Cuthbert "Bert" Lodington enlisted under the Alias George Williams No 1608, 3/6th Batt AIF. KIA 8.5.15. Refer 2072 medals for full service details. Photo in sepia tone re "Bert" Lodington. Central photo on cardboard backing. Soldier standing in uniform holding a riding crop. Backing is light brown with ornamental surrounds."The Marlborough studios 123 Swanston St Melbourne"photogtaphy, military

Book. ALEC H CHISHOLM COLLECTION. 128 page blue hardback cover book of short poems by Grace L. Rodda. Published in 1939 by Lothian Publishing Co. and printed in Great Britain by William Hodge & Co. Catalogue sticker ''2072 ROD'' on spine. Handwritten in ink on flyleaf ''To Mr A. H. Chisholm with compliments from the Author: Grace L. Rodda Christmas 1943.''Grace L. Roddabooks, collections, poetry, alec h chisholm collection, grace l. rodda, poetry

The Snowy River Boat Club was formed in 1950, went into recess in 1972 but re-formed in 1977. It was a power boating club based in Marlo.A brim and band from a Snowy River Boat Club hat. There is a cloth badge of the Snowy River Boat Club. It is embroidered in blue and black with a boat outlined in red. The badge is square shaped and has rounded corners. It is loosely sewn above the black brim.snowy-river-boat-club power-boats

New Zealand Nautical Almanac Publisher Government Printer New Zealand Date 1910flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, new zealand nautical almanac, book

While there are some references from time to time to a war memorial fund in both Mission Annual reports from the 1930s and news clippings the actual organisation has not been well researched. More information is needed about formation and member details. As the board primarily was designed for WW1 it may have fallen out of use post WW2. This War memorial fund may have been superseded by a national organisation see links above. JM 2020.The Katoomba crews led by Captain E. Moodie-Heddle were regular visitors to the Mission from 1914 onwards and assisted with fundraising events and collections.Large Honour board with angled top in dark red stained wood and gilt lettering Patron: Captain E. Moodie Heddle showing member names, president, Vice President, treasurer and Rev Oliver's name at far rightprimarily dedicated to the Merchant seamen of Great war of 1914-1918. see imagecaptain e.l. moodie heddle, s.s. katoomba, frank oliver, honour boards, war memorials

Blackjack from the north west. The Blackjack property, house and acres of fruit orchards ran down to the Plenty River off Hume Street Greensborough and was the home of the Robinson family to late 1956. The photographs were taken as slides by Frank Robinson and digitised by his son James in 2015.Digital copy of colour photograph.blackjack, robinson family

Black and white photograph of two men looking at a model of wooden building. One man is lifting up roof of model.

Trousers Naval Dark Blue Bell Bottomsuniform, ran

Watercolour - Along the River Bank by John.B.Perry showing open style hay shed, log rail fence & native australian trees. Markings: Along the River Bank. Campaspe river. Barnadown water colour by John. B.Perry.John.B.Perryplace, land, riverbank site

Directed by Ray Lawler; the play is set in a basement of a bombed out house in the old city of Warsaw, in October1944. Contains background information on the Author and a timeline of world war 2 that relates to the play: good conditionthe truce, program, russell street theatre, melbourne theatre company, ray lawler, sandy mccutcheon, world war 2, warsaw

Photo of SEC Ballarat No. 33 at the Sebastopol terminus, with the driver turning the pole. Taken just before sunset. Tram has destination of Lydiard St. North. Kodak cardboard mount slide, taken by Peter Moses 21 August 1971 - assumed to be the date.On the rear of the slides in red ink "Ballarat / changing poles Sebastopol terminus." and "P. Moses" in the top left hand corner in black ink.tramways, trams, sebastopol, tram 33

1 pair of tortoiseshell, round reading glassesspectacles

Notes 6 pages, pinned together, giving details, opening dates, terminals, depot entries, sheave pits, curves, for the Domain Road, Park St, Toorak Road and Chapel St lines. Second set of notes 4 pages for the Port Melbourne and South Melbourne beach lines via City Road and Victoria St respectively. Single page sketches for both the Flemington Road via North Melbourne and Spencer St to North Melbourne lines - no dimensions or survey notes. Items 2064 to 2075 within box 72.3 in a brown folder marked "MT&O Co." red pencil on the front cover.trams, tramways, mto co, cable trams, drawings, reports, surveys, toorak rd, chapel st, south melbourne beach, port melbourne, city rd, victoria st, north melbourne, flemington rd

In 2008, LDHS was given a grant for the purchase of an upgrade of its cataloguing software, Inmagic. The photo shows Rosemary Manion of LDHS receiving the grant certificate/documentation from Des Guinane, who was Mayor of Golden Plains Shire in 2007-2008. It is understood the presentation ceremony was held at Lethbridge.Colour photograph which shows a man with a beard and a woman who is wearing a striped, coloured jacket over a black top. They are each holding and looking at a document.rosemary manion, des guinane [mayor golden plains], community grants

A red plastic cover with no information on the front. Inside the cover on cream cardboard are the details of the booklet. The booklet is held together with metal rings on the inside of the booklet.booklet, supply and movement

George Williams No 1608, actually Cuthbert Lodington. He enlisted under an assumed name of an Aunt. Enlisted on 4.12.14 in the 3rd reinforcements to the 6th Batt AIF. Embarked 19.2.15 for Eygpt then Gallipoli. Reported missing 8.5.15, confirmed KIA same day. Refer 2070P.Medal set, brass plate mounted, set of (3) re G Williams. 1. 1914-15 Star. 2. War Medal 1914-18 3. Victory Medal 1914 - 19"1608 Pte G Williams 6 Bn AIF"medals, military, history

Photo Album - 48 sheets bound with a white circular metal/plastic spiral bound within a heavy duty cardboard cover, with glued cover pages, plastic covered with an index sheet. Allows for three photographs per page. Not known whether the plastic envelope for each photograph is of archival quality. No Manufacture detail, though has a bar code on the bottom left hand corner of the rear cover. Cover is a reproduction from a painted art piece. Listing of photographs given on htd1800-RayMarshalbum.pdf Dates given when written on the rear of the photograph. Compiled by John Etkins from photographs given to him by Ray Marsh. 1990's to 1993 generally. Page Tram/s Notes – dates given when on rear of photograph. 1 226 Loading passengers – ex MMTB Annual Report? 1 957 City Circle 1 “hands off our trams” protest march 2 2100, 231 South Melbourne Depot – 10-4-1993 2 676 And many others – Hawthorn Depot 2 217 Princes Bridges 3 380, 104 St Kilda Road 3 106, 104 Essendon Depot 3 431 As a W1 4 1011 Fresh fruit tram, Preston Depot 6-12-1992, 4 824 Day in Day out, Brunswick and Victoria Parade 29-4-1993 4 722 Art tram 5 ? Advert tram – Imperial China 5 237 Stubbsy tram – TrippleM? 6 856 City Circle – with gas and fuel building – 31-7-1994 6 925 City Circle - with gas and fuel building – 31-7-1994 6 728 City Circle – 10-8-1994 7 246 Navy tram x three pics – July 1992 8 ? Gold tram advertising Georges 8 990 Advertising Telstra– 29-4-1993 8 749 Art tram? 9 990 NRMA - 1-3-1994 9 727, 215 Public Transport 9 920 Advert tram with a picket fence 10 Bendigo 21 Preston Workshops 11-3-1993 10 774? W5 being rebuilt at Preston – 21-10-1991 11 ? Bogie cable trailer at Preston – 29-4-1993 11 922 Interior view of a tram – being modernised – 11-3-1993 11 922 Preston Workshops 29-4-1993 12 1018 Workcare tram at Preston 1994 – 11-8-1994 12 774 Preston Workshops – 20-12-1993 12 8 Preston Workshops – 1-10-1992 13 380 Preston Workshops 13 8 Preston Workshops 13 20, 8 Preston Workshops 14 721 Preston Workshops 20-12-1993 14 ? Tramways painted artist tram featuring a driver and workshop 14 Traverser Preston Workshops 15 2110, 2106 Preston Workshops 15 ? Preston Workshops 15 2130 Interior Preston Workshops 20-12-1993 16 Set of three pics Elizabeth St floods – 17-2-1972 17 Set of three pics Elizabeth St floods – 17-2-1972 18 676 Turning into Swanston St from Batman Ave 18 676 Kew Depot – 10-11-1991 18 237, 676, 611 Kew Depot – 10-11-1991 19 214, 676 South Melbourne Depot – Kingsway 19 217 Spencer St 19 214 Advertising Kew Depot Open Day -8-12-1991 20 231, 676 Advertising Kew Depot Open Day -8-12-1991 20 Zoo tram, 256 Outside Kew Depot 20 214 Hawthorn Open Day with band 21 Zoo tram x 3 pics And horses, Kew Open day 22 231, 431 Kew Depot 22 892, 214 Kew Depot 75 years, Postcard – 1991 22 282 Kew Depot – with the name Monique on the tram and a lady standing alongside 23 238, 233 Kew Depot 23 236, 892, 282 Kew Depot – 25-4-1992 23 232, 236, 282 Kew Depot 24 2112 Port Melbourne line – with long grass – 11-4-1993 24 469, 2037, ? 2015 South Melbourne Depot 24 1018 or 976? Advertising a PTC Open Day – 20-10-1991 – In Swanston St - see Reg Item 1845 25 250 Bourke St 25 2100 Running into Preston Workshops 25 282, 1003 Collins St in the rain 26 Logo PMTT 26 Point cover With P&MTT cast into the cover 26 Foundation Stone Person reblocking in gold, a PMTT Foundation Stone 27 Logo Tramway Board 27 Logo MMTB logo 27 Logo Footscray Tramways Trust 28 217 And 2’gauge W2 – South Melbourne Depot – 20-10-1991 28 164 Somewhere? 28 1018 Advert tram – “Moro”, Preston flyover 29 V214 x 3 pics Kew Depot 30 611 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn 5-10-1991 30 976 x 2 pics Advert tram – have a red instead 31 610 Malvern Depot 31 138 (max tract) Flinders St 31 138 (max tract) Bourke into Spencer 32 844 Victoria Parade with R10 behind 32 264 With a TV interview being undertaken 32 2066 Elizabeth St – 29-4-1993 33 255 x 2 pics Derailed at Kew Depot 33 253 Derailed outside the Beehive Hotel 34 214, 892, 611 Re-enactment of Victoria Bridge to Esplanade service – 10-11-91 34 726 Art tram? – Swanston St with overhead trucks in background 34 10W Reblocking scrubber car at Brunswick Depot 1999 35 2085 At Preston workshops over an inspection track section 35 731 St Georges Road, road being rebuilt – Nov. 1991 35 Preston Jtn Junction at Workshops being relaid 36 1003 St Georges Road, Nov. 1991 trackworks 36 St Georges Rd Track being rebuilt – Nov. 1991 has temp track cross over 36 Victoria St Victoria St being reconstructed 6-9-1992 37 East Burwood Extension works – 18-2-1993 37 East Burwood Re-building crossover – 18-2-1993 37 Victoria St Victoria St being reconstructed 6-9-1992 38 19W, 16W Bylands – 5-12-1993 38 R10 Kew Depot 38 Workers Kew Depot pushing on a post 39 R10 R10 towing a B class tram- Royal Parade? 39 11W, 10W? South Melbourne Depot 39 Overhead Overhead truck at Kew Depot 40 Kew Depot Demolition works opposite depot 40 613? Malvern Depot on special tram 40 256 zoo tram Royal Park tram at Kew Depot 41 B class Bundoora line 1993 41 231, 611 Kew depot 75th anniversary tram 41 469, 287 Kew depot 42 510 Spring St into Bourke St – 28-4-1993. “42nd street promotion. 42 153 High St Northcote, Bundoora 42 611 Kew Depot, Nov. 1991 43 195? Simpson St siding – 25-4-1993 – 7 trams in all 43 646 Route 12, with fire station in background – Gisborne and Victoria 43 961 Burke Road, Camberwell, 10-8-1994 44 760 Art tram 44 938 Sam the tram, Flinders St 44 1014 Gilbert Road, West Preston, June 1994, advert for AGC 45 965 Daimaru advert tram, Swanston St 45 1018 Express post advert tram, Swanston St. 45 1024 Advert – lego exhibition – Swanston St 46 104 Camberwell depot 46 611 Looking towards driver’s controls from interior. 46 W1 Interior photo showing tip over seats 47 Cable car Interior photo – could be zoo tram 47 510 Interior, 28-4-1993 47 214 Kew Depot, night shot, Oct. 1991 48 246, 237 Kew depot, 13-9-1993 – Stubbsy and Energy Victoria advert 48 246, 231, 237 Kew depot, Navy, 75th anniversary of Kew and Fox Fm advert 48 2014, 2072 South Melbourne – tt line? Advert tram 49 59 And six other trams in front of Preston Workshops 49 1024 MMTB Christmas Tram, 1970 49 2001 Camberwell Depot 50 725 Preston depot area – tram has a red upper half 50 725 South Melbourne depot – now has Xmas decorations 50 1026 Bourke St, Christmas 6-12-1993 51 933 Victoria Parade shunt and other A class tram – Autumn 51 829 Art tram 51 39 Advert tram – Crime prevention 52 Connie Connie at night = has jeans on 52 1?? Has a MET inspector standing in front of number – Latrobe uni tram 52 611 Kew Depot 53 237 Fox FM Black Thunder tram at Kew Depot, August 1992 53 237, 611, 892 Victoria Bridge re-enactment – 10-11-1991 53 237 At Kew depot with 4 people, including Hugh Waldron 53 442, 10W South Melbourne Restaurant tram and works car 53 W2 At Wattle Park 53 School art Photo of students holding artwork on the zoo tram 256 at Kew 54 138 And many others 54 469 Launch of the Melbourne Tram by the PTC 54 School art Photo of students holding artwork on the zoo tram 256 at Kew 55 B2 Elizabeth St terminus, Christmas 1994 55 8 Z8 Swanston St, April 1993 55 504 Clifton Pugh – Preston Workshops 56 138, 180, 214 Hawthorn Depot display 56 650, 510 Hawthorn Depot 56 469 Camberwell 57 568 Bridge Road Richmond by cable tram depot 57 ? Advert tram – Falls Creek 57 995 Malvern Road, 18-5-1992 58 457, 217 etc Swanston St display 58 231, 611 Kew 75th Anniversary 58 682 Artist tram at Malvern Depot – 18-5-1992 59 1018 Country Road advert tram 59 8 Z class – decorated tram – Essendon Depot 59 947 Metland Safety Express – safety tram – Kew depot 60 101 x 2pics Decorated for RAAF 70th Anniversary 60 2082 Near East Preston Depot, with destination “Next Stop Mill Park” 61 475 After sale and disposal 61 585 After sale and disposal 61 651 After sale and disposal – Diamond Creek – 9-8-1994 62 386 After sale and disposal – Sunbury 62 590 After sale and disposal – Hall ACT 62 476 After sale and disposal – Kinglake 63 11W Bundoora Extension – track being opened 63 947 Metland Safety Express – safety tram – Kew depot 63 Model 2,3 2’ gauge model trams 64 Model 2 Ditto 64 250 After sale and disposal 64 293 After sale and disposal – Diamond Ck – 9-8-1994 65 246, 231, 237 Kew depot, Navy, 75th anniversary of Kew and Fox Fm advert 65 1002 Advert tram – Salvation Army 65 231, 29 Kew Depot 66 246, 231, 237 Kew depot, Navy, 75th anniversary of Kew and Fox Fm advert 66 646, 935, 1002 Kew depot 66 220, 60 Preston Workshops? 67 851, 814 Malvern Depot 3-9-1992 67 726 Malvern Rd at Glenferrie Road – 18-5-1992 67 237, 133 Victoria Parade 1996 68 814 and others Interior Malvern Depot – 18-5-1992 68 231 75th Kew depot anniversary at depot 68 231 75th Kew depot anniversary at depot 69 1024 Malvern Depot 10-11-1991 69 1011 Advert tram Melbourne City Toyota 69 106, 180 Swanston St 70 190, 568 Camberwell Depot 70 431 Flinders St – tram event 70 20, 138 Camberwell Depot 71 431 Flinders St – tram event 71 237 Fox FM Thunder Tram 71 2057, 2014 Elizabeth St, Vic Market 29-4-1993 72 676, 611, 892 Victoria Bridge re-enactment – 10-11-1991 72 Ceremony Victoria Bridge – mayor and others event 72 214 214 on the bridge 73 164 Lygon St – former outer circle line level crossing in view 73 841 Swanston Walk 29-4-1993 74 821 St Georges Road, April 1993 74 431, 231 Victoria Parade 74 217, 676 Passing Camberwell Depot 75 Oporto 018 Clarendon St 6-3-2003 75 3007 Albert Park – 7-3-2003 75 3001, 018, 3502 Docklands – 10-3-2003 76 Oporto 018 Docklands – 16-1-2003 76 Oporto 018 Flinders St 7-3-2003 76 3502 Swanston St at Flinders St -8-3-2003 77 16 Kew Depot, Jan 1991 77 112, 110 Bundoora 4-9-1992 77 738 Camberwell Feb 1991 78 1011 Thornbury Jan 1991 advert for City Toyota 78 101 Bundoora – RAAF tram 4-9-1992 78 814 Art tram – Swanston St August 1992 79 1024, 469, Z3 Preston Workshops – 469 as the Melbourne Tram – 9-9-1992 79 961 Malvern Depot 3-9-1992 79 242 Single line working in Victoria St 6-9-1992 80 781 Thornbury, the hump, Preston Workshops Jan 1991 80 2104 Preston Workshops 9-9-1992 80 2100 Launch, Preston Workshops 9-9-1992 81 5W + 1A 5 x W at Kew Depot 3-2-1991 81 676 Kew Depot 21-2-1991 81 873, 2016 Brunswick depot 2-3-1991 82 231 Kew Depot Yard – 21-1-1991 82 157, 158 Brunswick Depot – 2-3-1991 82 2057, 873, 158 Brunswick Depot – 2-3-1991 83 802 Art Tram - Franklin St from the signal box 2-3-1991 83 990 990 Evian advert tram, Franklin St signal box 2-3-1991 83 920 GIO Advert Tram with Bushels tea and Yellow Pages? Adverts 84 721 Art Tram, Franklin St signal box 84 976 St Georges Road, Jan 1991 – advert tram Capital society 84 731 St Georges Road, Jan. 1991 Art tram 85 10W Victoria Parade, Brunswick St, 1/3/1991 85 10W, 9 or 11W South Melbourne depot 85 10W Bundoora Terminus 4-2-1991 86 11W City Baths 86 10, 16 Camberwell Depot 6-12-1990 86 944 Glenhuntly Depot 18-2-1991 87 2011 Spring St – Princess Theatre, March 1990 87 294, 239, 277, 243, 259, 280 Kew Depot 87 296 Kew Depot 88 1015, 16 Batman Ave 19-1-1991 88 963, 948, 935, 996, 892 Kew Depot 3-2-1991 88 Victoria St Victoria St Richmond Reconstruction 6-2-1992 89 1014, 990 Batman Ave 19-1-1991 (Image added i5 and rear view added 23-12-2018, scanned for Dale Budd. 89 920 920 – GIO advert tram, 760 art Tram Collins at Spencer 17-10-1990 89 610, 611 Kooyong Station level crossing 30-12-1990 90 95 Royal Park, 15-2-1991 90 2057, 873, 158 Brunswick Depot – 2-3-1991 90 10 Camberwell Depot 6-12-1990 91 Bendigo 44 In Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust Colours 1986 –Black and white photo. Listed 5-11-2016See note page 1 and on image 3trams, tramways, album, photo album, tramcars, the met, yarra trams, kew depot, brunswick depot, advertising trams, transporting art, preston depot, hawthorn, bundoora, st georges rd, victoria st, camberwell depot, tram r10, 8, 10w, 10, 11w, 16, 16w, oporto 018, 19w, 20, bendigo 21, 29, 39, bendigo 44, 59, 60, 95, 101, 104, 106, 110, 112, 133, 138, 153, 157, 158, 164, 180, 190, 195?, 214, 215, 217, 220, 226, 231, 232, 233, 236, 237, 238, 239, 242, 243, 246, 250, 253, 255, 256, 259, 264, 277, 280, 282, 287, 293, 294, 296, 380, 386, 431, 442, 457, 469, 475, 476, 504, 510, 568, 585, 590, 610, 611, 613?, 646, 651, 676, 682, 721, 722, 725, 726, 727, 728, 731, 738, 749, 760, 774, 781, 802, 814, 821, 824, 829, 841, 844, 851, 856, 873, 892, 920, 922, 925, 933, 935, 938, 944, 947, 948, 957, 961, 963, 965, 976, 990, 995, 996, 1002, 1003, 1011, 1014, 1015, 1018, 1024, 1026, 2001, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2037, 2057, 2057, 2066, 2072, 2082, 2085, 2100, 2104, 2106, 2112, 2130, 3001, 3007, 3502

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