The new Eltham Library was opened 22 May 1994 and celebrates its 30th anniversay in 2024. This audio recording, presented by Harry Gilham, President of Eltham District Historical Society at the time of the opening is a summarised history of the Eltham Library service to 1994. Eltham Library Service 1930s - 1994 Originally collated by Harry Gilham, President, Eltham District Historical Society Inc (1993-2009) (edited 2022) In the Eltham township area, in the early 1930s, library books for adults were available from E J Andrew's newsagency in Main Road. In the newsagency come haberdashery, some shelves were set aside for a lending library of adults' books. In 1935, Mr & Mrs JC Rains purchased the newsagency and continued the lending service until the late 1940s. At this time the business was extended from haberdashery to sell ladies' and men's clothing. The library section was discontinued. In the 1930s a mobile book library was also run by a Mr Foster of Bible Street, Eltham. In the 1950s adult books were available from racks in the foyer of the Eltham Shire Offices which was then located beside the Eltham Hall on the comer of Arthur Street and Main Road. In the early 1950s a referendum of ratepayers was called to seek public opinion on the issue of raising money for a public library for which the rates would have to be increased - the motion was defeated. On 11 November 1965 Eltham Shire Council, in conjunction with the City of Heidelberg and the Shire of Diamond Valley, met to form the Heidelberg Regional Library Service. Eltham was represented by Councillors Charis Pelling and John Lewis. The first library service for the Shire of Eltham from this group came in the shape of a bookmobile van which had, amongst others, a central stopover near the Shillinglaw trees outside the newly opened Shire offices at 895 Main Road, the original site of Shillinglaw Cottage and the former Shillinglaw farm. Present-day Wingrove Park was another stopover and the many recorded requests for this service can be read as denoting the areas of population or gathering points at that period throughout the Shire. 1968 saw the Shire convert the ‘Brinkkotter’ house in Dudley Street to house both adult and children's books. This library was originally staffed from the City of Heidelberg Library and records of committee meetings range from borrowing Heidelberg's old library shelving to trying to increase the Government's subsidy to a dollar for dollar basis. Book loans in the period 1966-67 totalled 30,400 and the following year ran to 52,113. With 2 books plus 1 paperback the limit per person, it was overcrowded and unable to house the range of other services which had become common library stock. Planning to extend the Shire Offices by the addition of the south wing was an opportunity to re-house the Shire's Library. The opening of the library in the extension was carried out on 17th August 1971 by the Hon R J Hamer ED, MP, Chief Secretary of Victoria. Cr Geoffrey Dreverman officiated as the Shire President. The Heidelberg Regional Library Service continued until September 1985 when it disbanded. On 21 November 1985 the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service was established. At that time Eltham was represented by Councillors Mary Grant and Robert Manuell. By 1987, over-crowding of the Eltham Library and an inability to house the range of other services yet again rose to prominence. At a Council meeting held on 1 June 1987, the Councillors supported a resolution which threatened to close the library on 30 September 1987. Council's frustration arose from yet another re-run of the annual State Government versus Council Library funding and records show first arose in Eltham Council in 1967 with the Government of 1he day. After prolonged public anger and petitions the motion to close the library was rescinded in August 1987. Council, considering the community's concern, set up a ‘Library Review Working Party’ which a year later became the Library Occasional Committee with direct access to Council. This Committee investigated the workings of the 386 square metre library and found inadequate space for storage and display, lack of equipment, out-of-date furniture together with an increasing patronage which resulted in queues of borrowers becoming longer no matter when the library was open. Community consultation took the form of 1,000 questionnaires sent to users and non-users along with noticeboard reminders of what was planned. Council developed a strategy to set aside capital funds from 1988 on an annual basis so that preliminary planning and consultative expenses could be met, and construction could be completed early 1997. The Committee visited metropolitan libraries which were catering for a similar population as was projected for Eltham. Australia-wide Federal Government funding grants under the Local Capital Works Program became available from October 1992 for community projects endorsed by local Councils. The Eltham Council submitted a proposal, based on library findings and requirements accumulated by the Library Occasional Committee, to the Federal Grants Committee to build a new Eltham Library. The Federal Grants Committee supported the funding request allowing commencement of the library project three years earlier than planned. With finance finalised, the Council set up its Eltham Library Re-development Special Committee which was given the task of overseeing what could be the last major expansion of the Shire's Library Service as Eltham's population nears its projected maximum. The new library was designed by Gregory Burgess and Peter Ryan of Gregory Burgess Pty Ltd. Construction of the library commenced in 1993 and was officially opened May 22nd, 1994. The library building was designed to reflect its parkland setting. External features include: the roof which includes interesting aspects when viewed from Main Road; verandahs which provide ramp access and give a sheltered entrance to the building; walls which feature locally made mudbricks, conventional bricks and copper panels; and space for an outdoor courtyard/reading area which will be developed later. Internally there are several features. The building includes a foyer with a fireplace suitable for displays including artwork, a community multi-purpose room suitable for meetings or functions and an outdoor cafeteria. The ceilings are lined with Victorian Ash. The shapes for the ceiling give a free-flowing form to the building. Brush Box has been used for the circulation and information desks. The tree trunk columns are Grey lronbark from New South Wales. Arches and various-shaped windows add interest to the internal structure. The carpet design reflects the Eltham environment and compliments the natural colours and timbers used in the building. Tiles by artist Felix Bosari feature in the building and additional art by local artists added externally and internally to the building. Since 1994 the library has undergone a major extension to cater for children’s services and others. See also EDHS_02111Digital file only recorded from Audio Cassette tape on loan Converted to MP3 file; 11.1MB, 0:08:49eltham library, opening, harry gilham, harry gilham collection, 1994, audio cassette, audio recording

Compact audio cassette Sony AD90 IEC I/Type I Cassette labelled "Hindsight Donald Thomson" Converted to MP3 file; 75.7MB, 0:54:37aboriginal people, audio cassette, audio recording, australian broadcasting commission, donald thomson, hindsight, radio national

"Rural and remote Australians celebrate links to Melbourne Cup", broadcast on ABC Radio National, Bush Telegraph, Tuesday, 1 November 2011Compact audio cassette TDK D90 (Side B) Cassette labelled "Melbourne Cup Tour" (Side B) Converted to MP3 file; 29.6MB, 0:21:00andrew lemon, audio cassette, audio recording, australian broadcasting commission, bush telegraph, melbourne cup tour, radio national

Compact audio cassette Emtec Type FE I Cassette labelled "Books & Writing - R/N Alan Marshall" Converted to MP3 file; 67.5MB, 0:50:07alan marshall, audio cassette, audio recording, australian broadcasting commission, books and writing, radio national

September Meeting (Newsletter No. 152, Sep. 2003) This meeting is one in an occasional series where we get together a panel of speakers to talk about a particular aspect of Eltham's history, its character or its people. As has been the case for past speaker panels, we have organised a buff et dinner to precede the meeting and details of this are given below. Eltham has a well-known tradition of building with mud brick, second hand materials and other innovative or uncommon materials. Although this trend dates mainly from the 1930 's there are examples from the pioneer days of Eltham. Part of the Brocksopp house at Eltham South is an 1850' s mud brick construction by George Souter. But the alternative building tradition in Eltham really began at Montsalvat in the 1930's. Justus Jorgensen's building complex of earth construction, stone and items from wreckers' yards inspired a number of builders and owner builders, particularly in adopting mud brick or adobe as their building medium. The tradition continues today with our area remaining home to a relatively high proportion of builders using these alternative materials. The panel we have selected to talk on this subject are either builders in the Eltham tradition or have had close contact with builders of the past. The panel will be introduced by Russell Yeoman who will talk briefly about George Stebbing, an early Eltham builder responsible for many of our remaining historic buildings, but known for traditional buildings of his time rather than the later buildings which give Eltham its particular character. The panel members are as follows:- • John Pizzey, architect. John will speak on the work of Alistair Knox designer and builder in mud brick and the person who has most contributed to the environmental building traditions of Eltham. • Peter Jarvis who will talk about his own work as a builder in mud brick and his views on traditional and modern construction methods. • Leigh Wykes, a present day builder of stone houses, will talk about his own work in the district and its relevance to Eltham traditions. • Diana Bassett-Smith will talk about her experience with owner-builders constructing their earth houses in Eltham in the 1950's. Pise and mud brick presented a cheap building material provided that you could do it yourself or persuade your friends to help. Prior to the meeting there will be a buffet dinner of casseroles and other courses prepared by some of our members. We will be starting at 6.00pm with dinner scheduled for 6.30. Harry Gilham will be providing drinks, including wines from his personally made collection. Cost of the dinner will be $10 which can be paid on the night. However, for catering purposes we need to know numbersCompact audio cassette Sony EF 90 Type I / IEC I Cassette labelled "Eltham Builders Historical" Converted to MP3 file; 100MB, 1:18:57 alistair knox, audio cassette, audio recording, building construction, diana bassett-smith, eltham, john pizzey, leigh wykes, peter jarvis, society meeting

Donated by Rita Barnes Various band tunes recordeed live with some background sounds of audience listensing and singing in to "Waltzing Matilda" Tape has suffered some degradation over years with significant levels of noise and some wow and flutter.Compact audio cassette Opus UDC60 Cassette labelled "The Eltham Band after 12 months, 0-370" (Side A) Converted to MP3 file; 30.2MB, 0:23:12 audio cassette, audio recording, eltham band

General chit chat and banter between group of senior citizens at an afternoon tea held for them at Research Primary School.Compact audio cassette GTape 90 Converted to MP3 file; 92.4MB, 1:14:13 Case and cassette labelled "Research Primary School; Afternoon tea with senior residents Nov 1st, 1984"audio cassette, audio recording, oral history, research primary school, senior citizens

Dubbed from original recording with introduction by Joh Ebeli 2002 General chit chat and banter between Joh Ebeli and Alan Marshall on various current affairs, matters of the past and artists and Joh's method of sculpture production. Topics include gold prospecting, Smith's Gully, Politician Jim Cairns, artists Neil Douglas and Pablo Picasso. See also EDHS_00666 colour photo of Alan taken by Joh Ebeli and EDHS_02441 photo of plaster cast modelCompact audio cassette TDK D60 IEC I/Type I Converted to MP3 file; 33.8MB, 0:32:19 Case labelled "Alan Marshall talks while Joh Ebeli is sculpting his face in #1977 - in his bungalow in Eltham"alan marshall, alan marshall bungalow, artists, audio cassette, audio recording, eltham, joh ebeli, sculptures, gold prospecting, smiths gully, sculpting

Oral history interview with Jock Read (1915- 2010) conducted by Diana Bassett-Smith of Eltham District Historical Society. Peter Bassett-Smith and possibly Gwen Orford also in attendance. The interview includes discussion of Jock's family history and connection to Eltham, including his attendance at Eltham State School starting 1921, childhood memories including games he played, memories of Eltham High School, recreational activities, milking, money earned, local transport, neighbours, effect of the Depression, local shops, involvement with the Church of England and more. Recording contains significant amount of noise. 0:00 Introduction including the clarification of Jock's name as Frances and backstory of his parents being from England 3:15- 5:00 Commences talking about home life and childhood 3:38 Talking about family immigrating to Australia His father immigrated to Australia when he was 6 4:05 Jock was born in and lived with his parents in Brunswick before moving to Eltham during the 1920s 4:55-7:44 Permanently moved to Eltham and started at Eltham Primary School in 1921 Talking about books used at school, and games played at school such as marbles, cricket and football 8:45 Moved into Eltham High School after finishing at Eltham Primary 9:50 Week and weekend activities including: Milking cows and doing milk runs on horseback before school 13:15 Most common mode of transport was using horse drawn vehicles and walking 14:50 Discusses impact of depression on family: Father had previously started a business but the depression had a large impact on that 16:10-18:00 Facilities that Jock had • Used hurricane lamps and candles- no electricity • Woodfire • Milk and bread were delivered • Greengrocer- George Bird? 25:22 Left Eltham high school in 1930 26:00 Begins discussing involvement with the church of England 31:46 Electricity did not come to Eltham until 1926 Jock described it as an exciting event 33:00-34:00 Describing the rented house, he was living in- small wooden cottage 35:00 Discussion around starting a mail run round areas of Eltham 38:40-42:35 Enlisted in the navy during WW2 • Navel cadets in 1934 • HMAS Vampire • Served as a seaman gunner Audio Compact Cassette Tape ACME C90 XHG Converted to MP3 file; 55.1MB, 0:42:35audio cassette, audio recording, diana bassett-smith, eltham, jock read, oral history, read family, elham primary school, eltham high school, eltham primary school, 1920s, brunswick, depression, church, st margaret's church, housing, ww2, second world war

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society was recorded at Greensborough Uniting Church in 1977; conducted by V. Lennie.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on side 2: "Elijah. DVC Society Cond. V. Lennie. 1977"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio), greensborough uniting church, val lennie

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society was recorded at Greensborough Uniting Church in 1977; conducted by V. Lennie.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on side 1: "Elijah. DVCS. G'bro Uniting Church"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio), greensborough uniting church, val lennie

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society was recorded at Greensborough Uniting Church in 1977; conducted by V. Lennie.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on side 2: "Elijah. DV Choral Society. Cond. Valda Lennie 1977"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio), greensborough uniting church, val lennie

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society was recorded at Ormond Uniting Church in 1982.2 audio cassettes in clear plastic casesHandwritten on cassette 1: "Elijah. Ormond. Tape 1"; on cassette 2: "Elijah, Ormond Uniting Church. 31-10-82"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio), ormond uniting church

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society has no date or venue.2 audio cassettes in clear plastic casesHandwritten on cassette 1: Side A: "Elijah. Part 1; Side B: "Elijah. Part 2" ;on cassette 2: "Elijah, Part 3"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio)

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society has no date or venue.2 audio cassettes in clear plastic casesHandwritten on cassette 1: Side A: "Elijah"; on cassette 2: "Elijah"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio)

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society has no date or venue recorded.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on side A: "Elijah. 1 + 2"diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio)

A recording of 'Elijah', an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, first performed in 1846, depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the Old Testament book of Kings. The work is scored for eight vocal soloists (two each of bass, tenor, alto and soprano). This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society has no date or venue recorded.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "Elijah."diamond valley choral society, elijah (oratorio)

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society at Watsonia in 1975.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "DVCS Concert. Watsonia 30-10-75."diamond valley choral society, concerts

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society at a Rotary event in 1978, no venue given.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "DV. Rotary 1978."diamond valley choral society, concerts, rotary

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society at Loyola (Watsonia) on 22/04/19791 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "DVCS concert. 'Loyola' Sunday April 22 1979."diamond valley choral society, concerts, loyola

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society for Heidelberg City Council (H.C.C.) on 06/06/1981.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "H.C.C. concert no.151. 6 June 1981"diamond valley choral society, concerts, heidelberg city council

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society at Reservoir 18/05/1991, and Kerang 23/06/1991..1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "DIVCOS for Reservoir 18.5.91; Kerang 23.6.91"diamond valley choral society, concerts, reservoir, kerang

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society for Naturalisation Ceremonies held at Yarrambat (25/11/1990) and Bundoora (28/1/1990). Songs include: Advance Australia Fair, Australia Fair I love you, Never-Never, Bush night song, The happy wanderer, and Waltzing Matilda. Instrumental by Val Lennie.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on cassette: "Yarrambat 25.11.90; Bundoora 28.11.90"diamond valley choral society, concerts, val lennie, naturalisation ceremonies

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society. Performed at the Reservoir Baptist Church, there is no date given.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on insert: "Celebrity Concert"diamond valley choral society, concerts, reservoir baptist church

A recording of a concert performance of Australian music by the Diamond Valley Choral Society. Performed at Bundoora on 05/06/1990.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on insert: "DIVCOS ladies and Kate"diamond valley choral society, concerts, bundoora

A recording of a Winter concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society. Performed on 21/07/1985, venue unknown.1 audio cassette in clear plastic caseHandwritten on insert: "Winter concert 21.7.1985"diamond valley choral society, concerts

A recording of a concert performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society held in Bundoora (15/09/1994). Songs include: Advance Australia Fair, Memory (from Cats), Sleep little princess (Mozart), Love changes everything, One voice (Barry Manilow), Imagine (John Lennon), and Waltzing Matilda. 2 audio cassettes in clear plastic casesHandwritten on cassette 2: "Sep 15 1994. Bundoora master"diamond valley choral society, concerts, bundoora

A recording of 'Messiah', an English language oratorio by George Frederic Handel, composed in 1741. The text was compiled from the King James Bible; it contains 3 parts and part 2 ends with the 'Hallelujah' chorus. This performance by the Diamond Valley Choral Society was recorded at St John's Church of England, Heidelberg in November 1982.2 audio cassettes in clear plastic casesHandwritten on cassette 1: "Messiah 1 + 2 1982"; on cassette 2: "Messiah 3 + 4 1982"diamond valley choral society, messiah (oratorio), st john's church of england heidelberg