municipal band, hurstbridge learning co-op, jock read, jocklebeary farm, john graves, kangaroo ground primary school, learning co-op primary school, lofty (horse), lower plenty primary school, main road, matlock police (tv show), montmorency gardening club, montmorency south primary school, nicholaus lauder estate, north warrandyte fire brigade, plenty valley 88.6 fm, research pre-school, research primary school, ron sampson, salvation army band (briar hill), sherbourne primary school, shire of eltham, state emergency service (eltham), video recording, woodridge pre-school

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 233, Apr. 2017) Our meeting at 8.00pm on Wednesday 12th April 2017 is our Annual General Meeting, which includes the presentation of annual reports and the election of office bearers for the coming year. The official notification of the Annual General Meeting and Agenda are on page 8 in this Newsletter. At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker Dr. Andrew Lemon, a great friend of EDHS and a Fellow and the immediate Past President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Andrew is an independent Melbourne historian, author of numerous books on local history, shipwrecks, biography, schools and sport and winner of national literary awards. He has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Melbourne for his published works. Andrew edited the Victorian Historical Journal throughout the 1990s and served on the Library Board of Victoria and the Heritage Council. Andrew is a very entertaining presenter and in our 50th Anniversary year he has chosen to speak about ‘Fifty years of the EDHS - and why it matters.’1:03:34 duration Digital MP3 File 75 MB andrew lemon, audio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

August Meeting (Newsletter No. 235, Aug. 2017) Blanche and Jack Shallard were involved in many activities in the Montmorency community throughout their lives. They observed Were Street grow from a one shop street to a bustling shopping village. Jack was a local solicitor and on the Board of the Diamond Valley Community Hospital, while Blanche was a member of the Hospital Auxiliary and both were involved with our Society. They were also connected with Montmorency State School and St Faith’s Church in Montmorency. At this meeting we are pleased to have their daughter, Professor Margaret Deighton, speak about her family and her recollections of growing up in Montmorency.0:47:43 duration Digital MP3 File 67 MB audio recording, eltham district historical society, margaret deighton, meeting, montmorency, shallard, society meeting

Meeting to discuss the Nillumbik Shire Council's proposed sale and devlopment of the former Shire Office site at 895 Main Road as well as the Eltham War Memorial including the Maternal and Infant Welfare Centre, Eltham Pre-school and Eltham War Memorial Hall and Memorial Gardens at 903-907 Main Road which also includes thje Eltham Senior Citizen's Centre. The meeting was attended by more than 300 people which considered the following: Motion from public meeting – Saturday 13th October, 2018 1. This meeting has no confidence in Nillumbik Shire Council's proposed process for the re-development of 895 and 903-907 Main Rd, Eltham and we deplore the cursory attention given to public consultation to date. 2. We call on Council: *to preserve the Eltham War Memorial building complex at 903-907 Main Rd, Eltham, and retain their existing uses in accordance with the Eltham War Memorial Trust purpose; and retain the Cenotaph and Eltham Senior Citizens' Centre. * to retain council ownership of all land at 895 and 903-907 Main Rd, Eltham for our community and future generations. * following meaningful engagement with residents of the Shire, to place sufficient planning controls on the site of the former Eltham Shire Office to ensure that any future development of that land responds to Eltham's form and character and properly protects public amenity, access and use. * to make all proposals for the development of 895 and 903-907 Main Rd, Eltham available for public inspection as soon as they are received by Council. Moved: Greg Johnson Seconder: Andrew Lemon * carried unanimously1:28:52 duration Digital MP3 File 30.5 MB 895 main road, 903-907 main road, community meeting, eltham pre-school, eltham shire office, eltham war memorial, eltham war memorial hall, infant welfare centre, nillumbik shire council, senior citizen's centre

Second information meeting regarding the Shire of Nillumbik's proposed development/sale of 895 and 903-907 Main Road0:37:56 duration Digital MP3 File 13.0 MB 895 main road, 903-907 main road, community meeting, eltham pre-school, eltham shire office, eltham war memorial, eltham war memorial hall, infant welfare centre, nillumbik shire council, senior citizen's centre

Guest speaker Chad Griffiths (at 0:18:30), a former planning manager with 17 years' experience at Nillumbik Shire Council discusses what can and cannot be done with the Eltham War Memorial and former Shire Office sites. Guest speaker Andrew Lemon, Historian, former President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and a former board member of Heritage Victoria (0:46:45), discusses the unique aspects of the Eltham War Memorial site and the current submission to Heritage Victoria and process for heritage listing protection. Note: Andrew Lemon's presentation was interrupted between 1:05:00 to 1:06:10 and again at 1:08:00 to 1:11:40 due to a medical emergency involving a member of the audience.1:44:33 duration Digital MP3 File 36.8 MB 895 main road, 903-907 main road, agm, andrew lemon, chad griffiths, community meeting, ecag, eltham activity centre, eltham community action group, eltham pre-school, eltham shire office, eltham war memorial, eltham war memorial hall, infant welfare centre, nillumbik shire council, precinct 3, precint 4, senior citizen's centre

PART 1 – NILLUMBIK (00:00-07:17) Opening features various scenes around Nillumbik Shire. For 40,000 years Nillumbik was the home of the Wurundjeri people. Robert Hoddle gave the district its name. Jock Ryan, then president of Nillumbik Historical Society discusses the names Nillumbik and Diamond Creek. In the late 1830s white occupation began with gold found in Warrandyte in 1851 and 12 years later at Diamond Creek -the Diamond Reef which led to the Caledonian gold rush. Jock Ryan discusses the Diamond Creek mine, which was thriving until it burnt out in 1915. Large numbers of workmen moved into area in late 1870s to construct the Maroondah Aqueduct. With growing population of Melbourne, the nearby Yan Yean system had severely disrupted the flow of the Plenty River, forcing the closure of three flour mills there. The aqueduct came to the rescue carrying water 66km from Healesville to Preston. When the Diamond Creek gold mine burnt down the local economy suffered but fruit growing industry had already been established and Diamond Creek became a thriving fruit growing centre. Interview with Jack Powell, a long-time fruiterer at St Andrews market, his family had lived in the area for a hundred years, 3 to 4 generations, “a lot of hard work”. By the time the railway arrived fruit growing was no longer competitive. The railway brought the city closer and day trippers. The Green Wedge separates the shire from the more densely developed neighbours such as Whittlesea, Doncaster, Templestowe, Bulleen and Greensborough. Population at the time (1996) was 19,000 but links to the past remain strong. Mudbrick houses along the Heritage Trail The saving of Shillinglaw Cottage from demolition in 1963 and relocation brick by brick. PART 2 – ENVIRONMENT (07:18-14:44) Peter Brock (with Bev Brock in background) at St Andrews market discusses his childhood growing up in the district and the environment and the values it instilled upon him and his own family. The Brocks have been in the district since the 1860s. Nillumbik Shire responsible for managing three catchment areas; Diamond Creek, Arthurs Creek and Watsons Creek. Follows the course of the Diamond Creek commencing in Kinglake through the district to its confluence with the Yarra River at Eltham at Eltham Lower Park. Highlights Eltham Lower Park community revegetation program and the newly constructed (1996) viewing platform built of new and recycled timbers at the confluence of the Diamond Creek and Yarra River. Also featured are outdoor recreation on the river and at Eltham Lower Park including the Diamond Valley miniature railway. Sugarloaf reservoir and recreational activities and fishing. Aerial view of Memorial Park and Shire of Eltham War Memorial tower at Garden Hill, Kangaroo Ground. Significant tourism opportunities for the shire with 3 million potential day-trippers in metropolitan Melbourne. Council and community working together to find a way to promote the shires natural and artistic assets. At Arthurs Creek, the Brock family and neighbours working together to take care of their waterway. Peter Brock’s uncle, Sandy Brock talks about environmental management and the Arthurs Creek Landcare group and actions to eradicate blackberry problem. Having previously planted Cypress rows they are replacing them with indigenous species to improve the water supply, keeping cattle out of the creek bed to improve the quality downstream flowing into the Yarra. Eltham East Primary School Band playing “All things bright and beautiful” merges into scenes of the bushland sanctuary set aside by the school in 1980 with unidentified teacher discusses the sanctuary and their education program and school children’s comments. Plight of a family of Wedgetail eagles nesting in the path of a developer’s bulldozer at North Warrandyte and actions to save their nesting areas. PART 3 – ARTS (14:45-22:00) Arts and Jazz festival at Montsalvat featuring interviews with Sigmund Jorgensen discussing Montsalvat and its principles. Also Matcham Skipper. Clifton Pugh’s funeral at Montsalvat and his legacy at Dunmoochin near Cottlesbridge with artists in residence, at the time, Chicago artist Charles Reddington who discusses the benefits of the experience. An unidentified female artist also talks about the program and why people are drawn to the area. Unidentified man on street talking about the amount of talent in the area, artists, poets, musicians, authors. Artist Ming Mackay (1918-2009) interviewed talking about the people she mixes with on “the Hill”. Works of local artists are displayed Eltham Library Community Gallery and Wiregrass gallery with a new coffee shop at the Wiregrass making it an even more popular destination. Music at St Andrews Hotel (may be a little bit country) and the Saturday market where likely to hear anything. Sellers and patrons at the market asked about what attracts them to the market and where they came from. Scenes of poets/authors giving readings. CREDITS Music by John Greenfield from the CD Sweet Rain “The Snow Tree”, Uncle Music UNC 2001 Cameras - David Mirabella and Peter Farragher Editor – Olwyn Jones Written and Produced by Jason Cameron A Jason Cameron Proction for Nillumbik ShireProvides a record of the relatively newly created Shire of Nillumbik at the time and the features and attactions of the shire in its people arts, culture and environmentVHS Cassette (five copies) DVD (one copy) Converted to MP4 file format 0:22:00, 1.60GBvideo recording, arthurs creek, arthurs creek landcare group, artists, artists in residence, arts, arts festival, authors, blackberry, brock family, bulldozer, bulleen, bushland sanctuary, caledonian gold rush, charles reddington, clifton pugh, cottlesbridge, cypress rows, developer, diamond creek, diamond creek mine, diamond reef, diamond valley miniature railway, doncaster, dunmoochin, education program, eeps, eltham, eltham east primary school, eltham east primary school band, eltham library community gallery, eltham lower park, environment, fishing, flour mill, fruit growing, fruiterer, garden hill, gold mining, green wedge, greensborough, heritage trail, hurstbridge railway line, jazz festival, jock ryan, kangaroo ground, kangaroo ground tower, kinglake, maroondah aqueduct, matcham skipper, memorial park, ming mackay (1918-2009), montsalvat, mudbrick houses, music, musicians, nesting area, nillumbik historical society, nillumbik shire, north warrandyte, old timer, orchards, peter brock, plenty river, poets, population, recreation, recreational activities, revegetation, robert hoddle, sandy brock, shillinglaw cottage, shire of eltham war memorial, sigmund jorgensen, st andrews hotel, st andrews market, sugarloaf reservoir, templestowe, the hill, tourism, viewing platform, warrandyte, water catchment area, watsons creek, wedgetail eagle, whittlesea, wiregrass gallery, wurundjeri, yarra river, jack powell

Oral history interview with Jock Read (1915- 2010) conducted by Diana Bassett-Smith of Eltham District Historical Society. Peter Bassett-Smith and possibly Gwen Orford also in attendance. The interview includes discussion of Jock's family history and connection to Eltham, including his attendance at Eltham State School starting 1921, childhood memories including games he played, memories of Eltham High School, recreational activities, milking, money earned, local transport, neighbours, effect of the Depression, local shops, involvement with the Church of England and more. Recording contains significant amount of noise. 0:00 Introduction including the clarification of Jock's name as Frances and backstory of his parents being from England 3:15- 5:00 Commences talking about home life and childhood 3:38 Talking about family immigrating to Australia His father immigrated to Australia when he was 6 4:05 Jock was born in and lived with his parents in Brunswick before moving to Eltham during the 1920s 4:55-7:44 Permanently moved to Eltham and started at Eltham Primary School in 1921 Talking about books used at school, and games played at school such as marbles, cricket and football 8:45 Moved into Eltham High School after finishing at Eltham Primary 9:50 Week and weekend activities including: Milking cows and doing milk runs on horseback before school 13:15 Most common mode of transport was using horse drawn vehicles and walking 14:50 Discusses impact of depression on family: Father had previously started a business but the depression had a large impact on that 16:10-18:00 Facilities that Jock had • Used hurricane lamps and candles- no electricity • Woodfire • Milk and bread were delivered • Greengrocer- George Bird? 25:22 Left Eltham high school in 1930 26:00 Begins discussing involvement with the church of England 31:46 Electricity did not come to Eltham until 1926 Jock described it as an exciting event 33:00-34:00 Describing the rented house, he was living in- small wooden cottage 35:00 Discussion around starting a mail run round areas of Eltham 38:40-42:35 Enlisted in the navy during WW2 • Navel cadets in 1934 • HMAS Vampire • Served as a seaman gunner Audio Compact Cassette Tape ACME C90 XHG Converted to MP3 file; 55.1MB, 0:42:35audio cassette, audio recording, diana bassett-smith, eltham, jock read, oral history, read family, elham primary school, eltham high school, eltham primary school, 1920s, brunswick, depression, church, st margaret's church, housing, ww2, second world war

Oral history Interview with Maurie Fabbro conducted by Doug Orford with Mary Reagan at Maurie Fabro's home in Kirby Street, North Eltham, Victoria The interview covers Maurie's life in Eltham. Maurie took over his parents farm which was located opposite Eltham High School and between the Diamond Creek. The house was located in Faulkiner Street. When the land was subdivided, Maurie moved up the hill to the site of the interview. Topics of discussion include: Maurie's Harley Davidson Motorcycle (mention of Keith Gibson), lack of electricity in Faulkiner Street, extreme weather of the past.Audio Cassette tape TEAC mdxi 100 min (yellow) Converted to MP3 file; 79.9MB, 1:03:08oral history, fabbro family, fabbro farm, faulkiner street, eltham, weather, motorcycles, doug orford, maurie fabbro

This is a velvet covered book with gold edged pages beautifully written in fine calligraphy depicting the history of all the pupils who offered for War service in the 1914-1918 war. Nurse Alice M Byrne, William Thomas Byrne, Richard Cummins, George Delaney, William George Elliot (Military Medal), Stanley William Grossman,29th Battalion; Alexander Cluny McDonald, Albert Arthur Perkins,KIA 1/10/1917; Harry Perkins,37th and 38th Battalions; Frederick Perkins,37th Battalion; Sydney Spencer Plum, Leslie George Richardson,trained at Wangaratta before contracting menigitis and died 25/6/1916; John Claude Smith,18th Battalion KIA 18/4/1916; This is a velvet covered book with gold edged pages beautifully written in fine calligraphy by Docker's Plains Head Teacher Mr Thomas Kidman, recording the military history of all the pupils at Docker's Plains State School who offered for War service in the 1914-1918 war. . Fixed inside the book's back cover are four original newspaper articles, two relating to the unveiling of the Honour Roll and Book at the children's annual picnic held on 17/10/1921 and dated 19/10/1921. The other two articles relate to the death and funeral of Albert D Lowerson VC of Myrtleford in 1946.The school was closed in 1949 and no longer existsA brown velvet covered book with gold edged pages written in fine calligraphy depicting the history of past pupils who offered for War service in the 1914-1918 war.Docker's Plains Honor Bookdocker's plains, ww1, honour book