An iconic Christmas lights display in Allumba Drive, St Helena has been forced to shut down due to council bureaucracy.News article 1 page, black text.christmas lights display, banyule city council, allumba drive greensborough, christmas

Diamond Valley Leader visits several houses in the local area that have special Christmas lights displays.Front page colour image. christmas 2015

Diamond Valley Leader visits several houses in the local area that have special Christmas lights displays.News clipping, black text, colour image. christmas 2015

Fortuna Villa was initially commenced as a modest single storey home in 1861 next to the 180 Mine by Theodore Ballerstedt, who sold the mine and house to George Lansell in 1869. Lansell already owned the adjacent Fortuna Mine, and through deeper mining techniques greatly expanded the mine's operation, his personal wealth, and the house and grounds. Lansell was soon known as the 'Quartz King', Australia's first gold mining millionaire and credited as the driving force behind much of Bendigo's prosperity. He continuously added to and expanded the villa, decorating it extravagantly with the finest of artworks and materials, into a sprawling mansion with extensive landscaped grounds, to create a house and grounds of a size and grandeur with few rivals in Australia. After his death in 1907, his second wife Edith carried on with improvements, creating a house and grounds developed over 50 years. The attached mine also contributes to its significance, being one of the richest mines in Bendigo, and at one stage probably the deepest gold mine in the world at 3176 feet. The 1875 crushing works are attached directly to the mansion, and the mine's tailings and settling ponds (turned into ornamental lakes) represent a direct link between George Lansell's wealth and its source. Fortuna was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth in 1942 as the Cartographic Headquarters of the Australian Survey Corps during World War II, and many ancillary structures were added while preserving the main house and ornamental grounds. Victorian Heritage Database Report https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/68334/download-reportMinutes of Army Survey Regiment Unit Historical Fund, Fortuna Villa (28 Aug 1991 - 25 Nov 1992) 28 August 1991 - cost of construction of base of the fountain, and letter to Bendigo Art Gallery to follow-up loan of the "Venus" statue for display in the RM's office and resurfacing of marble baths in the CO and adjutant's offices. Single undated page from Unit Historical Fund Committee in 1991. 11 Nov 1992 - discussion of Christmas tours and a plaque for hallway. 25 Nov 1992 - lights for the Company's office, and a discussion of five tasks for next year. Lansell's Fortuna flyer for tour.fortuna villa, minutes

To celebrate Christmas and advertise Carols by Candlelight, the property team put up a number of external decorations on the Glenferrie Road side of the building at Kooyong.5 images of reindeer lights and banners displayed for Christmasvision australia, carols by candlelight