EDHS Newsletter No. 266 October 2022 It is 150 years since the Colony of Victoria introduced the Education Act in 1872. At our next society meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 12th October we will look at the early history of some of the schools in the Eltham district. What were the driving forces behind the establishment of some of these schools and what challenges were encountered along the way? At this meeting Dr Geoffrey Sandy will speak about the Church of England Denominational School at Little Eltham, Dr Andrew Lemon will talk about the history of Research State School, Jim Connor will speak about the Eltham Primary School and Irene Kearsey will comment on some of the findings from her recent project digitising the early class records of Eltham Primary School.1:21:48 duration Digital MP3 file; 28.0MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, 150th anniversary, dr andrew lemon, dr geoffrey sandy, irene kearsey, jim connor, public education victoria

EDHS Newsletter No. 271 August 2023 Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the Archive of the State Government of Victoria. Established fifty years ago under the Public Records Act 1973, PROV at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne now holds around 106 kilometres of public records from 1836 to the present day. There are also PROV collections at Ballarat, Beechworth, Bendigo, Geelong and the University of Melbourne. Our next meeting will be about PROV and former PROV staff member Andrew Lemon, will briefly reminisce about his work there, in it’s early days. As Assistant Director Access Services at PROV, David Taylor oversees the management of, and access to, the State collection. David will be outlining PROV’s unique role in Victoria, the nature of the public records it holds and how researchers can use increasingly sophisticated online resources to discover more about their ancestors and Victorian history. Finally, our Society member Irene Kearsey will talk about her experiences as a long-time volunteer at PROV.1:21:12 duration Digital MP3 file; 27.8MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, david taylor, dr andrew lemon, irene kearsey, public records office victoria (prov)

Platy is a wonderfully tactile platypus sculpture sensitively carved from the root of a Bunya Pine, by the highly awarded, collected wood artist, Peter Carrigy. The sculpture of Platy was a gift from the councillors of the then Shire of Eltham in 1994 to the children’s section of the new library, with the intention that it be placed where it could be touched, explored and experienced by children of current and future generations. Peter Carrigy travelled from his home in South Australia to attend the library opening of Eltham Library on Sunday, 22nd May 1994. Peter Carrigy’s delightful platypus sculpture (known as Platy), carved from the root of a Bunya Pine, has been lovingly appreciated since the opening of the Eltham Library in 1994, by many young (and older) visitors to the children’s section of this wonderful award-winning library, designed by Greg Burgess and associates. Jim Connor first saw the sculpture on display at the Wiregrass Gallery, opposite Eltham Lower Park around 1992. He was moved by its beauty and creativity and felt then it should be where it could be explored by little hands but could not afford the asking price of $2,300. Luckily, it was still available in 1994 when then Cr. Jim Connor approached all councillors about using some of their ward funds to purchase, then donate it as a gift for the children’s area, at the opening of the library. Cr. Connor negotiated with Leigh Carbines, who operated the gallery and he and Peter Carrigy, the sculptor, moved on price seeing where it was going to go. Cr. Connor arranged to purchase it for $1,500, being $500 from each of three wards, then Leigh organised the stand and mount for it. In the leadup to the 30th Anniversary celebrations of Eltham Library, Jim Connor (now president of Eltham District Historical Society) approached artist Peter Carrigy with the support of the Arts officers at Nillumbik Shire Council. They were interested to learn more about any method and technique that could be used for restoration. It was felt such information would be of great value to a short-and long-term conservation program, to ensure Platy is preserved for future generations to enjoy.dr andrew lemon, eltham library, irene gerard, jim connor, jim connor collection, peter carrigy, platy, sculpture

Contents: • Next meeting, guest speaker; Dr Andrew Lemon: They’re Racing at . . . Eltham! • Annual General Meeting • They’re Racing at . . . Eltham! • The Thomas Sweeney Walk • Kangaroo Ground Excursion • Eltham – The DIY Years by Diana Bassett-Smith • Book Launch; “Eltham’s Serious and Their Neighbours” by Ken and Laurel Eckersall • Donations to the Society The Shire of Eltham Historical Society was formed in October 1967. The first newsletter of the Society was issued May 1978 and has been published continuously ever since on a bi-monthly basis. With the cessation of the Shire of Eltham in late 1994, the Society's name was revised to Eltham District Historical Society and this name first appeared with issue No. 103, July 1995. The collection of the Society's newsletters provides a valuable resource on the history of the Society's activities, office bearers and committee members, guest speakers and subjects of historical interest pertinent to the former Shire of Eltham and the Eltham District.A4 photocopied newsletter distributed to membersnewsletter, eltham district historical society, shire of eltham historical society

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 233, Apr. 2017) Our meeting at 8.00pm on Wednesday 12th April 2017 is our Annual General Meeting, which includes the presentation of annual reports and the election of office bearers for the coming year. The official notification of the Annual General Meeting and Agenda are on page 8 in this Newsletter. At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker Dr. Andrew Lemon, a great friend of EDHS and a Fellow and the immediate Past President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Andrew is an independent Melbourne historian, author of numerous books on local history, shipwrecks, biography, schools and sport and winner of national literary awards. He has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Melbourne for his published works. Andrew edited the Victorian Historical Journal throughout the 1990s and served on the Library Board of Victoria and the Heritage Council. Andrew is a very entertaining presenter and in our 50th Anniversary year he has chosen to speak about ‘Fifty years of the EDHS - and why it matters.’1:03:34 duration Digital MP3 File 75 MB andrew lemon, audio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

October Meeting (Newsletter No. 248, Oct. 2019) It was intended that Dr. Andrew Lemon AM would be our guest speaker at our last meeting on Wednesday 14th August 2019, to talk about Heritage Advocacy - the role of historical research and historical societies. Unfortunately, due to a clash of commitments Andrew apologised for not being able to attend and we are delighted he will now be our speaker at our next meeting on Wednesday 9th October. As mentioned in our last newsletter, this presentation was very well received when Andrew was the keynote speaker at the recent Regional Conference of the Association of Eastern Historical Societies. Andrew is an independent professional historian who has published many commissioned local and institutional histories since his first book, Box Hill, forty years ago. He has now written sixteen books, four of which have won prizes, on subjects ranging from local history, sport, education and biography. Andrew received his doctorate of letters from the University of Melbourne in 2004 because of the excellence of a body of work, not one single piece, as in a thesis. He has been a consistent supporter of our Society and a long term member, who has spoken at a number of our meetings, over many years.1:20:57 duration Digital MP3 File 27.7 MB andrew lemon, audio recording, eltham, eltham district historical society, heritage advocacy, meeting, society meeting