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Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, Looking east up Arthur Street from Main Road, Eltham, c.June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, arthur street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, Eltham Fish Shop and Eltham Cake Kitchen, Dudley Street, Eltham, c.June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, dudley street, eltham fish shop, eltham cake kitchen, shops -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, Office building, Dudley Street, Eltham, c.June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, dudley street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, Catholic School, Dudley Street, Eltham, c.June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, dudley street, our ladys school -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 27 John Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, john street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, St Margaret's, 81 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street, st margaret's anglican church -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, St Margaret's mudbrick hall, 83 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street, st margaret's anglican church -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 85 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 86 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 87 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 89 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 93 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
Owner: Arthur and Lillian AstridgeThe Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 98 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 101 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
Owner: Edward McColl; The original part of the dwelling was constructed around 1926/27. Second storey added in 1998.The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 103 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
The Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margaret Ball, 105 Pitt Street, Eltham, c. June 1999, 1999
Owner: Edward McCollThe Margaret Ball (Pre 1960s Houses) Collection was a personal project initiated to mark the year 2000 and arose as a result of the disappearance of many pre-1960s parts of Eltham due to development. Approximately 200 pre-1960s style houses that were left in Eltham between Main Road and east to Bible Street, between Cecil Street to the north and south to Dalton Street were photographed in late 1999. Not all of the houses could be photographed; some because the garden or trees blocked the view of the house, others because of rubbish or cars were in the way, some because people were working on the house or in the gardens at the time.Colour photographic print eltham, houses, streets, margaret ball (pre 1960s houses) collection, pitt street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Negative - Photograph, Eltham, Vic, c.1890
View looking northeast from present day Ely Street (near intersection of present day Cronus Court and Porter Street) across what will become the site of Eltham High School towards Main Road showing the Eltham Courthouse and Police station. View is very similar to the sketch of Eltham published in 'The Illustrated Australasian News', December 26, 1884, p212. Note the large bluestone cell block behind police house and stable. George Knapman's Shoeing Forge next to the courthouse and the concentration of buildings around the Evelyn Hotel and Watson's Eltham Hotel on opposite sides of Main Road at Pitt street. Also note George Stebbing's cottage (c.1860) on Pitt Street behind the courthouse and 'Sunnyside' (home of W.J. Taylor built c.1885) at the top of the hill on Bible Street. In the foreground are orchards running up to the main street, Maria Street and also between Brougham Street and Dalton Street bordered by Bible Street.This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book,"Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as the 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital image 4 x 5 inch B&W Negshire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, eltham, 1890, bible street, brougham steet, dalton street, eltham courthouse, eltham hotel, evelyn hotel, franklin street, grant house, knapmans forge, main road, maria street, orchards, police residence, police station, pre 1900, stebbing cottage, sunnyside, w.b. andrew corn store, watsons hotel, little eltham -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Peter Pidgeon, 28 Luck Street (cnr of Bible St.), Eltham, 11 February 2018, 11/2/2018
Former Eltham Specialist Centre Born digital image (28)eltham, eltham specialist centre, luck street, bible street, r.p. home developments pty ltd, streets -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Document, Advertised Development Plan 424/2017/03P for 28 Luck Street, Eltham by R.P. Home Developments Pty Ltd, 29 January 2018
Former Eltham Specialist Centre Nillumbik Shire Council Advertised Application; 9 of 10 pages sourced from Eltham Community Action Group Facebook page, 21 March 2018 Buildings and works to construct (6) six dwellings and reduction of car parking requirements by not providing one visitor car space Digital image (9)eltham, eltham specialist centre, luck street, bible street, r.p. home developments pty ltd, streets -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Peter Pidgeon, Luck Street, Eltham, 11 February 2018, 11/2/2018
Showing intersection with Bible Street and properties 28 and 26 Born digital imageeltham, luck street, streets, houses, bible street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Peter Pidgeon, 68 Bible Street, Eltham, 15 March 2018, 15/3/2018
At the corner with York Street. Originally built c.1880 but modified later, the house was bulldozed on 19-20 October 2017 Born digital image (2)eltham, streets, houses, bible street -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Unveiling of the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990, 13/10/1990
Six colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mary Owen, granddaughter of Walter Withers, unveiling the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990, 13/10/1990
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Three colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mary Owen, granddaughter of Walter Withers, unveiling the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990, 13/10/1990
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Two colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Unveiling of the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990, 13/10/1990
Seven colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Liz Pidgeon, 65 Bible Street, Eltham, 22 September 2017, 22/9/2017
Born Digitalbible street, houses, streets, eltham -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Liz Pidgeon, 68 Bible Street, Eltham, 22 September 2017, 22/9/2017
At the corner with York Street. Originally built c.1880 but modified later, the house was bulldozed on 19-20 October 2017Born Digitalbible street, houses, streets, eltham -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Liz Pidgeon, 68 Bible Street, Eltham, 25 October 2017, 22/9/2017
At the corner with York Street. Originally built c.1880 but modified later, the house was bulldozed on 19-20 October 2017Born Digitalbible street, houses, streets, eltham -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Peter Pidgeon, 68 Bible Street, Eltham, 30 October 2017, 30/10/2017
At the corner with York Street. Originally built c.1880 but modified later, the house was bulldozed on 19-20 October 2017Born Digitalbible street, houses, streets, eltham -
Orbost & District Historical Society
newspaper, December 13 1884
This piece of newspaper had been used as wallpaper lining. The Weekly Times was first published on September 11, 1869, by a group of Melbourne businessmen who owned the now-defunct Daily Telegraph, with the stated aim to be a “journal of literature, sport, agriculture, science and politics”. It is Australia’s oldest rural newspaper, and is known far and wide as the Bible of the Bush. (ref Weekly Times web-site)This is a useful research tool.A section of newspaper from the Weekly Times of 1884. there is also a photocopy of the item.newspaper weekly-times