Designed by Alistair Knox and Gordon FordRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 10 strips Kodak Gold 100-6 Cross Ref: 00659 (print) and 03182 (negative)gayle blackwood collection, houses, mudbrick, eltham, alistair knox, boomerang house, gordon ford, laughing waters road

Designed by Alistair Knox and Gordon FordRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 10 strips Kodak Gold 100-6 Cross Ref: 00659 (print) and 03182 (negative)gayle blackwood collection, houses, mudbrick, eltham, alistair knox, boomerang house, gordon ford, laughing waters road

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material1 document, 2 pages A4 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, mudbrick, haldane road, eltham south, sherwood

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material1 document, 2 pages A4 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, mudbrick, stanhope street, eltham, the white house

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material1 document, 2 pages A4 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, mudbrick, research (vic.), beauty point, beauty point road

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material for the Alistair Knox designed house known as the Zull House. "Nestled into a private hill of more than an acre of established gardens, shady ornamental gardens, shady ornamental grapesvines and gumtrees, sounds of bellbirds engulf this Alistair Knox home of special ambience. This home features the textures and colours of nature, home made Hawthorn bricks, flooirng slate from the old St Kilda baths and recycled timbers..." The property was sold Feb 26, 2004 (Source: realestateview.com.au) Knox was a pioneer in the use of mudbricks and recycled materials and is significant to his contribution of this style of architecture in Eltham and the wider Shire of Nillumbik.1 documents, 2 pages A4 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, metery road, eltham south, alistair knox, zull, st kilda baths

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material1 documents, 2 pages A4 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, mudbrick, eucalyptus road, eltham south

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material1 document A3 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, alistair knox design, kangaroo ground

Morrison Kleeman Real Estate sales information material1 document A3 gayle blackwood collection, houses, morrison kleeman real estate, mudbrick, montmorency

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsFuji 1001993, briar hill, rennard property, karingal drive, mudbrick, houses

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 strips (composite of three frames)Fuji 1001993, briar hill, rennard property, karingal drive, mudbrick, houses

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsFuji 1001993, briar hill, rennard property, karingal drive, mudbrick, houses

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsFuji 1001993, briar hill, rennard property, karingal drive, mudbrick, houses

Newspaper article, Bendigo Weekly, re Diamond Hill area, including Golden Gully. . Mentions the mine sites, extensive mud brick home ruins, stone cellars that can be found in the area.person, individual, jack perry - diamond hill, golden gully, diamond hill, mudbrick

Professor Downing - Dorian Le Gallienne House commenced construction in 1948. It was built by Horrie Judd, Les Punch, Wynn Roberts, Sonia Skipper and others. Designed by Alistair Knox. A fourth and final wing was added in 1964.29 colour prints 10 x 15 cm 1 A4 document of supporting sales literature and notesgayle blackwood collection, houses, mudbrick, morrison kleeman real estate, yarra braes road, eltham, le galienne house, alistair knox design

The Osborne Peninsula on the Yarra River at Warrandyte accommodates a limited number of properties and residents (70 households). The area is rich in geology and ecology, and an unusually rich endowment of human, built and creative history. Contents: Welcome: The landform: The River: Aboriginal occupation: The Miners: North Warrandyte :The Subdivision: The Lowes: The Osbornes: The Last Osborne: The Elders: The Relics: Dray Track: Water Wheel"Kauri Plaque: River track: Pines: Windmill Creek Bridge: The Koornong School: The Houses" Man Cave: MidCentury Classic: Enduring Original" Masterwork: The Muddies: The State Park: The Saving of Koornong Reserve: The Landcare Story: Flora and Fauna: The Vulnerable, Endangered and threatened: Birds: Mammals: "Waring" the wombat: Reptiles: Fish: Invertebrates: Flora: Fire. Published by the North Warrandyte (Osborne Peninsula) Landcare Group. Includes photos from EDHS collection.64 p. : ill., map ; 29.7 x 21 cm. (2 copies)yarra river, birrarung, dray track, fauna, geology, houses, indigenous history, koornong reserve, koornong school, lowe family, mining, mudbrick houses, north warrandyte, osborne family, warrandyte state park, water wheel, north warrandyte (osborne peninsula) landcare group, osborne peninsula

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

Image 12 Ward House built by owner 1950 Partly destroyed by fire in 1967 Rebuilt in 1968 re-using original mudbricks The Alistair Knox Collection The Alistair Knox Collection is a series of mounted enlarged photos of mud brick houses and related subjects. The collection is understood to have been put together by Alistair Knox although it is the work of several unacknowledged photographers. For some years it was held by the Building Department of the former Eltham Shire Council and was then passed to our Society for safekeeping. Some of the photos have been used in Knox's books and from time to time some of them have been part of various historical displays. As far as we know there has not been a public display of the whole collection which numbers about forty photographs. The collection has been copied on to slides for the purpose of this meeting and to be retained as part of the Society's pictorial collection. Alistair Knox 1912 - 1986 is acknowledged as the founder of Eltham's mud brick building movement. Many of the buildings shown in the collection are of his design and he was also involved with the construction of several of them. Others are the work of his contemporaries and associates such as Peter Glass, Gordon Ford, and John Harcourt. (EDHS Newsletter No. 145 July 2002)Handwritten notes in pencil re details of building, year of construction, owner, designer, builder, etcalistair knox design, houses, mud brick construction, ward house, alistair knox collection

Considered the best of the early mud-brick houses built by Alistair Knox. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p143This 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 knox, alistair knox design, busst house, kerrie crescent, mudbrick construction, mudbrick houses, silver street

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

Eltham Little Theatre in centre distance and new housing estate development off Reynolds Road in distanceRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 9 strips Colour print 10 x 15 cmFuji HG 200 CA-1eltham little theatre, houses, main road, maroondah aqueduct, maroondah aqueduct trail, mudbrick, mudbrick construction, research (vic.), research industrial estate, reynolds road

Dorian Le Gallienne (1915-1963) was born in Melbourne and studied music at Melbourne University Conservatorium and at the Royal College of Music, London. In 1951 he won a Commonwealth Jubilee Music Scholarship and studies in London for a further two years. Le Gallienne was recognized as one of Australia’s foremost composers. He was also well known as a music critic for Melbourne newspapers. On the local scene he wrote the music for Tim Burstall’s 1958 film “The Prize”; set in Eltham. From 1949 until his death, he lived with his friend Dick Downing in Yarra Braes Road. Their modest mudbrick “weekender” grew in stages to become one of the notable houses of the area. Bicentennial/Heritage Week Display, "The Eltham Tradition", Eltham Shire Office, 17-22 April 1988 Colour photographactivities, eltham shire office, heritage display, heritage week, dorian le gallienne, nora heysen, portrait

Considered the best of the early mud-brick houses built by Alistair Knox. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p143 The Busst house hidden by trees at the corner of Silver Street and Kerrie Crescent is considered the best of the early mud-brick houses built by Eltham architect, Alistair Knox. Knox himself said, that the Busst house was the most mature mud-brick house designed at that period. ‘It related with true understanding to its steep site and expressed the flexibility of earth building ………to develop a new sense of flowing form and shape’. Built in 1948 for artist Phyl Busst, a former art student at Montsalvat, the house helped usher in Eltham Shire’s distinctive mud-brick residential character. Knox was the pivotal figure of the style developed from the 1950s to the 1970s. Scarcity of building materials after World War Two encouraged mud-brick building because earth was a cheap and plentiful building medium. But when Knox began building in mud-brick in 1947, no council in Victoria knew anything of this ancient art and he needed a permit. Fortunately the Commonwealth Experimental Building Station at Ryde in NSW, had been experimenting with earth construction to help overcome the shortages of that time. They published a pamphlet that became available in Melbourne on the same day the Eltham Council was to consider whether the earth building should be allowed. Knox caught one of the three morning trains to the city in those days and bought several copies of the pamphlet to give to each councillor. On his return he found the councillors standing on the steps of the shire offices after lunch at the local hotel. He heard that earth building had been discussed before lunch and that they were not in favor of it. Knox gave each councillor a pamphlet. They passed that plan and by doing so, opened the door for all future earth building in Victoria and by default, in Australia. Mud-brick houses attracted artists to Eltham, for their aesthetic appeal and because they were cheap. Those who built their own houses, included film maker Tim Burstall, artists Peter Glass, Clifton Pugh, Matcham Skipper, Sonia Skipper and husband Jo Hannan. For Knox, mud-brick building was more than just a cheap building medium. He saw it as harmonising with the surrounding bush and as a way of counteracting the growing materialism of the age. He wrote of its impact on ‘ 20th century man. It should counteract the confusion that the perpetual flow of high technology products have upon him ..’ Building the Busst house on a steep site was difficult because most earth-moving equipment was then in its infancy. For instance drilling for explosives was done by hand, which was a slow and painful process. Knox, assisted by his foreman Horrie Judd and Gordon Ford (who was to become a famous landscape designer), built two large main rooms - a living room/ kitchen downstairs - and upstairs, a studio/bedroom. The studio/bedroom opens onto the balcony, which covers the living area. The bath made of solid concrete by stonemason Jack Fabro, is particularly deep. Sunshine pours through the three French windows of the north-east facing kitchen/living area, which is lined with timber. The large hearth can fit a family around the fire while the timber floors and solomite (compressed straw) ceilings add to the cosy atmosphere. The garden is thick with trees, and in the late 1990s, Ford put in a pool near the original dry wall he had built as a young man.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 knox, alistair knox design, busst house, kerrie crescent, mudbrick construction, mudbrick houses, silver street

The property is a classic example of what made Eltham famous from the late 1940s to the 1960s. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p149 The first view of the large double-storey house at Yarra Braes Road, Eltham South, is of a jutting roofline over a balcony, reminiscent of a large sailing vessel or galleon – very appropriate, considering the name of one of the first owners, Le Gallienne. The Downing-Le Gallienne property is a classic example of what made Eltham famous from the late 1940s to the 1960s and attracted so many artists and intellectuals to the area. Set in a largely indigenous bush-style garden, the mud-brick and timber house was built by Alistair Knox. It was built for economist Richard Downing, to become a founder of the welfare state in Australia and Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and musician and composer Dorian Le Gallienne. Le Gallienne was a pioneering composer of modern music in Victoria before 1945, whose works included the Symphony in E.1 He wrote several pieces of film music for Eltham Films, including The Prize, working with its writer and artistic director Tim Burstall. Le Gallienne was also a music critic for The Argus and later for The Age. In 1967 the music critic Roger Covell argued that Le Gallienne’s Symphony, was ‘still the most accomplished and purposive . . . written by an Australian’. According to Alan Marshall the main inspiration behind the building that evolved from 1948 to 1964 was Le Gallienne. ‘He was able to see value in the simplest things and many who worked there had their eyes opened for the first time to the Eltham environment, to the bush and the trees and the fauna which lived there.’ The garden included no formality, no lawns, nor exotic plants. ‘Natural informal growth came right up to their doors and so did the indigenous birdlife.’ This informal style – consisting of mass and void – was to be developed and popularised by landscaper Gordon Ford from the 1950s. The large mud-brick and timber house, which was built in four stages and has three separate but linked sections, began as a small weekend retreat for the couple. In 1948, Downing and Le Gallienne (Dick and Dor to their friends), asked Knox to build the 36 x18 foot (11mx5.4m) building with a pitched slate roof. It was built on a concrete slab and included a fireplace, which is still in use. The second wing was built in 1954 after Downing had returned from working at the International Labour Office and the couple decided to live there full-time. The third section was built after the death of Le Gallienne in 1963, aged 48. He is buried in the Eltham Cemetery. When Downing married widow, Jean Norman (nee McGregor) and had to accommodate a large family, including her six children and one of their own, the last stage was built by 1964. At that time the house was considered one of the largest mud-brick houses in Victoria. It consists of five living areas, including a small ballroom. Several artists helped Knox build the Downing-Le Gallienne house, which was one of his first of mud-brick. They included painter Clifton Pugh, artist John Howley and actor Wynn Roberts. Ellis Stones had landscaped the first wing and Gordon Ford set the boulder steps and made a pool as part of the landscaping he completed. Inside, the mud-bricks are largely whitewashed with pine-lined ceilings and Oregon beams. A winding timber staircase in the front extends behind a glass window from the ground floor to the top. The property, of a little more than 0.5 ha, is bordered by Parks Victoria land, which extends to the Yarra River.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, dorian le gallienne, downing-le gallienne house, eltham, mudbrick construction, mudbrick houses, richard downing, yarra braes road

An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in an around Marysville.An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in an around Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, narbethong, taggerty, abbey green cottages, anastasia's cottage, ashlar cottage b&b, barree mudbrick cottages, blackwood cottages, crossways motel, dalrymple's guest cottages, fruit salad farm b&b, kerami house, little dene garden cottages, lomatia lodge, mary lyn resort, marylands country house, marysville caravan park, marysville getaways, marysville holiday cottages, maryton park b&b, melina cottage, mountain lodge, mt cathedral lodge, mystic mountains holiday cottages, nanda binya lodge, riverside cottages, saint fillan b&b cottages, scenic bed & breakfast, somerled mountain retreat, the cumberland marysville, the hermitage, tower motel, woodlands cottages

An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in and around Marysville.An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in and around Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, accommodation, narbethong, taggerty, abbey green cottages, anastasia's cottage, barree mudbrick cottages, blackwood cottages, crossways motel, dalrymple's guest cottages, fruit salad farm, green gables, kooringa, lomatia lodge, mary lyn resort, marylands county house, marysville caravan park, marysville holiday cottages, marysville hotel motel, maryton park, mathildes of marysville, mountain lodge, mt cathedral lodge, mystic mountains holiday cottages, nanda binya lodge, riverside cottages, saint fillan b&b cottages, scenic bed & breakfast, somerled mountain retreat, the cumberland marysville, the hermitage, tower motel, willowbank at taggerty, woodlands, mystic mountains tourist association, brochure

An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in and around Marysville.An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in and around Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, accommodation, narbethong, taggerty, abbey green cottages, anastasia's cottage, barree mudbrick cottages, blackwood cottages, crossways motel, dalrymple's guest cottages, fruit salad farm, green gables, kooringa, lomatia lodge, mary lyn resort, marylands county house, marysville caravan park, marysville holiday cottages, marysville hotel motel, maryton park, mathildes of marysville, mountain lodge, mt cathedral lodge, mystic mountains holiday cottages, nanda binya lodge, riverside cottages, saint fillan b&b cottages, scenic bed & breakfast, somerled mountain retreat, the cumberland marysville, the hermitage, tower motel, willowbank at taggerty, woodlands, mystic mountains tourist association, brochure

An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in an around Marysville.An information brochure regarding the accommodation and facilities available in an around Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, narbethong, taggerty, abbey green cottages, anastasia's cottage, ashlar cottage b&b, barree mudbrick cottages, blackwood cottages, crossways motel, dalrymple's guest cottages, fruit salad farm b&b, kerami house, little dene garden cottages, lomatia lodge, mary lyn resort, marylands country house, marysville caravan park, marysville getaways, marysville holiday cottages, maryton park b&b, melina cottage, mountain lodge, mt cathedral lodge, mystic mountains holiday cottages, nanda binya lodge, riverside cottages, saint fillan b&b cottages, scenic bed & breakfast, somerled mountain retreat, the cumberland marysville, the hermitage, tower motel, woodlands cottages

Plum Cottage is covered by Heritage Overelay HO256 in the Nillumbuk Planning Scheme This two-lot land holding was created as a subdivision and sold to Charles Stuart McNeil by May 1955. Sometime in the period 1955-1960, the builder-designer, John Harcourt had created a pise house on the site, straddling the two subdivision lots. The designer, John M. Harcourt was a pioneer builder in pise-de-terre and mudbrick in the Eltham Shire, Eltham being synonymous with alternative lifestyles and building practises until the onset of suburbia in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This hipped-roof house is set high above Main Road on a V-shape plan characteristic of the Arts & Crafts style, with rammed earth or pise walls, timber joinery and a cement tiled roof. The V shape plan was used by important English and Eltham Arts & Crafts designers. The use of natural materials such as stone and timber construction is an essential part of the Arts & Crafts style and Harcourt’s work. So too is the application of the style on both the exterior and interior of the house as a holistic concept. The house adjoins the Lim Joon adobe house built and designed by Alistair Knox in the same era (HO119), thus forming a distinctive pair, both using an uncommon plan form. This house was identified in the Shire of Shire of Eltham Heritage 1992 as contributory to the Eltham Gateway Conservation Area, then proposed as an urban conservation area (now Heritage Overlay Area). Land Ownership Emily Jane Smith of 12 Woodside Street Fitzroy owned Crown Allotments 1 & 2 Sections 14, 27 by August 1918, selling to William Henry Smith of 12 Woodside Street, Nth Fitzroy May 1921. (John) James Isherwood of Main Road, Eltham owned the property by 1928 (the year of his death) with the beneficiary of his estate and next owner of this site being his widow, Minnie Maria Isherwood of Cemetery Road, Eltham. His holding in Main Road included parts of what was described in rate records as allotments1 & 2 Section E6. In the late 1930s, early 1940s her son Alfred John Isherwood was also rated for the land around this site, with the rated nett annual value varying between £2 and £5. Alfred Isherwood also lived at Main Road, Eltham with his wife Ellen: her early death at the age of 24 was reported in the Argus of 1923. Part of the Isherwood land was divided off and sold to Charles Stuart McNeil by May1955. Sometime in the period 1955-1960, the builder-designer, John Harcourt had created a pise house on the site, straddling the two subdivision lots. The house is visible on an aerial photograph from 1960s. Reputedly the house was called Plum Cottage and erected for Harcourt’s mother-in-law. A garage was added in 1959. Charles McNeil died in1971 aged 87: he was the son of Don McNeil and Margaret Arkell. Available rate records from the construction era start in the of the 1970s (1972-3) and list Mr H.C. & M/S A.V. Charity at 616 Main Road Eltham of this property with a nett annual value of $740. More recent valuer's data describes the property as lots 1 & 2 LP25668, located in the Central Riding of Eltham Shire, owned by Ann Valerie Charity and later, in 1990, by the Chincarini family. Building Description This hipped roof 11 .5 square house is set high above Main Road on a characteristic-shape plan and has rammed earth or pise walls, timber joinery and a cement tiled roof. The V-shape plan was used by Important designers such as C.F.A. Voysey (UK) who interpreted medieval domestic architecture as part of the Arts & Crafts style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The pise walls are covered with a textured render while the cement roofing tiles are also seen in the Harcourt Hill examples. Reputedly the ceiling joists are of a deep section and span long lengths with no need for hanging beams in the roof space. The ceilings are low and panelled in main rooms with apparently Caneite soft board infill panels between the exposed ceiling beams. These are painted white but may have been stained at one time. The focus of the house is the large living area with its vast random stone fireplace. Significance Plum Cottage is significant to the locality of Eltham because: Historically: • Plum Cottage is closely associated with the important historical theme of earth construction evident in Eltham and elsewhere in the Shire since theear1y Arts & Crafts inspired creations at Penleigh Boyd's The Robins (1912, HO101) and those at Montsalvat (1934-, HO82) but more prominent from the Second War period when earth building in Eltham was promoted in national periodicals as an alternative building method that avoided the building materials shortages of that era; • The choice of the earth building technique also expresses the theme of refuge or alternative living, synonymous with Eltham in the early to mid 20th century; • as a good example of domestic architecture from John Harcourt who was the first major post Second War figure in an important phase of Eltham’s earth building development, using his characteristic Old English or Arts& Crafts style that relies in this case on the pise wall construction, pitched roof forms, exposed ceiling joists, half timbering, random stonework, and panelled internal wall finishes. Architecturally: • Plum Cottage's pise wall construction is uncommon among the early earth-walled structures in the Shire, that are mainly of adobe or mud brick, and as a building material is uncommon among the Shire’s suburban dwellings generally which are clad typically with either fired clay bricks or timber boarding. Aesthetically: • Plum Cottage is a good and well preserved example of a modern Old English or Arts & Crafts style earth-walled building in the Shire • For the proximity of the significant Lim Joon adobe house designed by Alistair Knox adjoining to the north, providing a distinctive earth wall house pair, with uncommon plan forms. Reference Heritage Assessment of Plum Cottage, 616 Main Road, Eltham; Graeme Butler & Associates 2010main road, eltham, property, houses, (john) james isherwood, alfred john isherwood, ann valerie charity, arts and crafts style, charles stuart mcneil, chincarini family, eltham gateway zone, emily jane smith, h.c. charity, heritage assessment, john harcourt, john m. harcourt, lim joon house, main road eltham, minnie maria isherwood, pise construction, plum cottage