Black and white photograph letterbox, Sweeneys Lane, Elthamsweeneys lane, eltham, letterboxes, george w bell collection

40 colour prints 10 x 15 cm 10 A4 documents of supporting sales literature and notesgayle blackwood collection, houses, mudbrick, bateman house, eltham south, morrison kleeman real estate, sweeneys lane

Part of the original cottage named Culla Hill built by Thomas Sweeney (a former convict) remains as a small section of today’s house. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme National Estate National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Local Sifgnificance Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p19 Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who became a respected citizen, once lived on a property at what is now the corner of Sweeneys Lane and Culla Hill, Eltham. As Sweeney was one of the district’s first settlers, the property is registered by the National Trust. Thomas Sweeney was born in 1802, son of impoverished tenant farmers in Tipperary County, Ireland. He became a ploughman, then at 21 he was sentenced to hang for setting on fire the house of Patrick Guyder at Gullshill. It is said the arson was due to a dispute over undelivered guns to a social justice guerilla group, the White Boys, of which Sweeney was a member. But the sentence was commuted to life transportation to Australia in 1823.1 Apparently in Sydney he became a servant to James Chandler at Botany. Soon James Chandler leased his farm and became a catechist on the Hawkesbury River, so Sweeney was reassigned to a former convict, John Brown, at Liverpool. Later Sweeney was assigned to George Brown of Lake Illawarra. In 1831, Sweeney was granted a ticket-of-leave and bought a boat to carry goods between Illawarra district and Sydney Town. He married his first wife who had come to Australia as a free woman. However she drowned after bearing him a daughter. In 1838, one month after he had received a conditional pardon, Sweeney married a blacksmith’s daughter, Margaret Meehan, newly arrived from Ireland. They then moved to Port Phillip and squatted on the south side of the Yarra River, about seven miles (11km) from Melbourne. Around 1842, Sweeney bought 110 acres (44.5ha) in the parish of Nillumbik for £110. He built a slab hut 12 x 10 feet (3.6m x 3m) and then his homestead, Culla Hill, a typical Tipperary style cottage, now known as Sweeney’s Cottage. It was here that many generations of Sweeneys lived for almost 100 years. Culla Hill became a social centre for the district and the Catholic community used it as a church. Sweeney was apparently on good terms with a tribe of Aborigines living on the river nearby, who helped him build his house.2 Sweeney proved himself a civic-minded leader. In 1844, he led a call for a bridge over the Plenty River. He was on the first school board and supplied the first grain for Eltham’s mill. Sweeney profited during the gold rush, not by gold digging, but by providing supplies for nearby fields and others as far away as Beechworth.3 Thomas Sweeney died in 1867 and was buried at the Eltham Cemetery, leaving two sons, five daughters, and 300 acres (121.4ha), as well as Culla Hill. Culla Hill – by then reduced to 75 acres (30ha) – was sold out of the family in 1939, then renamed Sweeneys. The present Sweeneys Lane, running diagonally through the original holding, was the track to the house. Part of the original cottage remains as a small section of today’s house. The dining-family room fronted by a veranda is original, and although there have been some changes, the cedar door and most of the small 12-paned wooden-framed windows are original. The walls are made of the original hand-made brick. After buying the property in 1952 Mr and Mrs Burston demolished a dilapidated slab hut, a three-roomed detached kitchen and cellar, as materials needed to restore them were very difficult to obtain so soon after the war.4 However the barn remains almost in its original condition. It is believed to have been built from stone quarried on the property. Now roofed with iron sheets it was probably originally thatched. The sandstone barn has a peaked roof supported by the original saplings and a doorway large enough to accommodate a fully loaded wagon.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, culla hill, eltham, sweeney's cottage, sweeneys lane, thomas sweeney

September Excursion - Culla Hill Walk Pioneer Eltham farmer Thomas Sweeney (1803 - 1867) named his house, “Culla Hill” after the area in Ireland that he came from. His house, now called “Sweeneys”, remains on a ridge line overlooking the Yarra River. It is recorded that Thomas Sweeney did well out of carting potatoes and other supplies to the various gold fields such as Bendigo, McIvor (Heathcote), Mount Alexander and Beechworth. Culla Hill is now the name of the road providing access to subdivided lots of the former Sweeney property. The Culla Hill walk will start at the corner of Kent Hughes and Lavender Park Roads, Eltham (Melway ref. 22 A9) at 2.00pm on Saturday 7th September. - EDHS Newsletter No. 247 August 20192019-09-07, activities, culla hill, eltham, eltham district historical society, fay bridge collection, heritage excursion, sweeneys lane

Sweeneys sign on side of driveRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GA 100 5095shire of eltham, sweeneys lane, eltham, roads

Two colour photographs of view south across Sweeneys flats and Yarra River, Sweeneys Lane, Elthamsweeneys lane, yarra river, eltham, thomas sweeney, culla hill

Black and white photograph Yarra River Flats, Sweeneys Lane, Eltham c.1960ssweeneys lane, yarra river, eltham, farming, george w bell collection

Black and white photograph of Yarra River Flats, Sweeneys Lane, Eltham c.1960s.sweeneys lane, yarra river, eltham, farming, george w bell collection

fay bridge collection, sweeneys flats, wattle tree, 2019-08-26

The barn of former convict Thomas Sweeney at Culla Hill remains almost in its original condition. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p19This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, culla hill, eltham, sweeney's cottage, sweeneys lane

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 2 strips Fuji HR100eltham, sweeney, sweeney's cottage, sweeneys lane

Plaque: "Sam Burston & Co Proprietory limited pneumatic maltsters". Vincent and Vi Burston owned the Culla Hill property through the 1940s and 1960s. Vi Burston was active in the Shillinglaw Cottage movement. Barrett Burston Malting operated today with "its origins in the various families of Burston, Hood, Smith and Barrett, pioneers who established the malting industry in Australia in the 1860's". https://bbmalt.com.au/ Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 2 strips Associated 10 x 15 cm colour print Fuji HR100burston, maltsters, barn, plaque, stonework, eltham, film - fuji hr 100, scan - 35mm negative, sweeney, sweeney's cottage, sweeneys lane

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 2 strips Associated 10 x 15 cm colour printFuji HR100eltham, sweeney's cottage, sweeneys lane

Part of a presentation on "Significant Trees, Wildflowers and Local Gardens" by Russell Yeoman to the 10 November 2004 Eltham District Historical Society meeting35mm colour positive transparency Mount - white 7 dots (Technodia Italy)eltham, bird orchid, sweeneys flats

Part of a presentation on "Significant Trees, Wildflowers and Local Gardens" by Russell Yeoman to the 10 November 2004 Eltham District Historical Society meeting35mm colour positive transparency Mount - white 7 dots (Technodia Italy)eltham, bird orchid, sweeneys flats

Part of a presentation on "Significant Trees, Wildflowers and Local Gardens" by Russell Yeoman to the 10 November 2004 Eltham District Historical Society meeting35mm colour positive transparency Mount - white 7 dots (Technodia Italy)eltham, bird orchid, sweeneys flats

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Built by Jennifer and Neil Barden, 1962 Black and white photographeltham, ewinga, jennifer and neil barden, sweeneys lane

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GA 100 5095shire of eltham, sweeneys lane, eltham, roads

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GA 100 5095shire of eltham, sweeneys lane, eltham, roads

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GA 100 5095shire of eltham, sweeneys lane, eltham, roads

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GA 100 5095shire of eltham, sweeneys lane, eltham, roads

Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GA 100 5095shire of eltham, sweeneys lane, eltham, roads