Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :985 Project : MELBOURNE 1972 Run : 27 Frame : 45 Date : 04/1972 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC10 Flying Height : 5700 Scale : 9600 Film Number : 2636 GDA2020 : 37°42'53"S, 145°10'19"E MGA2020 : 338884, 5824261 (55) Melways : 22 E5 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :1148 Project : MELBOURNE 1974 Run : 27 Frame : 152 Date : 03/1975 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC8 Flying Height : 5200 Scale : 10000 Film Number : 2935 GDA2020 : 37°42'52"S, 145°10'06"E MGA2020 : 338553, 5824293 (55) Melways : 22 D5 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :1243 Project : (ALSO A.P. 1227) Run : 23 Frame : 86 Date : 11/1975 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC8 Flying Height : 5000 Scale : 10000 Film Number : 3058 GDA2020 : 37°42'46"S, 145°10'06"E MGA2020 : 338546, 5824486 (55) Melways : 22 D4 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :1368 Project : DIAMOND CREEK Run : 5 Frame : 71 Date : 03/1975 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC8 Flying Height : 2200 Scale : 4000 Film Number : 3279 GDA2020 : 37°42'50"S, 145°09'36"E MGA2020 : 337821, 5824325 (55) Melways : 22 B5 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :1716 Project : WESTERN PORT FORESHORES Run : 15 Frame : 91 Date : 02/1979 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC8 Flying Height : 5500 Scale : 10000 Film Number : 3286 GDA2020 : 37°42'47"S, 145°09'57"E MGA2020 : 338339, 5824447 (55) Melways : 22 C4 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :1716 Project : WESTERN PORT FORESHORES Run : 15 Frame : 70 Date : 01/1984 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC8 Flying Height : 5300 Scale : 10000 Film Number : 3833 GDA2020 : 37°42'38"S, 145°10'09"E MGA2020 : 338612, 5824719 (55) Melways : 22 D4 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :1716 Project : WESTERN PORT FORESHORES Run : 15 Frame : 108 Date : 03/1987 Film Type : B/W Camera : RC10 Flying Height : 5600 Scale : 10000 Film Number : 4102 GDA2020 : 37°43'00"S, 145°10'13"E MGA2020 : 338725, 5824036 (55) Melways : 22 D5 (ed. 42)719 (55) Melways : 22 D4 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

Centred on present day Diosma Rd, Stokes Pl, Nyora Rd and Eucalyptus Rd Historic Aerial Imagery Source: Landata.vic.gov.au Aerial Photo Details: Project No :2072 Project : MELBOURNE PROJECT Run : 13 Frame : 119 Date : 09/1991 Film Type : COL Camera : RC10 Flying Height : 8300 Scale : 15000 Film Number : 4419 GDA2020 : 37°43'07"S, 145°09'35"E MGA2020 : 337812, 5823811 (55) Melways : 22 B6 (ed. 42) A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 aerial photo, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, peter & elizabeth pidgeon collection, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes

(Cancelled) Certificate of Title originally issued for Crown Portion 15, Section 5 to Robert David Taylor, of Eltham, County of Evelyn, Farmer, 13 March 1925. It is with this title that the land allotment was subdivided into 48 lots. The title shows the issuance to Robert David Taylor with encumbrance placed upon it by immediate former owner, Hugh Patrick Keogh, a former member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent. Following Taylor's death in 1934 the title passes to his Executors, sons Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Eltham and William McLelland Vance Taylor of Northcote. The property is then sold to Frank Stokes who develops the Stokes Orchard. Compulsory acquisitions by the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works and State Electricity Commission show provisions of easemenst for town water supply and high voltage power transmission lines. Subsequent lots are then sold off with the development of the Stokes Orchard Estate residential development in the mid to late 1970s. A History of the Development of Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik – Stokes Orchard Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) is a square allotment of 158 acres or approximately a quarter of a square mile. It lies just beyond the eastern end of Pitt Street, south of Nyora Road to the northern end of Eucalyptus Road and extends east from Eucalyptus Road to Reynolds Road. The topography of CA15 is generally steep, sloping up to a hill near the centre of the land, the ridgeline passing through the properties along the southern side of Diosma Road. Eucalyptus Road is a straight north-south road with its northern end at the north west corner of CA15. Until the end of the 1970s this road was an un-named Government Road and was largely not open to traffic. With residential development in the 1970s the road was constructed, and the council allocated the name obviously in recognition of the predominant species of the local bushland. CA15 was purchased from the Crown by George D’Arley Boursiquot, a prominent Melbourne printer, on 28th October 1852. On November 23, 1922, former Member for Gippsland and Melbourne Real Estate Agent, Hubert Patrick Keogh purchased the allotment then sold it March 13, 1925, to local farmer, Robert David Taylor, a former Shire of Eltham Councillor (1911-1920) and Shire President (1919). Taylor had extensive land holdings stretching west towards Bible Street and Main Road. The Taylor home was situated at the top of the hill in Bible Street at present day 82 Bible Street. At the time of Taylor’s purchase in 1925, CA15 was subdivided into 48 lots that could be described as small rural properties or large residential lots. A typical lot size was one hectare or 2.5 acres. The subdivision created two roads, Nyora Road, and Diosma Road, each following an irregular alignment between Eucalyptus and Reynolds Roads. However, the lots were not sold off separately nor were the roads constructed. The land effectively remained as one parcel for many further years. Robert David Taylor died November 30, 1934, and probate was granted to his son of the same name, Robert David Taylor of Bible Street, Salesman and William McLelland Vance Taylor of 73 Emmeline Street, Northcote, Clerk, with the transfer of the land into their names on July 8, 1935. Frank Stokes worked as a qualified accountant at Kennons leather factory in Burnley, while living at 1 Thomas Street, Mitcham. He suffered from migraines and wanted to return to working the land (he had previously worked on farms and orchards since coming to Australia from England in 1926, both in WA and Vic.). He first travelled to the district by train in July 1942 to find land with the intention to establish an orchard. By chance he met Arthur Bird of Bird Orchard (bounded by Pitt Street, Eucalyptus Road, and Wattle Grove) and they got talking over their common interest. Arthur put Frank up for the night and pointed out the land, 158 acres- part of the Taylor Estate- £900, Crown Allotment 15, Section 5, Parish of Nillumbik (CA15) somewhat diagonally opposite Bird Orchard. Stokes applied through the Riverina Agency to purchase the land who in turn applied for permission from Canberra to sell as there was a new government regulation introduced during the Second World War banning land sales except for immediate production. Stokes obtained a loan on his Mitcham house of £600 @ 5% and paid £450 deposit with quarterly payments of £15 spread over 5 years. Stokes was assisted and advised by Arthur Bird who farmed the neighbouring orchard. In early 1943 Stokes took possession and would catch the train out to Eltham on Fridays after work and began building a hut on the corner of Nyora Road and the Government Road (Eucalyptus Road) for shelter and to lock up tools. He established an orchard on the central western part of the land through the centre of which ran a natural waterway (part of the present-day linear park) and was able to pay a neighbour (Hawkins) to help with clearing and fencing 25 acres, and with a horse and single furrowed plough, planted approximately 2,500 fruit trees - cherries, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, apricots and lemons as well as a few apples and oranges; a massive task. Aerial photographs from the 1940s through to the 1990s clearly show the orchard with most of the larger CA15 site remaining as natural bushland. A huge problem was hares and rabbits eating all the new buds off the tiny trees. As well as laying poison he painted the trees with a mixture of cow manure and lime, often working by moonlight. Procurement of wire and wire netting was difficult because of the war but after much effort he obtained a permit from the Agricultural Department for supplies in March 1944. In February 1945 Stokes applied for a permit to build a “packing shed” as no house building was allowed. It was to be 33 feet x 21 feet and cost £312. It was constructed mostly from second-hand materials, which were hard to obtain, especially iron for roofing. Stokes finished work at Kennons on October 31, 1945, and in March 1946 he sold the family home at Mitcham for £1,230 plus £170 for furniture. On May 15, 1946, title to the CA15 property was issued to Frank Howard Alfred Stokes, Orchardist and Gladys Ethel Stokes, Married Woman, both of Pitt Street, Eltham. The family of five then moved into the very unfinished “packing shed” at Eltham, which was a struggle to weatherproof. Eventually rooms were divided off and lined with hessian bags and whitewashed. Their income was firewood (cut and sold), selling rockery stones and cut Sweet Bursaria. (It was discovered during the 1940s that Sweet Bursaria contained the sunscreen compound Aesculin. The RAAF utilised this compound from Sweet Bursaria during WW2 for pilots and gunners.) The orchard’s first fruit sale was a half-case of Le Vanq peaches in December 1947 for the price of 8 shillings. In 1956 plans for house were drawn and Glen Iris bricks purchased (1956 Olympic Rings variant). The building of the house commenced in 1957 - 12 feet of original packing shed was removed – and was completed in 1959. Water was connected from newly built pressure storage on the property at the end of 1959 and the electricity connection for the first time at 3pm on April 29, 1960. The house remains to present day (somewhat modified) at 1 Nyora Road, home to Nyora Studio Gallery. On occasions, spare remnants of the 1956 bricks have been known to be unearthed in gardens on the estate as they were utilised by Frank Stokes to fill in rabbit holes. On May 26, 1950, a parcel of land was compulsorily acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works on the hilltop to establish an easement for a high-level service reservoir to augment Eltham’s water supply. The project also included pipe tracks for the necessary water mains. The reservoir has now been superseded by higher level water tanks east of Reynolds Road and its former site is now a public reserve. On November 27, 1964, the State Electricity Commission served notice to compulsorily acquire a further parcel through the eastern part of the land for a major electricity transmission line that augmented supply from the La Trobe Valley to Melbourne. The easement was registered February 11, 1966. The easement was widened July 18, 1969 for a second transmission line to be constructed. In 1971 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme amendments adopted Nyora Road as the boundary between a residential zone to the north and a rural zone to the south. This determined the future development of the land. In the mid-1970s the Shire of Eltham divided the orchard into numerous rate-able parcel lots, the 48 lots having been established in 1925 and the subsequent rates assessment proved unsustainable for Stokes. He commenced selling lots outside the boundary of the orchard, north of Diosma and South of Nyora. However shortly later the land between Nyora and Diosma Roads and west of the electricity easement was sold and subdivided into residential lots, a housing development by Macquarie Builders and marketed as the Stokes Orchard Estate. New streets were created, and most were named after trees, although one, Stokes Place, commemorates the former owners. The development was undertaken in two stages; Stage 1 (1975) encompassing Scarlet Ash Court, Ironbark Close and Peppermint Grove bounded by Nyora and Eucalyptus roads and Stage 2 (1978) encompassing Stokes Place, Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout bound by Nyora and Diosma roads. The developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt shortly after the release of Stage 2 leaving many purchasers to fend for themselves and arrange for their own independent builders. There were also difficulties with sewerage for the land immediately south of Diosma Road and so the conventional residential lots were abandoned in favour of larger lots. The development of Orchard Way, The Crest and The Lookout did not proceed as planned and the proposed lots were incorporated into five-acre parcels instead. These included a low-density group housing development by the Graves family and the award winning Choong House (1983) with Gordon Ford developed garden immediately next door situated on the ridge of the hill nestled amongst the original bush, Eucalypt trees and Sweet Bursaria. In 1994, Nillumbik Shire Council applied Significant Environment and Significant Landscape overlays upon the properties on the south side of Diosma Road to ensure protection of this natural bush garden environment. With the arrival of the sewer along Diosma Road in the 1990s, most of these five-acre parcels have since been subdivided multiple times. The Choong house presently sits on a 2.7-acre property, which in 2022 Nillumbik Council nominated for Cultural Significance Heritage protection and is considered potentially significant at State level. The Stokes family were also associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1925 subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises are now used by The Vine Baptist Church. By the mid-1980s the whole of CA15 had been developed for residential and school purposes, except for the sections north of Diosma Road and between the transmission lines and Reynolds Road. Sewerage issues had been resolved for the section north of Diosma Road and in 1987 it was in the process of being subdivided into residential lots. The development coincided with the discovery of colonies of the rare and endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly on the site. This resulted in a community and political campaign to save the butterfly habitat. With the co-operation of the land developer the subdivision was altered to create two bushland reserves in the critical butterfly habitat areas. In the late 1980s the State Government was investigating options for establishing a metropolitan ring road link between Diamond Creek and Ringwood. The chosen route was adjacent to Reynolds Road and so this created a freeze on development of CA15 between Reynolds Road and the electricity easement. The ring road proposal was eventually abandoned, and this part of the land was subdivided into low density residential lots. Diosma Road has been discontinued at the electricity easement and the eastern part incorporated into View Mount Court with access from Reynolds Road. The whole of CA15 has now been developed for residential or associated purposes, ranging from conventional density to quite low density south of Nyora Road. Some remnants of the orchard remain, a few cherry trees on the Graves property and a lone apple tree in Stokes Place. The butterfly reserves comprise significant areas of remnant bushland. Linear reserves through the estate link with central Eltham via the Woodridge linear reserve and with Research along the electricity easement. CA15 as it exists today has a complicated history of rural use, Government acquisition, urban development, and community action. References: • “Stokes Orchard, an incomplete history”; Russell Yeoman with Doug Orford • Correspondence, Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) • Aerial Photographs, 1931-1991, Landata (landata.vic.gov.au) • Certificate of Title, Vol. 4930 Fol. 985900 • Plan Number LP 10859 neil webster collection, diosma road, eltham copper butterfly, eucalyptus road, ironbark close, nyora road, peppermint grove, power transmission lines, reynolds road, scarlet ash court, stokes orchard estate, stokes place, woodridge estate, frank stokes, certificate of title

Folder: 895 Main Road, Eltham Contents Listing 1. Certificate of Title; Vol. 8424, Fol. 334, 5 February 1963 2. Certificate of Title; Lot 2, Plan of Subdivision No. 63242, Parish of Nillumbik, Vol. 8479, Fol. 283, 18 May 1964 (Eltham War Memorial Trust) 3. Newspaper article: Extensions to shire offices will benefit all, by Fab Calafuri, Diamond Valley News, Tuesday, July 8, 1986, p6 [Reverse side, p5, Residents rally to save dam by Helen Gillman about Peck’s Dam in Napier Street, Montmorency] 4. Office memo: Temporary Shutdown of Water Supply Shire Offices – Tuesday 9 March 1993; Anthony Guzzo, 5 March 1993 – Melbourne Water advice due to works on new library 5. Plan of Old Municipal Offices, date and creator unknown 6. Newspaper clipping: Move to convert shire office for police use, by Jodie Haythorne, Diamond Valley News, May 1995 7. Newspaper clipping: Sale of Eltham office / Removal of Question time; Nillumbik Happenings, Mountain Views, 15 May 1995 8. Newspaper clipping: Bid for TAFE campus, Mountain Views, 25 September 1995, p8 9. Newspaper clipping: Will the former Shire of Eltham offices become a TAFE college?, The Advertiser, circa September 1995 [Reverse side; Jezza! Photo of football legend Alex Jesaulenko at Watsonia RSL also Advertisement: Maternal and Child Health Centre Timetable] 10. Newspaper clipping: Eltham may get TAFE campus in shire offices, by Fiona Kaegi and Natalie Town, and Nillumbik set for rate cuts, Diamond Valley News, circa September 1995 [Reverse side; Art for hope – article about artist Damien Curtain at Hurstbridge Primary School] 11. Newspaper clipping: More talks on TAFE, The Advertiser, Tuesday, October 17, 1995, p3 – includes photos of Nillumbik Chief Commissioner Don Cordell, Box Hill College of TAFE Executive Director Andrew Jackson and Niillumbik CEO Barry Rochford; Eltham MP Wayne Phillips with Eltham Chamber of Commerce President Norm Williams and Rotary Club of Eltham President Peter Bishop; Eltham College principal John Brennan with St Helena Secondary College head Ken Cunningham and Eltham High School principal Ron Edwards. [On reverse, p4, Sorry sag of botched relations, Jock Kyme] 12. Newspaper clipping: Eltham hails TAFE take-over, by Fiona Kaegi and Council to hold regular briefings, Diamond Valley News, 18 October 1995 13. Newspaper clipping (photocopy): Why no council office at Eltham?, Mark Burns, Letters, Diamond Valley News, 18 October 1995 14. Newspaper clipping: Future of Eltham office?, Mountain Views, Monday, October 23, 1995, p8 15. Newspaper clipping: Council seeks opinions on former shire offices, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, 25 October 1995 16. Newspaper clipping: Shire office move, The Advertiser, December 1995 17. Newspaper clipping: Former shire offices up for sale; possibly Diamond Valley News, December 1995 18. Newspaper clipping: Agents to sell shire office, Mountain Views, Monday, December 18, 1995, p8 19. Newspaper clipping: Advertisement; Nillumbik Shire Council Proposed Sale or Lease of Eltham Municipal Offices, Diamond Valley News, 10 January 1996 20. Newspaper clipping: No Submissions on Eltham Shire Offices, Diamond Valley-Whittlesea Advertiser, 30 January 1996, p1 21. Photocopy: Minutes of Ordinary Council Meeting, 31 January 1996, 7.4 Sale or Lease of Former Eltham Municipal Offices 22. Photocopy: Letter HTW Valuers to Nillumbik Shire Council, Valuation of former Eltham Municipal Offices at $1.45 million, 31 January 1996 23. Newspaper clipping: New G’boro, Eltham places, Diamond Valley-Whittlesea Advertiser, Tuesday, March 26, 1996, p4 [on reverse, p3, ALP Faithful at Montsalvat] 24. Newspaper clipping: Legal costs a hurdle for action group, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, 16 April 1996 25. Photocopy (91 pages): Tender Documents for purchase of Former Eltham Shire Offices 895 Main Road, Eltham, Prepared for Nillumbik Shire Council, Maddock Lonie & Chisholm, Melbourne. Tenders close at 3.00pm on 24 April 1996 26. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): Building’s asbestos riddle. By Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, 26 June 1996 27. Photocopy: Minutes of Ordinary Council Meeting, 26 June 1996, 11.43/96 Sale of Eltham Offices, Main Road, Eltham 28. Media Release (Photocopy of facsimile from Barry Rochford, CEO): Community Facilities in New Gateway to Eltham, 28 June 1996 29. Photocopy (A3): TPA1 – Site Plan 1:200 Proposed Convenience Centre At Main Road Eltham, Baldasso Cortese Pty Ltd Architects, Collingwood, July 1996 30. Newspaper clipping: ‘Whopper’ For Eltham?, Letters, Sigmund Jorgensen, The Advertiser, Tuesday, July 2, 1996, p3 31. Newspaper clipping: Ex-shire offices to go, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, 3 July 1996, p1 32. Photocopy Newspaper clipping: Unsuccessful bidders criticise sale of offices, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, 10 July 1996 33. Newspaper clipping: Insensitive proposal, Sue Dyet, Letters, Diamond Valley Newsm 17 July 1996 34. Photocopy: Minutes of Ordinary Council Meeting, 17 July 1996, 7.116/96 Sale of Eltham Offices, Main Road, Eltham 35. Newspaper clipping: Former shire office sale angers residents, Diamond Valley News, 30 July 1996, p3 36. Newspaper clipping: Eltham Offices Demolition, ‘You can’t demolish city hall’, The Advertiser, Tuesday, July 30, 1996, pp14-15 features photos of Eltham protestors, Thelma Barkway, Harry Gilham, Jenni Mitchell, Jock Kyme and David Essex 37. Photocopy (A3): TPA1 – Site Plan Proposed Convenience Centre, Main Road, Eltham, Graeme Bentley Landscape Architects, August 1996 38. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): Letters; Disbelief at plans, Margaret Jennings; Lack of respect, Mike Jansz; Community opinion, Sigmund Jorgensen, Diamond Valley News, circa August 1996 39. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): ‘There was no conflict of interest’, The Advertiser, Tuesday, August 4, 1996 40. Newspaper clipping: Chamber supports plans, by Jodie Guest, Diamond Valley News, 7 August 1996 41. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): Letters; Adding to the price, Kelly Fitzpatrick; Area being torn apart, Jenni Bundy, Diamond Valley News, 7 August 1996 42. Newspaper clipping: Labor joins battle to save offices, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, (7?) August 1996 43. Newspaper clipping: Letters to the Editor; ‘Atrocious assault of commercialism’, Lois Loftus-Hills, The Advertiser, Tuesday, August 13, 1996, p9 44. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Roll up for the show, Kahn Franke; Thanks for turn-out, Margaret Jennings; Way past time, Jenni Bundy; Angry at the vandalism (continued p13 missing), Diamond Valley News, August 14, 1996, p12 45. Newspaper clipping: ‘Enough is enough’ states John Cohen; Letters to the Editor, Diamond Valley-Whittlesea Advertisers, Tuesday, August 20, 1996, p2 [Reverse, p1, Trade boost at Diamond Creek] 46. Newspaper clipping: Public viewing, Diamond Valley News, 4 September 1996, p 47. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Chiefs must resign, Gayle Blackwood; Time to have your say, Margaret Jennings; Sensible balance, Gwen Jakins; Recycling: a fine example, Grace Mitchell; Limits on site use, Stephen Clendinnen; Diamond Valley News, 4 September 1996, p4 48. Newspaper clipping: Letters; A lasting memorial, Ken and Laurel Eckersell; Stripping assets, Jack Lawson; Diamond Valley News, 4 September 1996, p29 49. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Nillumbik: in the eye of the beholder, Sigmund Jorgensen; ‘Crying inside’ over Eltham Shire office, Grace Mitchell; The Advertiser, Tuesday, September 10, 1996, 2 50. Newspaper clipping: Public Notice; Notice of an Application for Planning Permit, Dallas price Homes Pty Ltd, Diamond Valley News, 11 September 1996 51. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): Timing was the problem: chief, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, 11 September 1996 52. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Architectural monstrosity, Jenni Bundy; Bargain price, Gavin Gray; Paying for road works, Sue Dyet; Diamond Valley News, 11 September 1996 [ on reverse, articles on Queen’s Guide Nicola Blay (photo) and Plenty River and Diamond Creek waterways] 53. Newspaper clipping: Eltham Hub Plans on Show, The Advertiser, Tuesday, September 17, 1996, p1 54. Newspaper clipping: Bleeding halted: Commish and Letters; Sigmund’s credibility gap, David Nolte; ‘Double standards’, Ros Harris, The Advertiser, Tuesday, September 17, 1996, p3 55. Newspaper clipping: Gateway to the future; Plans on display, public comments sought, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, September 18, 1996, p8 [Reverse, p7, Policy limits event signs, and, Council ‘arrogant’ on ward option: MP] 56. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): 19 on council inquiry list, by Jodie Guest, Diamond Valley News, 18 September 1996 – about council listing 19 people who are only to be dealt with directly by CEO, Barry Rochford 57. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): Eltham is wonderful, Sigmund Jorgensen, Letters, The Advertiser, Tuesday, September 24, 1996, p4 58. Objection to Grant of Planning Permit (Photocopy): Russell Yeoman per Eltham District Historical Society Inc. re application 960376 for petrol station, convenience shop, retail shop, etc to be issued to Dallas price Homes Pty Ltd, 25 September 1996 59. Newspaper clipping (Photocopy): Public meeting, Eltham Gateway Action Group – to discuss latest plans to develop former shire office site on Sunday 4 September 1996; publication unknown, possibly Diamond Valley News 60. Newspaper clipping: Minister orders sale probe, by Jodie Guest, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, October 12, 1996, p1 61. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Headline could mislead, Wayne Phillips, Member for Eltham, The Advertiser, Tuesday, October 8, 1996, p3 62. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Few jobs for young, Margaret Jennings; The whole truth, Alan Ramsay, Diamond Valley News, October 9, 1996, p12 63. Newspaper clipping: Public outcry at Abbott veto with ‘reserve power’; 200 residents yell abuse as commissioners give ok to Eltham service station, The Advertiser, Tuesday, October 15, 1996, p1 64. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Eltham Hub briochure has ‘trees that are a fiction’, Lois Lofus-Hills, The Advertiser, Tuesday, October 15, 1996, p2 65. Newspaper clipping: Shrewd tactics row, by Jodie Guest, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, October 16, 1996, p1 66. Newspaper clipping: Residents have their say on former shire offices, by Jodie Guest, and, Anger over reserve power, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, October 16, 1996, p9 67. Newspaper clipping: Office sale report will not be made public, Diamond Valley News, October 23, 1996 [Reverse, article featuring Youth development officer, Ian Patching] 68. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Happening in a hurry, Peter Dodds; Development unsuitable, Mark Burns; Vale those dreamers, Sigmund Jorgensen, Diamond Valley News, October 23, 1996, two pages unidentified 69. Newspaper clipping: Group to fight council decision on office site, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, October 26, 1996 – re Eltham Gateway Action Group taking Council to the Administrative Appeal Tribunal over approval of controversial development [Reverse, article on Bend of Islands place name] 70. Newspaper clipping: Three days allowed to hear objection, by John Dubois, Diamond Valley New, December 4, 1996 71. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Site traffic dangers, Frank Burgoyne; Thanks for support, Margaret Jennings, Diamond Valley News, noted in pen as 8 December 1996 though probably 11 December 1996 [Reverse, What about that link, asks council, by Natalie Town – about ring road between Greensborough and Ringwood] 72. Newspaper clipping: Minister to rule on proposal, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, December 18, 1996 73. Report (Photocopy, 31 pages): Convenience Centre Development Proposal: Italian Cypress at Former Eltham Shire Offices Site, Main Rd. Eltham, Graeme Butler & Associates, 1997 74. Newspaper clipping: People unite to battle project, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, February 19, 1997 75. Letter (Photocopy): Ms B Martin to Fiona Kaegi to be submitted for Letters to the Editor, Diamond Valley News 26 March 1996 edition 76. Letter (Photocopy): Thelma Barkway to Fiona Kaegi to be submitted for Letters to the Editor, Diamond Valley News 26 March 1996 edition 77. Newspaper clipping: Legal Battle, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, April 2, 1997 78. Newspaper clipping: Site Row Saga, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, April 9, 1997 79. Newspaper clipping: Community fears loss of heritage, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, April 9, 1997 80. Newspaper clipping: Debate erupts over service station plan, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, April 9, 1997 [Reverse, ‘No’ to rates hike proposal] 81. Newspaper clipping: Letter to the Editor; “Your front-page last week is considerable inaccurate … a surplus of $14,000 is expected at 30 June 1977.”, Robert Marshall, The Advertiser, April 28, 1997, p1 82. Newspaper clipping: $1.1m Debt Plan, by Fiona Keagi, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, April 23, 1997, p1 and continued on p24, Shire to defer works programs 83. Newspaper clipping: Blast for Council, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, April 30, 1997, p1 and continued on p7, ‘Experts’ oppose plans for shire site. 84. Newspaper clipping: Photo – Uncertainty: the future of the former Eltham Shire office site is still to be decided by Planning Minister Rob Maclellan., Diamond Valley News, April 30, 1997 [ Reverse; Not your average convenience store, by Laeta Antonysen] 85. Newspaper clipping: Shire site decision soon, Diamond Valley News, May 28, 1997 86. Newspaper clipping: Letters to the Editor; Features to protect, Ken Eckersell, Diamond Valley News, June 4, 1997 87. Newspaper clipping: Costly bun fight over shire offices, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, July 2, 1997 [reverse, Montsalvat plans season of festivals, by Fiona Kaegi] 88. Newspaper clipping: Shire office shemozzle, Diamond Valley News, July 2, 1997 – provides a brief timeline of events June 1996 to April 22, 1997 89. Newspaper clipping: Law Suit Threat, by Fiona Kaegi and Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, July 9, 1997, p1 90. Newspaper clipping: Report rejects store plan, and, Residents with panel, Diamond Valley News, Wednesday, July 9, 1997 91. Newspaper clipping: Councillors meet Shell developer, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, July 30, 1997 92. Newspaper clipping: Deadline extended to allow more talks, by Fiona Kaegi, Diamond Valley News, August 8, 1997. Also Curves to stay in link road about Nillumbik’s realignment plans for Diamond Creek’s ‘windy mile’ [Reverse, Shire tightens grants scheme] 93. Newspaper clipping: $10m option for shire office site, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, September 10, 1997 94. Newspaper clipping: New plan for shire office site, by Laeta Antonysen, and , Council refuses to do trade with developer, Diamond Valley News, September 17, 1997, p12 [ Reverse, p11, Mixed reaction to kangaroo culling] 95. Newspaper clipping: Gateway plan review, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, October 22, 1997, p3 96. Newspaper clipping: Top planner calls for rethink on office site, by Jodie Guest, Diamond Valley News (includes photo of John Pizzey) 97. Newspaper clipping: Opposition offers help on planning, by Jamie Duncan, Diamond Valley News, November 5, 1997, p3 (includes photo of Opposition Leader John Brumby and Nillumbik Shire President Robert Marshall at the Eltham Gateway site) 98. Letter (Photocopy): Russell Yeoman, Secretary, Eltham District Historical SAociety to Mr B. Rochford, CEO, Nillumbik Shire Council, 15 November 1997 with specific reference to the health of the three “Shillinglaw” trees 99. Newspaper clipping: Puzzlement over delay on office site, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, November 19, 1997 100. Newspaper clipping: Developer pulls out, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, December 10, 1997, p3, and, Council uproar over officers [Reverse, p4, Final victory – announcing resignation of Jenni Mitchell as president of Etham Gateway Action Group] 101. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Asset of pride, Sigmund Jorgensen, Diamond Valley News, January 14, 1998 102. Newspaper clipping: Minister ‘no’ to plan, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, February 11, 1998, p3 103. Newspaper clipping: Shell shocked as Eltham planning protest is upheld, by Gabrielle Costa, date and publication unknown; possibly The Age, February 1998 104. Newspaper clipping: Land review, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News, April 1, 1998 105. Newspaper clipping: Bid to move shire offices to new site, by Laeta Antonysen, Diamond Valley News not specifically about 895 Main Road but former Diamond Valley Shire Offices at Civic Drive, Greensborough, circa June 1998 106. Newspaper clipping: Letters; What about us?, Gayle Blackwood, Diamond Valley News, circa June 10, 1998 107. Letter (Photocopy): Sigmund Jorgensen to Kahn Franke, 1 July 1998 re advertisement and list of contributors 108. Advertisement (Photocopy): Show that democracy is not dead in Nillumbik !!!, Saturday 17 Oct. 1998 109. Newspaper clipping: Arts dream shattered, by Natalie Birch, Diamond Valley Leader, July 17, 2002, p3 – Council about to dump plans for an arts centre on former office site 110. Newspaper clipping: Letters; This site belongs to the people, John Cohen; Pro-development, Jenni Bundy, Diamond Valley Leader, May 21, 2003 111. Discussion Paper: Community Use of Site, 895 Main Road Eltham, 8 pages, Gayle Blackwood, Sue Dyet, Ken Eckersell, 25 August 2003 with supporting drafts dated August 5 and 6. 112. Newspaper clipping: Shire plan ‘sacrilegious’; Residents fight war memorial sale, by Dave Cropssthwaite, Diamond Valley Leader, Nillumbik Edition, Wednesday, August 18, 2004, p1 – about council plans to sell Eltham War memorial and former Shire Office sites 113. Newspaper clipping: Land sales to come under more debate, by Dave Crossthwaite, Diamond Valley Leader, September 15, 2004, p5 114. Newspaper clipping: Council saves ex-office site, axes club plan, Diamond Valley Leader, March 30, 2005 115. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Ask the people, John Cohen, Diamond Valley Leader, April 6, 2005, p20 116. Newspaper clipping: Shire moving for public use zoning on Eltham landmark sites, Diamond Valley Leader, October 25, 2006 117. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Consultation a sham, Carol Doherty; Civic centre excellent, Marguerite Marshall; Only Eltham counts, Carmel Jacobsen, Diamond Valley Leader, May 22, 2007 [Reverse, Disability a test for councillor (Bo Bendtsen)] 118. Newspaper clipping: Advertisement; Nillumbik Planning Scheme, Approval of Amendment C49 – rezoning of 895 and 903-907 Main Road, Diamond Valley Leader, September 5, 2007, p7 119. Newspaper clipping: Illustration; An artist’s impression of the proposed Nillumbik civic centre in Main Rd., Diamond Valley Leader, June 25, 2008 [Reverse, City link with learning – about Eltham College setting up a city campus for Year 9 students, with photo featuring principal Dr David Warner and students] 120. Newspaper clipping: Civic centre forecast withdrawn, Diamond Valley Leader, July 2, 2008 121. Letter: Nillumbik Shire Council, 5 September 2008, re Civic Future Project 122. Letter: Nillumbik Shire Council to EDHS, 5 October 2008, re Civic Future Project 123. Letter (Copy): Mrs D. Bassett-Smith to Mayor and Councillors, 17 April 2009 re former shire office site and future community use 124. Letter (Copy): Eltham District Historical Society to Bill Forrest, CEO, Nillumbik Shire Council, 1 August 2009, in support of D. Bassett-Smith letter of 17 April 2009 and response from Council, 12 August 2009 125. Newspaper clipping: Hotel mooted for site, by Brittany Shanahan, Diamond Valley Leader, July 5, 2017 126. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Fury, surprise and support for Eltham development; Re: Grand plan for Eltham’s jewel (February 7), Cath McLardy, Diamond Valley Leader, February 14, 2008, p14 [Reverse, p13, Learning from the fateful day; the devastation on that day in 2009 will always stay in Steve Warrington’s mind. He recalls the tragedy] 127. Newspaper clipping: Letters; Plan to fight council on land sell-off, Jennifer Ambrudge and others, Diamond Valley Leader, February 14, 2018, p15 – about council plan to sell off reserves and shire office site and Eltham War Memorial 128. Newspaper clipping: Plans for site urged, by Brittany Shanahan, Diamond Valley Leader, September 5, 2018 129. Newspaper clipping: Approach under fire; Council plans for historic shire site raises eyebrows, by Brittany Shanahan, Diamond Valley Leader, September 19, 2018 130. Newspaper clipping: Advertisement; Our plan for a revitalised Eltham, Nillumbik Shire Council, Diamond Valley Leader, Wednesday, October 3, 2018, p7 131. Notice: Eltham Community Town Meeting, Saturday 134th October 2018 – about council plans to sell off community reserves and assets – along with flyer for Eltham Community Action Group 132. Essay A4 18 pages: An essay addressed to the Councillors of Nillumbik Shire, October 2018 (with addendum 7 November), Andrew Lemon 133. Photocopy Marked Up Flyer: The story behind 895 and 903-907 Main Road, Eltham – the heart of Eltham’s Town Centre, with marked up comments by Eltham Community Action Group, collected 9 December 2018 134. Newspaper clipping: Calls to fix ‘outdated’ site; negotiations cease with developers amid renewed push to improve civic space at Main St. Eltham, by Anthony Plovesan, Diamond Valley Leader, May 29, 2019, p5 135. Newspaper clipping: Ex-council site flagged for hospital; Councillor suggests former Eltham headquarters would be ideal spot, by Anthony Plovesan, Diamond Valley Leader, October 30, 2019, p3 136. Concept plan: Proposal; Nillumbik Cultural Gallery with Art Cinema, Restaurant, Tourism, Preliminary Sketch Design G, Barry Pearce Architect and Designer, 8 April 2022, 8 pagesmain road, eltham, property, houses, shops, businesses, shillinglaw trees, eltham shire offices site

Beechworth Town Hall was designed by architects J.J. Coe and Thomas Dalziel and is dated to 1859. The building was made of granite and constructed to local builders Donald and William Fiddes. The original front to the building was replaced by a two story facade in 1889 designed by George Jobbins and built by Thomas Sandham according to a plaque on the front. The Town Hall is remarkable for its vaulted ceilings and columns. Originally the building was used as the Shire Offices but also doubled as a fire station and a courthouse, with still surviving cells underneath. Among the inmates was notorious bushranger Harry Power who was originally transported to Van Dieman’s Land for stealing a pair of shoes. He gained his freedom six years later but spent time in and out of gaol for the rest of his life for a variety of offences including a number of armed robberies. The Town Hall is now home to the Visitor Information Centre which helps visitors with amongst other things, accommodation, tours, event enquiries, and is the commencement point for Precinct walking tours. The Beechworth Town Hall is one of five distinctive granite buildings on Ford Street that comprise the Justice Precinct. It is of considerable historical significance as activity on the site dates from Australia’s gold rush period and was the administrative centre for north-eastern Victoria. The building has seen continual use from 1858 as an important public building and displays many aspects of the history of law enforcement in Victoria. The building is also of substantial architectural significance for its construction from local honey coloured granite, which also showcases early stone masonry techniques and craftsmanship. The Precinct is listed on the Victorian Heritage register and is protected by Heritage Victoria under the Victorian Heritage Act 2017. The buildings are also registered by the National Estate, the National Trust and protected by Indigo Shire Council’s Planning Scheme. Black and White rectangular postcard printed on cardReverse: 1906-1910?beechworth, beechworth town hall, town hall, jj coe, thomas dalziel, granite, beechworth historic building, courthouse, cells, geoge jobbins, thomas sandham, 1859, 1889, walking tours, beechworth historic precinct, historic precinct, harry power, bushranger, australian bushrangers, van dieman's land, transportation, armed robberies

This document was produced in 1989 for Orbost Shire Council. It ccovers the area s of Orbost, Mallacoota, Cann River and Newmerella and includes urban and non-urban areas.This document is a useful reference tool.A book with a brown front cover with a plastic over-sheet and plastic binding.On the cover are b/w drawings of rural landscapes, trees and the coast. It is titled SHIRE OF ORBOST PLANNING STUDY Part 1 Strategic Overviews, March 1989.orbost-planning

``Newspaper clipping from "The Mail", 13-4-93, P 14. Sponsors Ringwood Council's lollipop people could soon be advertising products as part of a plan to make up for lost State Government subsidies for the school crossing supervisor scheme. Council's corporate services director, Bill Black, is investigating possible sponsors for the scheme. Mr Black sugggested that sponsors could be associated with school wear, safety equipment or children's goods and services. No consideration would be given to a sponsor that was not appropriate for children. `

Co-operative housing societies were loan societies established in the mid to late 20th century. They were based on the structure of a group of borrowers approximately 40, who lived within a radius of thirty miles joining a co-operative. They had the right to select their own site, plans and amount that they would like to spend. The co-operatives were administered by accounting firms. There were conditions placed on the borrowers in regard to amounts able to be borrowed and size of dwelling and percentage of cost which could be borrowed.The era of post-World War Two saw a shortage in a number of areas one of which was housing. The co-operative Housing scheme was preferred by many as it avoided the block approach which had been used by the Housing commission. The co-operative housing scheme proved to be of benefit to many families around that time.Framed certificate with black text Stylised frame around text. Paper is cream.H.E Daw Gov Print., Melb. Victorian Government seal in bottom Right hand corner. Registrar of Co-operative housing societies, Victoria. warrnambool, co-operative housing society 1951

The Community Centre was built in the early 1950’s as an all-purpose hall for the social and recreational use of the workers and families employed on the Victorian state government Kiewa Hydro-electric scheme. The hall was originally called Mt Beauty Recreation Centre and later changed to Mt Beauty Community Centre. It has been the heart of the community for over 65 years and had a heritage listing put on it around the year 2000. The Alpine Shire secured a heritage grant and the hall was restored to its former glory in 2000. In heritage circles it is claimed that the hall is the best example of a 1950’s construction town community hall, which is still functioning anywhere in AustraliaThe Community Centre was and is a very important part of life in the small remote community of Mount Beauty and a range of activities have taken place in the Community Centre over the past 65 years- Picture theatre; Dances and balls; A physical education and boxing club run by Alex McCollough for 30 years; School and social club concerts; Girls gymnastics; Drama group productions, revues and pantomimes; Callisthetics and ballet; Badminton; Wedding receptions and birthday parties; Music festival events; Staging area in times of natural disaster; The library for many years; Shire and community meetings; Secondary College gymnasium for many years and shelter for the Community Market in inclement weather 1 – 1972 specifications for colour scheme of original Mt Beauty Recreation centre, Typed on buff foolscap paper with small colour swatches and letter of explanation to Mr A.J. McCullough. 2 – Set of 10 colour photographs of the upgrade and extension to Mt Beauty Community Centre undertaken in 2000. Photos mounted 2 to a page on blue copy paper. 3. Second copy of No.1 above. Also - typed A4 sheet re history of "The Mount Beauty Community Centre"1 – Header on pages-Mate’s Colour Bar Personal Colour Scheme for Recreation Centre Mt Beauty Vic. 21/3/62. Accompanying letter to A.J McCullough signed by Colour Consultant Ena Chatuein 2. First page of photos, written in black felt marker – Mt Beauty Community Centre 30/11/00 mt beauty, community centre

The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in Victoria and the second largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The scheme is situated in the Australian Alps in north-eastern Victoria about 350 km from Melbourne and is wholly owned by AGL Energy. The scheme was originally constructed between 1938 and 1961 by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria although it was privatised in the 1990s. The scheme was originally developed solely for electricity generation, unlike the Snowy Mountains Scheme, which was also intended to direct water west of the Snowy Mountains for purposes of irrigation. From 1937 to 1944 the construction of dams at Pretty Valley, Rocky Valley and the Junction Dam were undertaken requiring large numbers of planning and support staff to see the projects successfully completed. Planning and support staff were the backbone of the successful completion of the Kiewa Valley Hydro Electric Scheme and contributed significantly to the development of the Kiewa Valley area. Many descendants of the men in the photographs still living and working in the local areaSet of 4 black and white photographs of SECV clerical staff – Circa 1940/1941Typed on note glued to back of each photo, Numbers handwritten in blue ink in top left hand corner 1. DRAWING OFFICE STAFF KIEWA C. 1940-41 Bob Morgan – Construction Draftsman; Duncan Kerr – Draftsman; Rob Hollands – Survey Draftsman; Arthur Keeble – Office Engineer; Bill Godfrey – Draftsman 2. CLERICAL OFFICE STAFF KIEWA Peter Harnetty – Clerical; Bert Connors – Clerical; John Martin – Stores Clerical; Ken Calder – Head Storekeeper; Bill black – Construction Records 3. CLERICAL OFFICE STAFF KIEWA Jack Norman, Herb Kendall, Jack Bray – Stores Clerical; Ken Calder – Head Storekeeper; Jim Swain, George Milner – Stores Clerical; Jim Gleeson – Storekeeper; John Martin – Stores Clerical 4. OFFICE STAFF KIEWA C. 1940 Don Faulkner – Cadet Engineer; Tas Davies – Survey Draftsman; Bob Morgan – Construction Darftsman; R.J. Martin, Arthur Keeble – Office Engineers; Rob Hollands – Survey Draftsman; Jack Wollard – Head Surveyor; Harry Wilson – Plan Officer. Printing Plans Handwritten in red ink on back of photo 4 – Refer Rob Hollands secv clerical staff

The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in Victoria and the second largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The scheme is situated in the Australian Alps in north-eastern Victoria about 350 km from Melbourne and is wholly owned by AGL Energy. The scheme was originally constructed between 1938 and 1961 by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria although it was privatised in the 1990s. The scheme was originally developed solely for electricity generation, unlike the Snowy Mountains Scheme, which was also intended to direct water west of the Snowy Mountains for purposes of irrigation. From 1937 to 1944 the construction of dams at Pretty Valley, Rocky Valley and the Junction Dam were undertaken requiring large numbers of planning and support staff to see the projects successfully completed. Planning and support staff were the backbone of the successful completion of the Kiewa Valley Hydro Electric Scheme and contributed significantly to the development of the Kiewa Valley area. Many descendants of the original SECV workers are still living and working in the local areaBlack and white photograph of 2 men, one identified as Ray Esdaile at Mt Beauty SEC Camp in 1950Handwritten on back of photograph in blue ink: Ray Esdaile and self (unidentified) 1950 Mt Beauty Camp SECray esdaile, secv, mt beauty

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital on April 29 in 1961. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians. The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance The hospital was originally located in Tawonga away from the majority of the patients as the Hospital and Charities Board was not prepared to have it within the SEC controlled area. It was not until the gate at Tawonga South was taken down that the hospital was moved to the main centre of population at Mount Beauty. 1. Early nurses uniform; 2. Hospital Opening Ceremony; 3-7. Nursing Staff; 8. Delivery Room; 9. Mens Ward; 10.Enclosed Veranda; 11. Main Ward; 12-13. Kitchen; 14. Opening Ceremony 1949; 15.Original Hospital at Tawonga; 16-18. Relocated Hospital at Mt Beauty; 19. Rear of hospital and Matron’s quarters; 20. Hospital and Kiewa Valley House; 21. Renovated Hospital in 20001.Tawonga District General Hospital Tawonga; 2. Kiewa construction engineer Mr HHC Williams speaking at the opening of the hospital. Health Minister the Hon CP Gartside performed the official opening. L to R: TH Mitchell MLA; Manager of the hospital Mr RH Kronberg (obscured) Hon CP Gartside; CL McVilley; LT Knevitt; Matron AI Tarnish & W Sealey: 4. Dedicated Nursing Staff; 5. Nurse Campbell (nee Reid); 6. Sister Seager 1955 (nee Janice Burnett. First District Nurse; 7. L to R: Sister F Rosengrove; Sister J Griffiths; Matron AI Tarnish; Nurse D Satori; Nurse D Tregonning; Sister E Hill & Sister S O’Shannessy; 8. In the early years Tawonga District General Hospital had the second highest birth rate in Australia; 9. The men’s ward catered for men only in the early years of the hospitals operation; 10. The enclosed verandah at the original Tawonga District General Hospital allowed for an additional 10 beds; 11. Tawonga District General Hospital, Tawonga Main Ward. Ward ready and waiting for patients at Tawonga Hospital. Complete with lovely vases of flowers for every bed. Nice touch by the nurses; 12. Kitchen of Tawonga District General Hospital, Mt Beauty. The hospital kitchen provided meals for patients and a 3 course dinner for Meals on Wheels. In 1977, 11,795 meals were produced at an average cost of $2.60 per meal; 13. Tawonga District General Hospital, Tawonga. Kitchen. Kitchen staff employed in the old Tawonga District General Hospital 1949-1961; 14. The official opening ceremony of the Tawonga District General Hospital, 1949. The official ceremony was attended by a large number of residents and Tawonga District General Hospital was open for public inspection; 15. Original Tawonga District General Hospital transported form Bonegilla began operations in 1949; 16. In 1961, the Tawonga District General Hospital relocated to take a central position in the town of Mt Beauty in the former SEC Administration building; 19. The rear of the Tawonga District General Hospital and Matron’s house seen from Holland St, Mt Beauty during a snow storm in the mid 1960’s; 21. Tawonga District General Hospital & Kiewa Valley House, 2000. tawonga district hospital, mt beauty hospital, medical, health care, s.e.c.

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital on April 29 in 1961. The old weatherboard building was demolished around the late 1900’s to early 2000’s and replaced with a new modern brick building. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians. The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance The hospital was originally located in Tawonga away from the majority of the patients as the Hospital and Charities Board was not prepared to have it within the SEC controlled area and it was not until the gate at Tawonga South was taken down that the hospital was moved to the main centre of population at Mount Beauty.8 Colour photographs of the demolition of the original Tawonga and District Hospital situated in Mt Beauty circa 20001. No inscriptions 2. Side view of Tawonga District General Hospital, 1990’s 3. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital: Nurses station, ward and corridor 4. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital: kitchen & utility rooms 5. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital” front entrance & gardens 7. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital: Matrons House 8. No inscriptions tawonga & district general hospital; kiewa hydro electric scheme; mt beauty;

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital was on April 29 in 1961. The old weatherboard building was demolished around the late 1900’s to early 2000’s and replaced with a new modern brick building. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians. The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance The hospital was originally located in Tawonga away from the majority of the patients as the Hospital and Charities. Many SEC workers and their families have received medical care at Tawonga District General Hospital and Alpine Health over the years. A number of family members of SECV workers as well as other dedicated staff have provided high quality medical attention and support in all the facilities as nursing staff, support staff and volunteers. Many past staff members and their families still remain living in the Kiewa Valley area 19 Colour photographs of the Tawonga and District Hospital situated in Mt Beauty circa 2000. Including photographs of interior and of some staff members1. No markings 2. G Ryder at front entrance 3. Sister G Ryder in the Resuscitation Room 4. Nurse D Hateley in the Kitchen 5. Nurse D Hateley in the Casualty Room 6. Sister W McClelland in new nurse’s station 7. R Forrest, G Ryder, ?, M Ranton 8. Nurse D Hateley in the Pan Room 9. Tawonga District General Hospital: Resuscitation Room 10. Hospital Hallway 11. Empty Nurses Station 12. Tawonga District General Hospital: Nursery 13. Patient Tea Room 14, 15, 16, 17, & 18. No marking mt beauty district hospital, tawonga district hospital, bonegilla ward, ryder family

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital on April 29 in 1961. Kiewa Valley House nursing home was officially opened on March 6th, 1985, with a new lounge extension opening in May, 1993. Prior to this, residents had to travel to Beechworth, Wangaratta or Wodonga for care. The old weatherboard building was demolished around the late 1900’s to early 2000’s and replaced with a new modern brick building. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians.The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance. Many SEC workers and their families have received high medical care at Tawonga District General Hospital and Alpine Health and/or as residents of Kiewa Valley House over the years. A number of family members of SECV workers as well as other dedicated staff have provided high quality medical attention and support in all three facilities as nursing staff, support staff and volunteers. Many past staff members and their families still remain living in the Kiewa Valley area Set of 13 colour photographs of past nursing staff and support staff from Tawonga District General Hospital, Kiewa Valley House & Alpine Health 1. Marg Hickey, Barbara Clark & Margaret Ranton 2. Cheryl Clutterbuck & Rosemary Forrest 3. Margaret Ranton 4. Margaret Ranton holding unknown infant 5. Gwen Goss 6. Barbara Clark & Margaret Ranton 7. Margaret Ranton, Sue Zeinert & Jenny Piera 8. Margaret Ranton, Gloria Ryder & Jenny Piera 9. Sue Wesley, Ruth Barton, Margaret Ranton, Rosemary Forrest & Nola Henry 10. F Bogaski & H Sigmund 11. Maintenance Supervisor H Sigmund 12. Gardener Fred Keat & Handyman Joe Trezise (1977) 13. Nursing staff in new hospital 1-9 No markings 10 F Bogaski & H Sigmund 11. Maintenance Supervisor H Sigmund 12. Gardener Fred Keat & Handyman Joe Trezise (1977) 13. Nursing staff in new hospital tawonga district general hospital, kiewa valley house, alpine health

In the mid to late 1930’s survey outposts were established to plot the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro Electric System for the SECV in the Bogong High Plains. Before any roads were built, the old cattleman’s tracks were used with packhorses to deliver supplies, wages and mail and collect timesheets and correspondence from the workmen and dam builders living in canvas tents and at the outlying survey posts. The trip up the mountain was long and hard and dangerous for both horse and man Most of the men of the survey teams were not bush-men and were often ill equipped for the harsh weather and living conditions of bush camping, often arriving in their city clothes ready for work. The tent city at Bogong was destroyed by bush fires in 1939 after which an access road was built from Mt Beauty to transport building materials for more permanent dwellings for workmen. Pack horses continued to be used for transporting goods etc. to workers further up the mountain.Without the work of horsemen and their pack horses providing supplies and communications for outlying outposts, surveying and early planning for the Kiewa Valley Hydro Electric scheme could not have gone ahead and the dams and power stations which support the system could not have been constructed. The Hydro-electric scheme, and the workers who planned and built it play a major part in the early history of the Kiewa Valley and many original families still remain living, or have ties with the local area.: Set of 21 black and white photographs and copies of photographs depicting the pack horses and the men who handled them, transporting supplies and correspondence to the outlying camps and survey posts in the Bogong High Plains, via the rough cattlemen’s tracks. Photographs also show the early tent camps of the workers. Some photos mounted on A4 white paper. Some photos enlarged to A3 poster size for display1. Handwritten on back – Max Lawrence 2. -8 No inscriptions 9. Handwritten on back- Packing in supplies for early workers of the Kiewa Hydro scheme. There were no roads in the early days of the scheme 10. Printed on bottom of photo- Roper’s cattle on road below Howman’s Gap 11. Handwritten on back – Roper’s et al about to leave for the high plains 12. Printed under photo- Syd Ryder at the Pretty Valley Cut-Out (JBR) 13-16. No markings 17. Printed under photo- Gwen Talbot visits the Camp area. 1937 18. Handwritten on back- 14/1 Barbara Talbot 19. No markings 20-21. No markings 22. Printed under photo- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA. Date: 15-3-45 Time: 8.0pm No: K 1838 Kiewa Hydro-Electric Works, Investigations 1944-1945 – Survey Camp at Young’s Hut pack horses; bogong high plains; survey posts; supplies delivery

In the 1830’s, European pastoralists started moving south from NSW into the Alps. In 1836, cattle grazing began around Omeo and the runs spread out into the foothills. The higher country was used for summer grazing and huts were built for shelter and storage during stock mustering. The lure of gold brought many people to the Alps from around 1850 to 1900. Bushfires destroyed the forests around Melbourne in 1939 and the boom in house-building after World War II ked to increased demand for timber from the Alps. This resulted in the building of a network of roads which helped open up access to the Alps. The early 1940’s brought the first of many workers to the Alps for the planning and construction of the Hydro-Electric Scheme. These were the pioneers and early settlers of the Kiewa Valley and provided a wealth of characters and a tapestry of stories and adventures to be handed down to future generations.These 3 posters, which were most likely produced for promotional purposes provide a glimpse into the early lives of the pioneer families of the Kiewa Valley through pictures and verse. They show their lifestyle and outline the hardships they had to endure in living and working in the Alpine region. They also highlight the early arguments regarding grazing in the high country which would ultimately lead to the end of the long traditions of the high country cattle men. Set of 3 A4 size posters with black and white photographs and text and colour background depicting various parts of the history of the Kiewa Valley. 1. Titled - ‘Life wasn’t meant to be easy’ Describes early life for Kiewa Hydro workers. 2. Titled - ‘Cattlemen of the High Plains’ Describes a brief history of life of the cattlemen of the high plains 3. Titled – ‘There are Places I’ll remember’ Depicts early photographs of residents of the Kiewa Valley, also includes the words from a John Lennon song as per poster title. Printed on each poster – Poster designed by Dyanne Photography - Wodonga 1. Printed at bottom of poster – Sources: G Napier and G Easdown “The Kiewa Story” 1993. Southern Hydro Archives, N Hetherington and R Hollands. G Gardner “The Kiewa Kids” 1998. 2. Printed at bottom of poster – Sources: D Purland. Handwritten at top of poster- Poster 4 3. Printed at bottom of poster – Sources: B Roper, W Davies, D Higginson, H Ryder. Handwritten at top of poster- Poster 3 kiewa valley; tourism; lifestyles

The Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme was constructed by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. Draftsmen drew up the plan of the layout as per the instructions from the engineers. The plan was drawn up on a transparency sheet and paper prints run off on a 'dyeline' copier. The 'Chief draftsman' and 'Design engineer' and 'Civil engineers recommended it and approved it. Historic: This plan gives a time line for the work on the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme. It is a good example of the work of a draftsman and the copying process in 1958.Large topography map of the area covered by the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme in 1958. Mountain peaks are marked in red and named. Rivers, roads, construction infrastructure as well as the main areas / names of construction are named. Signed and dated by employees of the S.E.C.V. working on the scheme.state electricity commission of victoria., kiewa hydro electric scheme, plan, engineer, draftsman

In 1947 it was proposed to construct a dam on the Pretty Valley branch of the East Kiewa River. This was part of the initial planning in 1937. The Pretty Valley Reservoir was to be part of a pumped-storage scheme with a pumping station located immediately below the main structure. Preparatory work was commenced in 1946 with erection of staff accommodation. Between 1947 and 1950 the main camp was erected, access roads, constructed and banks and benches at the dam site undertaken. Following the financial crisis in 1951, a review of the scheme was carried out and work ceased in June 1951. Construction of the dam was deleted from the programme of works and all buildings removed.A pictorial history of part of the initial planning in 1937 for a dam to be constructed at Pretty Valley as part of the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme.7 small black and white photographs of Pretty ValleyAll photos have a circular stamp on the back with 'Print by Willson White Albury' enclosed. Photo 1 - on the back, handwritten in ink 'New 22Kv pump line - Pretty Valley Nov. 1948'. In pencil '18'. Photo 2 - On the back, handwritten in ink 'Pretty Valley - Staff mess on right Nov. 1948'. In pencil '18'. Photo 3 - On the back, handwritten in ink 'Pretty Valley Basin - looking S.E. Nov. 1948'. In pencil '5'. Photo 4 - On the back, handwritten in ink 'New pump 22Kv line, Pretty Valley - looking towards Mt. Mackie. Nov. 1948'. In pencil '5'. Photo 5 - On the back, handwritten in ink 'Pretty Valley. Mt. Cope just out of picture extreme right. Nov. 1948'. In pencil '78'. Photo 6 - on the back, handwritten in ink 'View from Pretty Valley Ruined Castle in Background Nov. 1948'. In pencil '78'. Photo 7 - on the back, handwritten in ink 'Pretty Valley Pump line (Nov. 1948)'. In pencil'78'.construct, dam, pretty valley

Although the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme was first proposed in 1911, construction did not commence until 1938. As part of the push to cut electricity costs and diversify supply, the Victorian Government (circa 1930) initiated the conversion from primarily brown coal supply to hydro – electricity. Field investigations during the 1940’s resulted in a new proposal for a scheme that had more than double the capacity of the 1938 scheme. The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme became the largest scheme of its kind in the State Of Victoria and the second largest scheme in Australia. The number of personnel involved in the planning and construction of the scheme increased dramatically. During the late 1940’s, most activity centred around the construction of the West Kiewa Power Station, Rocky Valley Reservoir, McKay Creek Power Station and the Bogong Creek Aqueduct.A common thread across all the larger hydro scheme constructions was the need for workers, both qualified and unqualified who came from around the world seeking a new life for themselves and their families. New accommodation and facilities were required for the army of workers engaged in construction in often remote and wild areas. The SEC had a high demand for timber, and set up the first of a number of sawmills at Bogong Creek in 1939 and set up the first hardwood logging in the headwaters of the Kiewa River. These new ‘towns’ such as Mt Beauty and Bogong, survived, serving the needs of operational personnel and their families, and expanding with growth of new industries. Mount Beauty, and to a lesser extent Bogong, are among these places. Large A3 size spiral bound display folder containing 21 of 58 pages of photocopied black and white photographs of various aspects of the early days of the Kiewa Valley Hydro-electric scheme including equipment, various work sites and photographs of workers and their families. 1-Front page; 2-Security gate at Mt Beauty Camp; 3-Channel 1 on East Kiewa River; 4-Junction Dam – Diversion Tunnel Inlet; 5-Sawmill; 6- Homan’s Gap Sawmill; 7 Junction Dam: 8-Homan Dam Site-Diamond Drilling on River Buttress; 9- Homan Dam Site View Upstream 10-Homan Dam Investigation Camp 1-Windsor & Newton Visual Diary 60 sheet (120 pages) 11’ x 14’ 280 x 356mm 110 GSM Acid Free Drawing Paper 2-1940-Security Gate on Mt Beauty side of Kiewa River bridge. Part of old Mt Beauty camp and mess in background 3- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date; 11.3.40 Time: 10.30am No K35 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works. Diverting East Kiewa River into Channel Page number 1 4-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 5.4.40 Time: Noon No K58 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works. Junction Dam – Diversion Tunnel Inlet – Normal Flow Page number 2 5- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 19.8.42 Time: 2.30pm No K883 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works. Sawmill – General View Page number 3 6- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 12.1.42 Time: 2.00pm No K540 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works. Homan’s Gap Sawmill – General View Page number 4 7- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 12.1.42 Time: 2.00pm No K540 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works. Junction Dam – General View looking upstream Page number 5 8- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 16.11.45 Time: 10.32amm No K52153 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Homan Dam Site – Diamond Drilling on River Buttress Page number 6 9-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 15.1.45 Time: 4.10pm No K1781 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Homan Dam Site – View Upstream Page number 7 10- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 15.1.45 Time: 4.10pm No K1781 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Homan Dam Investigation Camp 1944 – 1945 Page number 8 secv; kiewa hydro electric scheme; mt beauty; bogong; construction work;

Although the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme was first proposed in 1911, construction did not commence until 1938. As part of the push to cut electricity costs and diversify supply, the Victorian Government (circa 1930) initiated the conversion from primarily brown coal supply to hydro – electricity. Field investigations during the 1940’s resulted in a new proposal for a scheme that had more than double the capacity of the 1938 scheme. The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme became the largest scheme of its kind in the State Of Victoria and the second largest scheme in Australia. The number of personnel involved in the planning and construction of the scheme increased dramatically. During the late 1940’s, most activity centred around the construction of the West Kiewa Power Station, Rocky Valley Reservoir, McKay Creek Power Station and the Bogong Creek Aqueduct.A common thread across all the larger hydro scheme constructions was the need for workers, both qualified and unqualified who came from around the world seeking a new life for themselves and their families. New accommodation and facilities were required for the army of workers engaged in construction in often remote and wild areas. The SEC had a high demand for timber, and set up the first of a number of sawmills at Bogong Creek in 1939 and set up the first hardwood logging in the headwaters of the Kiewa River. These new ‘towns’ such as Mt Beauty and Bogong, survived, serving the needs of operational personnel and their families, and expanding with growth of new industries. Mount Beauty, and to a lesser extent Bogong, are among these places. PHYSICAL: Large A3 size spiral bound display folder containing 21 pages of photocopied black and white photographs of various aspects of the early days of the Kiewa Valley Hydro-electric scheme including equipment, various work sites and photographs of workers and their families. 1-Bridge across Tailrace Channel 1946 2-New Mess building, Mt Beauty 3-Homan’s Gap Saw Mill 4- Diamond Drilling Plant – Big Hill 5-Rocky Valley Camp-Mess Building 6-Parlimentary Party at Rocky Valley 7-No.4 Headrace Tunnel 8- Allis-Chalmers Tractor School 9- SECV Heavy Machinery lined up by road 10- No. 5 Raceline – Balasting Track with improvised truck 1-1946 – Bridge across tailrace channel Page number 9 2-New mess building, Mt Beauty 6.4.46 Page number 10 3- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 10.1.47 Time: 11.40am No K2271 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Homan’s Gap Saw Mill – Rip Saw Page number 11 4- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 5.10.47 Time: 11am No K4111 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Diamond Drilling Plant – Big Hill Page number 12 5- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 11.2.48 Time: 3pm No K4277 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Rocky Valley Camp-Mess Building Page number 13 6- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 15.4.48 Time: 4.30pm No K4397 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Parlimentary Party at Rocky Valley Page number 14 7- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 22.8.48 Time: 9am No K4668 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works General view of No.4 Headrace Tunnel Page number 15 8-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 5.9.49 Time: 10am No K5180 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Allis-Chalmers Tractor School – HD 19, Mr I Crossthwaite at Controls Page number 16 9- No markings Page number 17 10- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 7,12.49 Time: 4pm No K5423 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works No. 5 Raceline – Balasting Track with improvised truck. Page number 18 secv; kiewa hydro electric scheme; mt beauty; bogong; construction area

Although the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme was first proposed in 1911, construction did not commence until 1938. As part of the push to cut electricity costs and diversify supply, the Victorian Government (circa 1930) initiated the conversion from primarily brown coal supply to hydro – electricity. Field investigations during the 1940’s resulted in a new proposal for a scheme that had more than double the capacity of the 1938 scheme. The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme became the largest scheme of its kind in the State Of Victoria and the second largest scheme in Australia. The number of personnel involved in the planning and construction of the scheme increased dramatically. During the late 1940’s, most activity centred around the construction of the West Kiewa Power Station, Rocky Valley Reservoir, McKay Creek Power Station and the Bogong Creek Aqueduct.A common thread across all the larger hydro scheme constructions was the need for workers, both qualified and unqualified who came from around the world seeking a new life for themselves and their families. New accommodation and facilities were required for the army of workers engaged in construction in often remote and wild areas. The SEC had a high demand for timber, and set up the first of a number of sawmills at Bogong Creek in 1939 and set up the first hardwood logging in the headwaters of the Kiewa River. These new ‘towns’ such as Mt Beauty and Bogong, survived, serving the needs of operational personnel and their families, and expanding with growth of new industries. Mount Beauty, and to a lesser extent Bogong, are among these places. Large A3 size spiral bound display folder containing 21 pages of photocopied black and white photographs of various aspects of the early days of the Kiewa Valley Hydro-electric scheme including equipment, various work sites and photographs of workers and their families. 1-Allis Chalmers Tractor School 2- Gardens outside Administrative Office – Mt Beauty 3- Mt Beauty house – 1950 4-Bridge over Pretty Valley River, Bogong 5-Rocky Valley Spillway Tunnel break through 6-Ni 1 Headrace Tunnel drilling face 7-No 4 Power Station Drilling 8-Clover Dam Flood Waters 9-No1 Head Race Tunnel Portal Building 10-Clover Dam 1-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 5.9.49 Time: 10amm No K5174 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Allis Chalmers Tractor School Page number 19 2-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 22.2.50 Time: 3.30pm No K5601 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Gardens outside Administrative Office – Mt Beauty Page number 20 3-Mt Beauty house – 1950 Page number 21 4-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 23.10.50 Time: 11.15am No K6331 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Bogong-Bridge over Pretty Valley River Page number 22 5-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 23.6.50 Time: 2.30pm No K5844 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works ROCKY VALLEY SPILLWAY TUNNEL BREAK THROUGH Page number 23 6-20/3/52 – No. 1 Headrace Tunnel Drilling face (E.E.E. contract) Page number 24 7-6/6/52 – No 4 Power Station – Drilling Page number 25 8-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 6/6/52 Time: No K7113 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works Clover Dam Flood Waters Page number 26 9-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: Oct 1952 Time: No K7239 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works No. 1 HEAD RACE TUNNEL PORTAL BUILDING. Handwritten underneath – This information from Ron White-the later Principal Hydro Engineer of the SEC. Oct 1952 Location incorrect? All work on No 1 had ceased after financial crash of 1951. This photo would refer to No 4 Headrace Tunnel? Page number 27 10-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: Jan 1953 Time: No K7307 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works CLOVER DAM Page number 28 secv; kiewa hydro electric scheme; bogong; mt beauty; construction area

Although the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme was first proposed in 1911, construction did not commence until 1938. As part of the push to cut electricity costs and diversify supply, the Victorian Government (circa 1930) initiated the conversion from primarily brown coal supply to hydro – electricity. Field investigations during the 1940’s resulted in a new proposal for a scheme that had more than double the capacity of the 1938 scheme. The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme became the largest scheme of its kind in the State Of Victoria and the second largest scheme in Australia. The number of personnel involved in the planning and construction of the scheme increased dramatically. During the late 1940’s, most activity centred around the construction of the West Kiewa Power Station, Rocky Valley Reservoir, McKay Creek Power Station and the Bogong Creek Aqueduct.A common thread across all the larger hydro scheme constructions was the need for workers, both qualified and unqualified who came from around the world seeking a new life for themselves and their families. New accommodation and facilities were required for the army of workers engaged in construction in often remote and wild areas. The SEC had a high demand for timber, and set up the first of a number of sawmills at Bogong Creek in 1939 and set up the first hardwood logging in the headwaters of the Kiewa River. These new ‘towns’ such as Mt Beauty and Bogong, survived, serving the needs of operational personnel and their families, and expanding with growth of new industries. Mount Beauty, and to a lesser extent Bogong, are among these places. Large A3 size spiral bound display folder containing 21 pages of photocopied black and white photographs of various aspects of the early days of the Kiewa Valley Hydro-electric scheme including equipment, various work sites and photographs of workers and their families. 1-Mt Beauty Pondage inlet-Regulating weir 2-Langfords Gap Basalt Hill-Tunnel in quarry face.3-Rocky Valley Camp-from Engineering Office 4-Basalt Hill tunnel portal 5-No 1 Pressure Shaft Works Bench 6-No 1 Power Station 7-Overturned haulage wagons on the side of an embankment 8- Group of workers dressed in wet weather gear inside a tunnel 9-Workmen and vehicle in tunnel 10-Howman’s Gap campsite at 4,150 feet 1-1954 – Mt Beauty Pondage inlet – Regulating weir Page number 29 2-28/10/54 – Langfords Gap Basalt Hill – Tunnel in quarry face K7860 Page number 30 3-STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 17.8.55 Time: No K8132 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works ROCKY VALLEY CAMP – FROM ENGINEERING OFFICE Page number 31 4-28/10/54 – Basalt Hill tunnel portal K7859 Page number 32 5-No.1 Pressure Shaft Works Bench 5.7.56 Page number 33 6- No. 1 Power Station 26.4.59 Page number 34 7- No markings Page number 35 8-No markings (Wooden board on ground printed with - POLAR A.N.GELATINE DYNAMITE “75” DE 28.8.40) Page number 36 9-No markings Page number 37 10-Howman’s Gap campsite at 4,150 feet Page number 38 secv; kiewa hydro electric scheme; mt beauty; bogong; construction area

Although the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme was first proposed in 1911, construction did not commence until 1938. As part of the push to cut electricity costs and diversify supply, the Victorian Government (circa 1930) initiated the conversion from primarily brown coal supply to hydro – electricity. Field investigations during the 1940’s resulted in a new proposal for a scheme that had more than double the capacity of the 1938 scheme. The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme became the largest scheme of its kind in the State Of Victoria and the second largest scheme in Australia. The number of personnel involved in the planning and construction of the scheme increased dramatically. During the late 1940’s, most activity centred around the construction of the West Kiewa Power Station, Rocky Valley Reservoir, McKay Creek Power Station and the Bogong Creek Aqueduct.A common thread across all the larger hydro scheme constructions was the need for workers, both qualified and unqualified who came from around the world seeking a new life for themselves and their families. New accommodation and facilities were required for the army of workers engaged in construction in often remote and wild areas. The SEC had a high demand for timber, and set up the first of a number of sawmills at Bogong Creek in 1939 and set up the first hardwood logging in the headwaters of the Kiewa River. These new ‘towns’ such as Mt Beauty and Bogong, survived, serving the needs of operational personnel and their families, and expanding with growth of new industries. Mount Beauty, and to a lesser extent Bogong, are among these places. Large A3 size spiral bound display folder containing photocopied black and white photographs of various aspects of the early days of the Kiewa Valley Hydro-electric scheme including equipment, various work sites and photographs of workers and their families. 1-Workmen working inside one of the tunnels. 2-Workman drilling in West Kiewa Tunnel 3-Junction Dam wall construction 4&5-2B&W photographs Kiewa House residents ready to go to a ball in Mt Beauty 6-Workmen warming up in front of a fire at No 1 bench 7-Workmen being hauled in at No 4 P.S Shaft 8-No 4 Power Station – Drilling 9-Workmen eating a hot meal in the tunnel. 10-2 photographs (a)Pretty Valley camp showing workman’s huts and construction materials & (b)Worker in Langford Gap Basalt Hill Tunnel face 11-Tunnel entrance (unlabelled) with rail tracks in foreground 12- Workmen drilling at No 1 Head race tunnel-Drilling face 13- No 1 Power Station 14-Workmen at the entrance to one of the SECV tunnels under construction 1-SECV number at bottom of picture Half obscured possibly K8461 Page number 53 2-In West Kiewa Tunnel Page number 54 3- Construction of Junction Dam wall – approximately 1941 Page number 55 4&5- Residents of Kiewa House at Bogong ready to go to the ball at Mt Beauty-1946. Handwritten on a copy of the photo on opposite page Mrs Lorna Crosset filled out the names *Dad was Des Crossett – his daughter is Gael Petcopoulis Greta engaged to John broke it off. Charlie, Rosalind, Bill, Priscilla, Max Lawrence-Dad’s Boss, Mary & Max married, Mary, Kay, Gwen McPherson Mum’s boss, John McCluskey (c) At No. 5 Bench Page number 56 6- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 27.2.51 Time:2.15pm No K6373 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works No. 4 P.S. Shaft – Haulage of men in buckets (b) As above Handwritten at top of photo Appendix 4 page number 57 7- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 6.6.52 Time:… No K7122 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works No. 4 POWER STATION – DRILLING page number 58 8-No markings page number 59 9-(a)Handwritten under photograph Approx. 1948/49 (b) STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 28.10.54 Time:.. No K7860 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works LANGFORD GAP BASALT HILL TUNNEL FACE Page number 49 10-(a) No markings 11- STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA Date: 20.3.52 Time: No K6979 Kiewa Hydro Electric Works No. 1 HEAD RACE TUNNEL – DRILLING FACE (E.E.E. CONTRACT) ‘The Frenchies’ (E.E.E) as they were affectionately known Page number 50 12-31.5.56 No. 1 Power Station Aggregate Stock Piles. Page number 51 13&14-No markings Page number 52 secv; kiewa hydro electric scheme; bogong; mt beauty; construction area