Cottles Bridge over Diamond Creek, Cottles Bridge-Strathewen Road, CottlesbridgeRoll of 35mm black and white negative film, 4 of 7 stripsIlford HP4bridge, cars, cottles bridge, cottles bridge-strathewen road, diamond creek (creek)

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 36) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsroads, heidelberg-kinglake road, cottlesbridge

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 36) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsroads, cottlesbridge, strathewan road

Part of a slide show presentation "A Trip Down the Diamond Creek" by Russell Yeoman to the Eltham District Historical Society meeting of 14 Nov. 200135mm colour positive transparency Mount - Black and Whitecottles bridge, cottles bridge-strathewan road, cottlesbridge, diamond creek

Photos taken during a review of road and bridge/culvert condition by Eltham Shire Council engineers. A number of the trees were badly burnt or destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfire, 7 Feb. 2009 but some remained standing and identifiable as of 2014 (Google Streetview).Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GB 200 5096bridge, chads creek, chads creek road, cottlesbridge-strathewen road, culvert, infrastructure, roads, school ridge road, strathewen

Photos taken during a review of road and bridge/culvert condition by Eltham Shire Council engineers. A number of the trees were badly burnt or destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfire, 7 Feb. 2009 but some remained standing and identifiable as of 2014 (Google Streetview).Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GB 200 5096bridge, chads creek, chads creek road, cottlesbridge-strathewen road, culvert, infrastructure, roads, school ridge road, strathewen

Photos taken during a review of road and bridge/culvert condition by Eltham Shire Council engineers. A number of the trees were badly burnt or destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfire, 7 Feb. 2009 but some remained standing and identifiable as of 2014 (Google Streetview).Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GB 200 5096bridge, chads creek, chads creek road, cottlesbridge-strathewen road, culvert, infrastructure, roads, school ridge road, strathewen

Photos taken during a review of road and bridge/culvert condition by Eltham Shire Council engineers. A number of the trees were badly burnt or destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfire, 7 Feb. 2009 but some remained standing and identifiable as of 2014 (Google Streetview).Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GB 200 5096bridge, chads creek, chads creek road, cottlesbridge-strathewen road, culvert, infrastructure, roads, school ridge road, strathewen

Photos taken during a review of road and bridge/culvert condition by Eltham Shire Council engineers. A number of the trees were badly burnt or destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfire, 7 Feb. 2009 but some remained standing and identifiable as of 2014 (Google Streetview).Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak GB 200 5096bridge, chads creek, chads creek road, cottlesbridge-strathewen road, culvert, infrastructure, roads, school ridge road, strathewen

Road sealing operations undertaken throughout the Shire of Eltham35 mm colour positive transparency (1 of 4) Mount - Kodak Kodachrome Cardinfrastructure, road maintenance, road sealing, cottles bridge-strathewen road, mount sugarloaf

Road sealing operations undertaken throughout the Shire of Eltham35 mm colour positive transparency (1 of 4) Mount - Kodak Kodachrome Cardinfrastructure, road maintenance, road sealing, cottles bridge-strathewen road

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 36) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsroads, strathewan road, greens road, arthurs creek

35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 36) Mount - Agfa CS System grey 8 dotsroads, strathewan road, greens road, arthurs creek

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 78, May 1991:] DUNMOOCHIN TRIP "Dunmoochin" was the home of the famous artist Clifton Pugh who died last year. The house also gives an informal name to the surrounding area at Cottles Bridge where artists, conservationists and like minded people have made their homes. This is an area of unconventional houses blending in with the surrounding bushland. The Pugh house is a rambling complex including studios and a large pottery kiln. It contains many of Clifton Pugh's works. For this excursion we have arranged a guided visit of the Pugh house and hope to be able to visit another house in the area. We will also be able to wander through bushland which Clifton had purchased for conservation purposes. This will be an afternoon excursion on Sunday 26th May starting with lunch (bring your own) at 12:30 pm at the Panton Hill Memorial Park. Transport will be by private car but transport can be arranged for those not wishing to drive. There is no cost but we need to be advised of members attending. Advise Russell Yeoman at the May Meeting or by 10th May if you intend to go. We will not be able to add extra people after that date.Two colour photographsactivities, clifton pugh, dunmoochin, leon saper

Family history by Kay Walker, great grand-daughter of George and Jane Gray. The Gray family were the owners of the 'Cleir Hills' nursery in Cottlesbridge.George Gray's parents lived in Greensborough in the 1850s. His father Owen was a local storekeeper.Spiral bound folder with clear cover. Approx 40 photocopied pages of Gray family history.gray family, george gray, cleir hills, cottlesbridge

Hurstbridge-Kinglake Road at Cottlesbridge from Pills House to north c. 1956Record 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, shire of eltham, 1956, bridge construction, heidelberg-kinglake road, road construction, cottlesbridge

Hurstbridge-Kinglake Road at Cottlesbridge south Pill’s Corner before reconstruction January 1956Record 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, shire of eltham, bridge construction, heidelberg-kinglake road, road construction, cottlesbridge, 1956-01

The 1969 Wynne Prize for landscape was awarded to John Olsen, 41, of Cottlesbridge, Victoria, for his painting, 'Chasing Bird Landscape'.This 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.4 x 5 inch colour reversal film (1) Condition: May not be true to colour of original work. Scanned from a 4 x 5 inch colour transparency which was taken c.1970 (approx. 50 years old) and which has undergone significant colour degradation towards the red spectrum. Allowances made for colour cast correction in scan with best guess for white balance. In some cases, significant light flare is reflected off glossy surface of original work at camera lens causing quality issues.sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, john olsen, cottlesbridge, 1969 wynne prize

Culvert construction / drainage operations undertaken throughout the Shire of Eltham - Greens Road near intersection of Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road, Arthurs Creek35 mm colour positive transparency (1 of 4) Mount - Kodak Kodachrome Cardculvert, infrastructure, roadworks, arthurs creek, cottles bridge-strathewen road, greens road

Culvert construction / drainage operations undertaken throughout the Shire of Eltham - Greens Road near intersection of Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road, Arthurs Creek35 mm colour positive transparency (1 of 4) Mount - Kodak Kodachrome Cardculvert, infrastructure, roadworks, arthurs creek, cottles bridge-strathewen road, greens road

Culvert construction / drainage operations undertaken throughout the Shire of Eltham - Greens Road near intersection of Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road, Arthurs Creek35 mm colour positive transparency (1 of 4) Mount - Kodak Kodachrome Cardculvert, infrastructure, roadworks, arthurs creek, cottles bridge-strathewen road, greens road

Culvert construction / drainage operations undertaken throughout the Shire of Eltham - Greens Road near intersection of Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road, Arthurs Creek35 mm colour positive transparency (1 of 4) Mount - Kodak Kodachrome Cardculvert, infrastructure, roadworks, arthurs creek, cottles bridge-strathewen road, greens road

Charles Cockcroft born Bundanoon, NSW, 1885, died 1966 and buried in Eltham Cemetery. At one time Charles had a depot in Kangaroo Ground. He delivered groceries as far away as Panton Hill, Cottlesbridge, etc.Black and white print also negative copy of print (roll of 35mm black and white negative film, 3 strips Ilford FP4) also negative copy of print (roll of 35mm colour negative film, 5 of 7 strips Kodak CP100 5094)Details inscribed in blue ink on back of photocharles burgess cockroft, grocer, vehicles, trucks

Part of a collection of photographs copied from the late Shirley Fraser (nee Black), also descendant of the McLaughlin and Whatmough family. This photograph shows six children of the Pill family (mother Jessie Ann Whatmough, father John Henry Pill), taken at family orchard at 1440 Heidelberg - Kinglake Rd Cottlesbridge. The children are from left to right; Evelyn Alice b 1890, Bertram b 1896, Edwin Henry b 1888, Harry Stanley b 1899, Florence Jessie b 1892 and seated in front William John b 1894. William John Pill was murdered at Cottlesbridge in 1958. local familyDigital copy of black and white photograph.shirley fraser, pill family

Art Gallery with mural painted by Clifton Pugh (1924-1990) at his Artists' Colony, Dunmoochin, Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. Following military service in the second world war, Clifton Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie at the National Gallery School in Melbourne as well as Justus Jorgensen, founder of Montsalvat. For a while he lived on the dole but also worked packing eggs for the Belot family saving sufficient to purchase six acres (2.4 ha) of land at Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. He accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in a property of approximately 200 acres, stablishing it as one of the first artistic communes in Australia alongside Montsalvat in Eltham. It was around 1951 that Pugh felt he had '"done moochin' around" and so the name of the property evolved. He bought timber from Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminer's huts, it was a one room wattle-and-daub structure with dirt floor. Over the years it expanded with thick adobe walls made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors. All materials other than the local earth were sourced from second hand materials, most found at wreckers' yards. Artists from across the nation were drawn to Dunmoochin, with several setting up houses and shacks on the property, maintaining their independence but sharing their artistic zeal. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin included Mirka Mora, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. In 2002, Pugh's house along with its treasure trove of art and a library of some 20,000 books was destroyed by fire. Traces of Pugh's home remain with the presence of the Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design, procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. In place of Pugh's house rose two double-storey mud-brick artists' studios topped with corrugated iron rooves curved like the wings of a bird with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings survived the fire. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p153 It’s not surprising that artist Clifton Pugh was drawn to Cottles Bridge to establish his artists’ colony Dunmoochin. Undisturbed by the clamour of modern life at Barreenong Road, Pugh was surrounded by the Australian bush he loved, and where his ashes were later scattered. The 200 acres (81ha) of bushland, broken by glimpses of rolling hills, has more than 50 species of orchids and Pugh shared his property with native animals including kangaroos, emus, phascogales, wombats, and diverse bird life. Pugh encouraged these creatures to join him in the bush by creating, with Monash University, a holding station where the animals were raised. Dunmoochin inspired Pugh for such paintings as in a book on orchids and the Death of a Wombat series.1 But his love for the bush was accompanied by the fear that Europeans were destroying it and much of his painting illustrated this fear and his plea for its conservation.2 However it was his house rather than the surrounding bush that was to be destroyed. Tragically in 2002 Pugh’s house, with its treasure of art and library of 20,000 art books, was destroyed by fire. Traces of the beauty of Pugh’s home still remain, however, in the magnificent Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. Now in place of Pugh’s house, are two double-storey mud-brick artists’ studios topped with corrugated roofs curved like birds’ wings, with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings remain.3 Pugh grew up on his parents’ hobby farm at Briar Hill and attended the Briar Hill Primary School, then Eltham High School and later Ivanhoe Grammar. At 15 he became a copy boy for the Radio Times newspaper, then worked as a junior in a drafting office. Pugh was to have three wives and two sons. After serving in World War Two in New Guinea and Japan, Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie, at the National Gallery School in Melbourne.4 Another of his teachers was Justus Jörgensen, founder of Montsalvat the Eltham Artists’ Colony. Pugh lived on the dole for a while and paid for his first six acres (2.4ha) at Barreenong Road by working as an egg packer for the Belot family. Pugh accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in the 200 acre property. They, too, purchased their land from the Belot family by working with their chickens. Around 1951 Pugh felt he had ‘Done moochin’ around’ and so the name of his property was born. Pugh bought some used timber from architect Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminers’ huts it was a one-room wattle-and-daub structure with a dirt floor. It was so small that the only room he could find for his telephone was on the fork of a tree nearby.5 Over the years the mud-brick house grew to 120 squares in the style now synonymous with Eltham. It had thick adobe walls (sun-dried bricks) made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors with the entire structure made of second-hand materials – most found at wreckers’ yards. Pugh’s first major show in Melbourne in 1957, established him as a distinctive new painter, breaking away from the European tradition ‘yet not closely allied to any particular school of Australian painting’.6 Pugh became internationally known and was awarded the Order of Australia. He won the Archibald Prize for portraiture three times, although he preferred painting the bush and native animals. In 1990 not long before he died, Pugh was named the Australian War Memorial’s official artist at the 75th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli. Today one of Pugh’s legacies is the Dunmoochin Foundation, which gives seven individual artists or couples and environmental researchers the chance to work in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, usually for a year. By November 2007, more than 80 people had taken part, and the first disabled artist had been chosen to reside in a new studio with disabled access.1 In 1989, not long before Pugh died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 65, he established the Foundation with La Trobe University and the Victorian Conservation Trust now the Trust for Nature. Pugh’s gift to the Australian people – of around 14 hectares of bushland and buildings and about 550 art works – is run by a voluntary board of directors, headed by one of his sons, Shane Pugh. La Trobe University in Victoria stores and curates the art collection and organises its exhibition around Australia.2 The Foundation aims to protect and foster the natural environment and to provide residences, studios and community art facilities at a minimal cost for artists and environmental researchers. They reside at the non-profit organisation for a year at minimal cost. The buildings, some decorated with murals painted by Pugh and including a gallery, were constructed by Pugh, family and friends, with recycled as well as new materials and mud-bricks. The Foundation is inspired by the tradition begun by the Dunmoochin Artists’ Cooperative which formed in the late 1950s as one of the first artistic communes in Australia. Members bought the land collaboratively and built the seven dwellings so that none could overlook another. But, in the late 1960s, the land was split into private land holdings, which ended the cooperative. Dunmoochin attracted visits from the famous artists of the day including guitarists John Williams and Segovia; singer and comedian Rolf Harris; comedian Barry Humphries; and artists Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and Mirka Mora. A potters’ community, started by Peter and Helen Laycock with Alma Shanahan, held monthly exhibitions in the 1960s, attracting local, interstate and international visitors – with up to 500 attending at a time.3 Most artists sold their properties and moved away. But two of the original artists remained into the new millennium as did relative newcomer Heja Chong who built on Pugh’s property (now owned by the Dunmoochin Foundation). In 1984 Chong brought the 1000-year-old Japanese Bizan pottery method to Dunmoochin. She helped build (with potters from all over Australia) the distinctive Bizan-style kiln, which fires pottery from eight to 14 days in pine timber, to produce the Bizan unglazed and simple subdued style. The kiln, which is rare in Australia, is very large with adjoining interconnected ovens of different sizes, providing different temperatures and firing conditions. Frank Werther, who befriended Pugh as a fellow student at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne, built his house off Barreenong Road in 1954. Werther is a painter of the abstract and colourist style and taught art for about 30 years. Like so many in the post-war years in Eltham Shire, as it was called then, Werther built his home in stages using mud-brick and second-hand materials. The L-shaped house is single-storey but two-storey in parts with a corrugated-iron pitched roof. The waterhole used by the Werthers for their water supply is thought to be a former goldmining shaft.4 Alma Shanahan at Barreenong Road was the first to join Pugh around 1953. They also met at the National Gallery Art School and Shanahan at first visited each weekend to work, mainly making mud-bricks. She shared Pugh’s love for the bush, but when their love affair ended, she designed and built her own house a few hundred yards (metres) away. The mud-brick and timber residence, made in stages with local materials, is rectangular, single-storey with a corrugated-iron roof. As a potter, Shanahan did not originally qualify as an official Cooperative member.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, art gallery, clifton pugh, dunmoochin, cottlesbridge, cottles bridge, barreenong road

Following military service in the second world war, Clifton Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie at the National Gallery School in Melbourne as well as Justus Jorgensen, founder of Montsalvat. For a while he lived on the dole but also worked packing eggs for the Belot family saving sufficient to purchase six acres (2.4 ha) of land at Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. He accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in a property of approximately 200 acres, stablishing it as one of the first artistic communes in Australia alongside Montsalvat in Eltham. It was around 1951 that Pugh felt he had '"done moochin' around" and so the name of the property evolved. He bought timber from Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminer's huts, it was a one room wattle-and-daub structure with dirt floor. Over the years it expanded with thick adobe walls made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors. All materials other than the local earth were sourced from second hand materials, most found at wreckers' yards. Artists from across the nation were drawn to Dunmoochin, with several setting up houses and shacks on the property, maintaining their independence but sharing their artistic zeal. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin included Mirka Mora, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. In 2002, Pugh's house along with its treasure trove of art and a library of some 20,000 books was destroyed by fire. Traces of Pugh's home remain with the presence of the Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design, procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. In place of Pugh's house rose two double-storey mud-brick artists' studios topped with corrugated iron rooves curved like the wings of a bird with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings survived the fire. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p155 It’s not surprising that artist Clifton Pugh was drawn to Cottles Bridge to establish his artists’ colony Dunmoochin. Undisturbed by the clamour of modern life at Barreenong Road, Pugh was surrounded by the Australian bush he loved, and where his ashes were later scattered. The 200 acres (81ha) of bushland, broken by glimpses of rolling hills, has more than 50 species of orchids and Pugh shared his property with native animals including kangaroos, emus, phascogales, wombats, and diverse bird life. Pugh encouraged these creatures to join him in the bush by creating, with Monash University, a holding station where the animals were raised. Dunmoochin inspired Pugh for such paintings as in a book on orchids and the Death of a Wombat series.1 But his love for the bush was accompanied by the fear that Europeans were destroying it and much of his painting illustrated this fear and his plea for its conservation.2 However it was his house rather than the surrounding bush that was to be destroyed. Tragically in 2002 Pugh’s house, with its treasure of art and library of 20,000 art books, was destroyed by fire. Traces of the beauty of Pugh’s home still remain, however, in the magnificent Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. Now in place of Pugh’s house, are two double-storey mud-brick artists’ studios topped with corrugated roofs curved like birds’ wings, with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings remain.3 Pugh grew up on his parents’ hobby farm at Briar Hill and attended the Briar Hill Primary School, then Eltham High School and later Ivanhoe Grammar. At 15 he became a copy boy for the Radio Times newspaper, then worked as a junior in a drafting office. Pugh was to have three wives and two sons. After serving in World War Two in New Guinea and Japan, Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie, at the National Gallery School in Melbourne.4 Another of his teachers was Justus Jörgensen, founder of Montsalvat the Eltham Artists’ Colony. Pugh lived on the dole for a while and paid for his first six acres (2.4ha) at Barreenong Road by working as an egg packer for the Belot family. Pugh accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in the 200 acre property. They, too, purchased their land from the Belot family by working with their chickens. Around 1951 Pugh felt he had ‘Done moochin’ around’ and so the name of his property was born. Pugh bought some used timber from architect Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminers’ huts it was a one-room wattle-and-daub structure with a dirt floor. It was so small that the only room he could find for his telephone was on the fork of a tree nearby.5 Over the years the mud-brick house grew to 120 squares in the style now synonymous with Eltham. It had thick adobe walls (sun-dried bricks) made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors with the entire structure made of second-hand materials – most found at wreckers’ yards. Pugh’s first major show in Melbourne in 1957, established him as a distinctive new painter, breaking away from the European tradition ‘yet not closely allied to any particular school of Australian painting’.6 Pugh became internationally known and was awarded the Order of Australia. He won the Archibald Prize for portraiture three times, although he preferred painting the bush and native animals. In 1990 not long before he died, Pugh was named the Australian War Memorial’s official artist at the 75th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli. Today one of Pugh’s legacies is the Dunmoochin Foundation, which gives seven individual artists or couples and environmental researchers the chance to work in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, usually for a year. By November 2007, more than 80 people had taken part, and the first disabled artist had been chosen to reside in a new studio with disabled access.1 In 1989, not long before Pugh died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 65, he established the Foundation with La Trobe University and the Victorian Conservation Trust now the Trust for Nature. Pugh’s gift to the Australian people – of around 14 hectares of bushland and buildings and about 550 art works – is run by a voluntary board of directors, headed by one of his sons, Shane Pugh. La Trobe University in Victoria stores and curates the art collection and organises its exhibition around Australia.2 The Foundation aims to protect and foster the natural environment and to provide residences, studios and community art facilities at a minimal cost for artists and environmental researchers. They reside at the non-profit organisation for a year at minimal cost. The buildings, some decorated with murals painted by Pugh and including a gallery, were constructed by Pugh, family and friends, with recycled as well as new materials and mud-bricks. The Foundation is inspired by the tradition begun by the Dunmoochin Artists’ Cooperative which formed in the late 1950s as one of the first artistic communes in Australia. Members bought the land collaboratively and built the seven dwellings so that none could overlook another. But, in the late 1960s, the land was split into private land holdings, which ended the cooperative. Dunmoochin attracted visits from the famous artists of the day including guitarists John Williams and Segovia; singer and comedian Rolf Harris; comedian Barry Humphries; and artists Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and Mirka Mora. A potters’ community, started by Peter and Helen Laycock with Alma Shanahan, held monthly exhibitions in the 1960s, attracting local, interstate and international visitors – with up to 500 attending at a time.3 Most artists sold their properties and moved away. But two of the original artists remained into the new millennium as did relative newcomer Heja Chong who built on Pugh’s property (now owned by the Dunmoochin Foundation). In 1984 Chong brought the 1000-year-old Japanese Bizan pottery method to Dunmoochin. She helped build (with potters from all over Australia) the distinctive Bizan-style kiln, which fires pottery from eight to 14 days in pine timber, to produce the Bizan unglazed and simple subdued style. The kiln, which is rare in Australia, is very large with adjoining interconnected ovens of different sizes, providing different temperatures and firing conditions. Frank Werther, who befriended Pugh as a fellow student at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne, built his house off Barreenong Road in 1954. Werther is a painter of the abstract and colourist style and taught art for about 30 years. Like so many in the post-war years in Eltham Shire, as it was called then, Werther built his home in stages using mud-brick and second-hand materials. The L-shaped house is single-storey but two-storey in parts with a corrugated-iron pitched roof. The waterhole used by the Werthers for their water supply is thought to be a former goldmining shaft.4 Alma Shanahan at Barreenong Road was the first to join Pugh around 1953. They also met at the National Gallery Art School and Shanahan at first visited each weekend to work, mainly making mud-bricks. She shared Pugh’s love for the bush, but when their love affair ended, she designed and built her own house a few hundred yards (metres) away. The mud-brick and timber residence, made in stages with local materials, is rectangular, single-storey with a corrugated-iron roof. As a potter, Shanahan did not originally qualify as an official Cooperative member.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, art gallery, clifton pugh, dunmoochin, cottlesbridge, cottles bridge, barreenong road

Alma Shanahan (1924-2015) was a Victorian potter who came to live at Clifton Pugh's Dunmoochin art colony at Cottlesbridge, on Melbourne's outskirts in 1953. Unable to join the co-operative proper, as she was a potter, not a painter, she built her house at the top of the hill, 135 Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. The c.1953 house is historically, aesthetically and architecturally significant because it is a good example of the design and ethos of mud brick dwellings synonymous with Eltham and features the extensive use of recycled materials, which was characteristic of the 'Eltham style' of architecture. Like the others in the artist community, Alma Shanahan built her own residence in stages out of local materials. Shanahan was later joined by neighbours and Dunmoochin potters Peter and Helen Laycock. She trained for a term with Peter Laycock but was otherwise self-taught, basing her practice on the teachings of Bernard Leach. After Pugh's death in 1991 she became the longest standing Dunmoochin resident. Her works are incised with her full name. Alma Shanahan was a part of the Dunmoochin Artist's community whose (other) members (Kevin Nolan, John Howley, John Olsen, Mirka Mora, Peter Laycock, Helen Laycock, Peter Wiseman and Chris Wiseman) made an important contribution to Victoria's cultural history. From the mid 1950s Pugh persuaded a number of other painters, as well as potters and other artists, to come and live at Dunmoochin and they formed one of Victoria's most important artist communities. She started potting around 1961 (aged 37). "Horse Power" was made using Chullora clay, which indicates it was made during her first seven years of production. Horse Power is about man's search for "energy" and how the "energy" can turn around. Made from Chullora (Sydney) clay. Glazed stoneware plates (x2) with brush decorations resting on hand made ceramic stands. Plate one: 2006.64.1VA (Horse Power + stand) shows a figure on horse back with blue foliage in background. Plate two: 2006.64.2VA (Flip Side + stand) shows a horse with figure under it's hooves. Hand painted signature in brown/black on back of both plates; "Alma Shanahan"shanahan, stoneware, glaze, plates, horse, dunmoochin

Allwood, Hurstbridge, 1899. Gray family in the garden in front of the Victorian style Allwood house with lace iron work on the verandah. Left to Right: - , - , William George Gray (3rd from left),. Frances Ellen Gray (nee Hurst) and William Hurst Gray (on lap). Carrie Sharp, Rob Sharp, Holmstrong. Frederick and Catherine Hurst relocated this Victorian style weatherboard home from an inner Melbourne suburb to its present site on their Allwood property. Mr Charles Verso, builder and farmer, reassembled and refurbished the home for the Hurst’s. In 1897 Frederick and Catherine’s daughter, Frances Ellen, married William (Bill) George Gray of Cottlesbridge and the newlyweds moved into the new house. Frederick and Catherine Hurst moved into a little cottage, ‘Mia Mia’, on the other side of the Diamond Creek. William and Frances Gray established Allwood Nursery and by 1900 most of the Allwood property was under orchard, largely apples, pears, cherry plums and peaches. They also developed an extensive nursery, growing seedling stock for supply to other local orchardists and the overseas market. Cross Ref: Sepp_1022 This 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 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 Negshire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, hurstbridge, allwood, carrie sharp, frances ellen gray (nee hurst), holmstrong, hurst family, rob sharp, william (bill) george gray, william hurst gray

Allwood, Hurstbridge, 1905. Hurst/Gray family in the garden in front of the Victorian style Allwood house with lace iron work on the verandah. Left to Right: Whittaker, Mrs. Catherine Hurst, Frederick George Hurst (at rear), Hurst Gray, Mrs. Frances Ellen Gray (nee Hurst), William (Bill) George Gray, Sylvia Gray (later Birch). Frederick and Catherine Hurst relocated this Victorian style weatherboard home from an inner Melbourne suburb to its present site on their Allwood property. Mr Charles Verso, builder and farmer, reassembled and refurbished the home for the Hurst’s. In 1897 Frederick and Catherine’s daughter, Frances Ellen, married William (Bill) George Gray of Cottlesbridge and the newlyweds moved into the new house. Frederick and Catherine Hurst moved into a little cottage, ‘Mia Mia’, on the other side of the Diamond Creek. William and Frances Gray established Allwood Nursery and by 1900 most of the Allwood property was under orchard, largely apples, pears, cherry plums and peaches. They also developed an extensive nursery, growing seedling stock for supply to other local orchardists and the overseas market. Cross Ref: Sepp_1018 Source: Mrs. Ferguson, Hurstbridge This 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 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 Print 20 x 25 cmshire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, hurstbridge, hurst family, sylvia gray, hurst gray, whittaker, allwood house, allwood, frederick george hurst, gray family, mrs. catherine hurst, mrs. frances ellen gray (nee hurst), william (bill) george gray

Strathewen Public Hall, social and spiritual centre was later lost in the Black Saturday fires 2009. The Strathewen Community decided a community hall was needed in 1901. In 1902 locals built the hall with messmate trees. It was located on the Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road. The first function was a Grand concert and Balll attended by about 120 people. Several denominations held Church services and Sunday School services in the Hall. It survived several bushfires until after this photo was taken when it was destroyed in Black Saturday, 9 February 2009. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p89 Strathewen was settled late, largely because it was difficult to access.1 Early selectors found it a struggle to survive. They had to do everything themselves, from felling trees for buildings, to taking produce to market along bush tracks that they had helped cut. Small dairy farms were typical but fruit became the district’s prime produce. The first settlers east of Arthurs Creek were brothers John and Duncan Smith whose station Glen-Ard was probably operated as a sheep run. Other early settlers were the Mann family, who were to donate land for the hall, provide postal services and John Mann was an Eltham Shire councillor from 1916 to 1919.2 In 1873 James Mann, his wife Jane and their six children, settled on 207 acres (83.7) (Lang Fauld Farm) on both sides of Eagles Nest Road, from the foot of Mount Sugarloaf to the bank of the Arthurs Creek. In 1883 James took up another selection on Chads Creek. It was very hard work and at times he was well behind with his rent. However the family had a good social life, attending the Primitive Methodist Church at the Arthurs Creek Township and on New Year’s Eve throwing a party for all the locals. By 1874 James Mann’s younger brother, John, selected 311 acres (125.8ha) between Eagles Nest Road and upper Arthurs Creek. He called it Carseburn after his home parish in Scotland. Tragically in 1875 John drowned in the Yarra River, at Richmond.3 John Mann’s oldest son, also John, later purchased Duncan Smith’s land, which he named Violet Glen. He was to give one acre (0.4ha) of this land for the Strathewen Hall site. A Mann family diary written at Carseburn in 1897, tells how the district’s name was selected. Strathewen is derived from ‘strath’ meaning ‘broad mountain valley’ and from the name of Ewen H. Cameron, the local parliamentarian for almost 40 years. ‘George Brain came around to get a petition signed to get a post office up here and we had to vote for a name—Strathewen, Glen-Ard, or Headcorie’.4 It was at Carseburn that a public meeting in 1901, decided to build the Strathewen Hall on the Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road. In 1902 the locals built the hall with messmate trees. The first function was a Grand Concert and Ball attended by around 120 people and several Protestant denominations took turns to hold church services and Sunday School there. Fortunately the hall has survived bushfires to be the town’s spiritual and social centre.5 The area continued to develop and in 1909 a post office operated somewhere at Strathewen and from around 1916 at Carseburn.6 It was not until 1914 that land was bought to establish the Strathewen State School on School Ridge Road. The residents paid £100 to build it on two acres (0.8 ha) while the Education Department contributed £30 and leased the building annually for £1. When teacher Miss Mary Golding opened the school in 1917, it had no equipment.7 But in 1921 the Education Department provided desks and a hexagonal shelter shed (now a rare style in Victoria) and took control in 1925.8 By 1917 Strathewen was booming.9 George Apted had built a coolstore in 1916, and local orchardists bought storage space until the 1950s. This allowed the area to supply the market in and out of season. Guesthouses catered for growing tourism. In the mid 1920s Mrs Eleanor Sparkes built the guest-house Singing Waters, which operated through the 1930s. Her daughter Mrs Vera McKimmie, ran it until the 1950s and the house remains in Chads Creek Road. In the Great Depression land was cleared for timber to be sold as firewood and there was small scale sawmilling. However the orchard industry diminished for several reasons including the 1939 bushfires and rapid changes in production methods. Today the Apteds still operate an orchard and farm at Glen-Ard, which straddles the border between Strathewen and Arthurs Creek. It includes the southern part of Duncan Smith’s original Glen-Ard selection.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, strathewan public hall