L-R: Florry (Mrs. Scarce), Alice (Mrs. Cracknell), Mr. Smith and Victor, Edwin Jnr., Rose (Mrs. D. White), Mrs. Smith, at back May (Mrs. Jones) and Bert, Will, George and Alfred. Source: Mrs. E.W. Motschall (nee Marjorie Smith), Long Gully Road, Panton HillThis 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 imagesepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, panton hill, alfred jones, alice cracknell, bert jones, edwin simth, edwin smith jnr., florry scarce, george jones, may jones, mrs smith, rose white, victor smith, will jones

Cherry Tree Road Job 56F443 Contractors Wolf and Wood Culverts in place, 3 rows 73” diameter 45-degree skew Looking towards Panton Hill – before trimming ends of pipe March 1960Record of various Shire of Eltham infrastructure works undertaken during the period of 1952-1962 involving bridge and road reconstruction projects, sometimes with Eltham Shire Council Project Reference numbers quoted. It was during this period that a number of significant improvements were made to roads and new bridges constructed within the shire that remain in place as of present day (2022). In many situations, the photos provide a tangible visible record of infrastructure that existed throughout the early days of the Shire. The album was put together by or under the direction of the Shire Engineer, J.A. McDonald.infrastructure, 1960-03, bridge construction, cherry tree road, heidelberg-kinglake road, road construction, shire of eltham

Today’s Panton Hill Hotel was built around 1920. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p61 Panton Hill was originally known as Kingstown, and consisted of only one hotel when the Orams Reef was discovered in 1859. Kingstown was a quartz mining centre and many old mine shafts remain in the area. Orams Reef was one of the first reefs with a rich find of gold in the area. The Hotel Francais, which had been operating in 1861, was well situated on the way to Queenstown (later St Andrews). So was Herr Hirt’s Hotel and store at Smiths Gully. The Kingstown hotel, known as the Frenchman’s and in 1864 as the Hotel de France, was run by a Monsieur Emile Hude and his wife Jeanne, and known for its good food. They hosted social events, business conventions and debates, attracting patrons from as far as Melbourne. The hotel’s name was changed to Panton Hill Hotel in 1905. In 1883 Charles Caudwell built another hotel nearby, possibly in Long Gully Road,3 which it is thought, was burnt down early last century. Today’s Panton Hill Hotel, built around 1920, is the only one of the cluster of buildings in the main road, not to date from around the turn of last century. It was severely damaged by fire in 2003, then underwent extensive alterations. It is the township’s only hotel and is an example of a modest hotel building exterior, constructed early last century. In its early days the hotel also housed the first post office, newsagency and store. Orams Reef yielded a total of £100,000, and fossikers also found alluvial gold in the creeks and gullies, but there is no record of the total value of their finds. Gold greatly increased the Panton Hill population, which peaked between 1865 and 1885. On holidays large sports meetings were held with wood chopping contests and foot races and the day would end with a ball. Miners came from various countries to seek their fortune, including many from China. The Chinese became unpopular however, and gradually left the district, although some stayed and grew and sold vegetables.5 Panton Hill was named after Joseph Panton, who in 1862 was appointed Police Magistrate for the Woods Point, Heidelberg and Yarra districts. Panton was an outstanding man, who in 1852, was Commissioner of Crown Lands and Assistant Commissioner of Goldfields at Bendigo. In 1874 he was promoted to Chief Magistrate for the Melbourne Police. Panton was also an artist, becoming president of the Victorian Arts Society in 1888, and in 1913, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Despite Panton Hill’s prosperity, it still lacked many services as poor roads made access to Melbourne difficult. A horse-drawn mail coach travelled to Melbourne until 1890, when the railway came to Heidelberg. The nearest doctor was at Yarra Glen or Heidelberg, and the Indian hawker Singh’s annual visit was very welcome. A miner’s shack opposite the school was used as a post office. Today’s general store and post office in the main road dates from early last century, and has changed considerably. While most people searched for gold, the more enterprising ones established farms to feed the diggers. Farmers grew wheat, barley and oats, and sent animal skins to the Eltham tannery, to make furs in Melbourne. As gold became scarce from around 1880, miners took up farming on 19 to 20 acre (8ha) allotments. The first settlers in Cherry Tree Road included Purcell, Smith, Owens, Hughes and Shillinglaw. By 1900 all the land had been taken up around Panton Hill and Hurstbridge. The orchards in Panton Hill and the wider district, particularly of apple and pear, were very successful, and made Panton Hill a cohesive and successful community. About 1914 the Moores built the first cool-store and refrigeration plant at their orchard in Cherry Tree Road. Many settlers planted vineyards and made high quality wine, but in 1922 the blight destroyed them.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, panton hill hotel

The Panton Hill Primary School building, which has served the community since 1889, was not the area's first. Kingston School (an early name for Panton Hill) opened in May 1865. This was replaced in 1871 when the Panton Hill School number 1134 opened and in 1874 the school moved to its current location [September 2023] where many additions and renovations have taken place to meet the needs of local children in the 21st century. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p63 The Panton Hill Primary School building, which has served the community since 1889, was not the area’s first. In 1871 Henry Edelman opened a Common School in a paling-clad hut, replacing the Kingstown No 786 school. The two-acre (0.8ha) site of crown land had previously been held under Miners Right. In 1875 the Education Department bought a building on the main road for State School No 1134, for £200 and remodelled it as a school.4 Panton Hill had as one of its teachers, Frank Tate, who was to become one of Victoria’s most influential educational reformers. It was his first school, when he began teaching on January 22, 1884, as a 20 year old.5 The following month Robert J Harris was appointed to the school and remained as head teacher until his death in 1887. His son R C Harris was apprenticed to Mr Rossiter, editor of the first local paper. The Evelyn Observer, first published in 1873. Harris later bought the newspaper which remained a family business until the 1920s. J Hughes of Cherry Tree Road succeeded Harris as teacher at Panton Hill and sold his land for the school site. Though now unrecognisable, the school building includes the classroom of the last Smiths Gully State School No 1737, which was built in 1882, and moved to Panton Hill in 1894. From 1922 each school day began with the ringing of the bell, which is still in its stand, and is an unusually old memorial of this kind. To accommodate the growing population, the building was remodelled, with additions in 1923 and classrooms were added in 1955, 1963 and 1970. The former teacher’s residence is the only surviving 19th century dwelling in the centre of Panton Hill, and is now used as part of the school. The residence was originally rectangular but is now L-shaped. Similar weatherboard State School buildings in the shire from this period are the Kangaroo Ground and the St Andrews Primary Schools. All were standard Education Department/Public Works Department designs.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, panton hill primary school

Photo shows Tom Scarce and pony that won 1st Prize over jumps, ridden by jockey Jimmy Johnson against his own horse in the same race (Diamond Creek Show). Tom remembered Mrs Thornton and Bert Frim(?) Built by William West, the hotel destroyed by fire Sunday, 15 March 1931This 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 Neg B&W Print 20 x25 cm B&W Print 9 x 14 cmPrint originally inscribed Kangaroo Ground hotel but crossed out and replaced with Research Hotel 1910 From Mr T. Scarse c/o Mrs T.M. Jones "Coolibah" Cherry Tree Rd Panton Hill M59bert frim, diamond creek show, hotels, jimmy johnson, jockey, mrs thornton, research (vic.), research hotel, sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, tom scarce