Originally built by John Hill, a shoemaker at Kangaroo Ground around 1878. In the late 1970s when our Society was the Shire of Eltham Historical Society, an offer was made to the Society regarding use of an old cottage at Christmas Hills. The cottage sat beside Watsons Creek just outside the then Shire of Eltham but following municipal restructuring it now lies within the Shire of Nillumbik. For various reasons the offer ultimately lapsed. At that time some research on the cottage was carried out for the Society by Keith Chappel as part of a larger research project that he was doing. Keith’s notes were taken from Lands Department records and showed that the property was the subject of a permissive occupancy of Crown land comprising the creek reserve. In 1903 a Miner’s Right of one acre in area was granted to Edwin Samuel Birch. In 1907 Birch applied to purchase this land but was unable to because it was part of the creek reserve. The documents show that the cottage existed at that time. Upon Birch’s death in 1932, his daughter, Honor Mary Birch was granted a permit to occupy the residence. Honor Mary Birch, known as Nora, was born 1900, the daughter of Edwin Samuel Birch and Honor (nee Young). In 1939 she married George Henry Williams (aka Henry). Honor died 8 July 1976. Her siblings were Margaret Martin (dec), Bert Birch and Brigidene Brinkkotter. In her will she gave and bequeathed “all the improvements on the land held by me at Christmas Hills under Permissive Occupancy from the Department of Land and Survey consisting of the house property thereon and all the contents of the said house to my nephew Brian Joseph Martin of Christmas Hills aforesaid farmer”. The will described the property as a four room, five square house, about 100 years old with enclosed verandah, including kitchen, combined lounge dining room, bedroom and store room; built of ‘bush slabs’ with a corrugated iron roof. A dairy had been erected in 1935. After her death, the property was acquired by the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works in 1978. The property is listed on the Victorian Heritage Database HO200-Hill, later Birch farm complex, 945 Eltham-Yarra Glen Road, Watsons Creek and described as: The house has a steep but simply gabled roof form clad with corrugated iron, vertical adzed hardwood slab front wall construction, split palings to the gable ends; rubble freestone chimney at one end (with added gsi flue), pole-framed Graeme Butler & Associates, 2006: 101 Shire of Nillurnbik Planning Scheme Amendment C13 Heritage Assessments verandah (rebuilt?); six-pane double-hung sash windows; T&G bead-edge boarded ledged & braced door; and paling clad rooms added at verandah ends. A slab-clad large fireplace is at the north corner of the house, with a gsi upper cladding added and an internal lining of rubble stone. The rear facade is different construction, being drop-slab, and sits beneath a rear skillion addition to the main gabled form: this may be more recent construction. The house appears to have been once set up for public display and may have been recreated in part for that purpose. Outbuildings are reached by a track along the east side of the house, including what may have been a creamery (typical standard inter-war design clad with corrugated iron and lined with 1938 Lysaght Queens Head Australia galvanised sheet iron) and a paling clad gabled out-house. Timber outbuildings of differing eras are to the north-west of the house, with pole framing and paling infill construction and Redcliffe brand corrugated iron. Post and rail (front) and split paling (rear) fence remnants line the front boundary. Pepper trees part of house yard landscape49 born digital images (includes one panoramic stitch and nine frames from drone video)birch cottage, christmas hills, early settlers, edwin samuel birch, honor mary birch, john hill, watsons creek

Black and white photo mounted on cardboard of B.U.C.C. V. Grace's Team , 1874 - Latham , J.McWhirter , Glen Coffin , Hartley , Dalby , Daly , Brennan , Gibbs , Wyndham , Kinlock (ump. ) , Passfield , Aitken (scorer ) Butler , McColl , Neill , Beswick , Bayliss , Aspinall , Boyle W.Bruceclubs, cricket, bendigo united cricket club, bendigo united cricket club records collection 1872 onwards / of b.u.c.c. v. grace's team , 1874 - latham , j.mcwhirter , glen coffin , hartley , dalby , daly , brennan , gibbs , wyndham , kinlock (ump. ) , passfield , aitken (scorer ) butler , mccoll , neill , beswick , bayliss , aspinall , boyle w.bruce

Date is approximate. Identified as: Front row (L to R): Frank Peirce, Mac Burns, ......., Charles Smith, Bert Butler, ....., ......, Bill Little. Back row (L to R): ...., Leo Armitstead, Jim Sneddon, .......................... - Burton. Frank Peirce transferred to Carnegie. Charles Smith was the son of the newsagent. Mac Burns lived in Russell Street. Bert Butler lived in Wandsworth Road. - Burton became Secretary of the Lord Mayor's Fund. The Surrey Hills Wanderers became the Surrey Hills Junior Football Club. This photo was copied for Geoff Armitstead in November 2002. Recorded on the mount in Jocelyn Hall's writing that there is also an original of this photo. ["107 Neg & print & original"]Black and white photo of a 1920s team of the Surrey Hills Wanderers football club. Eighteen players are dressed in white shorts and dark jumpers with a light V marking. The setting is outdoors, possibly in Surrey Park where the team played. surrey hills wanderers, football, sport, surrey hills junior football club, surrey park, geoff armitstead, frank pierce, charles smith, mac burns, bert butler, bill little, leo armitstead, jim sneddon, mr - burton, glen armitstead, alan sneddon