Colour photograph of a steam train (Steamrail) at Eltham Station featuring a sign mounted on the front 'Shire of Eltham 1992 18th Community Festival'steamrail, steam train, eltham station, shire of eltham, festivals

Located at 909 Main Road, Eltham. Opened 7 October 1966 Eltham's Fire Stations by Peter Pidgeon Article published EDHS Newsletter No.287 April 2026 Where was Eltham’s first fire station and how many have there been? Following the formation of the Eltham Volunteer Fire Brigade in March 1926, firefighting equipment was initially housed in a shed on Captain H. Warren’s property. A more permanent solution was required. In May 1927 a proposal was made to build a fire station and meeting hall at the corner of Luck Street and Main Road where the present railway station carpark is located. An application was approved by Council in September to build the fire station consisting of a galvanised iron shed on the land in Luck Street, However, in April 1928 when E.O. Egan, Secretary, Eltham Volunteer Fire Brigade sought permission to erect a fire station on the continuation of Luck Street, Council advised they had no power to act on this as they did not own the land. Cr. Ernie Andrew offered to loan a site on his own land in Arthur Street (where the entrance to the carpark under Woolworths is situated) and by September 1928 the new fire station was being erected consisting of a building to house the reel and other equipment as well as a meeting room. It was constructed with a concrete floor and painted. A purpose-built cupboard had been constructed for the hose by local carpenter, Mr. Fraser and Mr. Frank Jones arranged for electric lighting to be installed. Many donations were made by the community to assist in paying off the debt on the station. The first meeting in the new fire station was held November 12, 1928, with a large attendance of members. The official opening was to be held in the New Year on January 8, 1929. In February 1930, Eltham Council agreed to place the Eltham Volunteer Fire Brigade under the control of the Country Fire Brigades’ Board. Further discussions were held in May regarding their area of responsibility to cover as well as questions about a suitable block of land and relocation of the brigade’s buildings. In August 1930, the Chief Officer of Country Fire Board visited Council to select a suitable site. He did not approve of any that Council suggested but encouraged Council to buy land for the purpose. Enquiries were made about a block in Henry Street adjacent to the Public Hall which the Chief Officer favoured. Cr Price investigated and learned the block could be purchased, £10 would secure it if the people of Eltham were willing to raise a further £30-40. All were in favour of proceeding. By February 1931, £40 had been raised by the community, in addition to £20 added by Council and £20 by the Fire Brigades’ Board making £80 total to purchase the site. Several working bees were held between May and July 1931 to level the ground in preparation for relocation of the station building from Arthur Street to the new site in Henry Street. It was not long before the Henry Street site had proven to be not all that was desired. Access to the Henry Street site from Main Road was steep and not suited for man handling a heavy hose reel. By November 1933 the Country Fire Brigades’ Board advised it was considering the matter of a new cation and fire station for Eltham. On February 23, 1934, the Advertiser reported a new Fire Station was to be built on an alternate site at a cost of £600. In August, the Country Fire Brigades’ Board notified it intended to build a new fire station at no cost to Eltham if the brigade could purchase a block of land. An appeal was established by the brigade to raise funds for the purchase of the new site between the residence and confectionery shop owned by Mr. G.H. Browne and Ryan Bros. butchers on the eastern side of Main Road between Arthur and Dudley streets. An inspection of the site by the Chief Officer of Country Fire Brigades' Board was undertaken September 28. It was directed that tenders for the erection of the building were to be called immediately and construction to start the next month. By New Year 1935 the erection of the third station building was well in progress and was completed by mid-February. The station was officially opened April 26, 1935, and a new 35 feet high bell tower was erected in December 1935. This fire station, the third erected in six years, served the community for the next thirty years. In 1962, land for a new (fourth) Eltham Fire Station on the opposite (western) side of Main Road was acquired from the Eltham War Memorial Trust. The new station was opened October 7, 1966. In 1970 the former fire station building on the eastern side of Main Road was relocated to Research Park for use by the 1st Research Scout group. The site is now part of the current Coles supermarket and Eltham Village complex. A new fifth fire station was erected in Brougham Street at a cost of $9.6m and officially opened December 2015. It was intended for use by both career and volunteer firefighters. The former site was to be made available for community access. However, the mixed functional role presented operational difficulties at the new station and after three years, the Eltham CFA volunteers moved back to the former site towards the end of 2018 following a $500,000 upgrade to the facility. So nowadays the career Fire Rescue Victoria members of Eltham Fire Brigade operate out of Eltham’s fifth fire station in Brougham Street and the volunteer Eltham CFA Brigade operate out of Eltham’s fourth station, or could it be considered the sixth?Colour photograph of Eltham Fire Station, Main Road, July 1986eltham fire brigade, eltham fire station, eltham shops, main road eltham

A Harris (Blue) train can be seen at Eltham StationDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparency471m, eltham railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

A Harris (Blue) train can be seen at Eltham StationDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencydiamond street, eltham railway station, harris (blue) train, level crossing

Situated at 965 Main Road adjacent to the Eltham Railway Station, the Country Art Store was originally a hairdresser and Tattersalls agency In 1968 Pam Robinson and Caroline Shenton opened a small shop on the corner of Main Road and Napoleon Street. Four months later a damaged fire hyrdant flooded the store and ruined all their stock. The pair moved to the former hardresser shop at 965 Main Road, adjacent to the Eltham Railway Station, opposite the Stationmaster's house and opened the Country Art Store and adjacent gallery. At the time the only other shop selling pottery was the Potters Cottage in Warrandyte. During the 1970s the gallery was the Wiregrass Gallery. In 1993, after 25 years operating the Country Art Store, the pair decided to sell up and move to warmer climates. During the course of their business a number of craft shops and galleries opened and closed in Eltham. One such shop was Bimbadeen, next to Ansell and Muir's chicken shop opposite Eltham Lower Park. That business run by Don Brown, then a local artist was taken over as River Clay run by Leo Haanappel and Coeny Dommers but ultimately sat in a flood plain and was demolished. When the Country Art Store became available in 1993, Leo Haanappel and Coeny Dommers took it over. The premises became Platform 3095 cafe around 2015.Old Property at Eltha Station E. Foremanart store, country art store, country art store (eltham), eltham railway station, platform 3095, restaurants, shops, wiregrass gallery

Inscribed on reverse 'Leaping Leena' for weekend use. Note sign for A.R. Warren Fuel MerchantSepia photographeltham, train, eltham railway station, eltham-hurstbridge railway line, red rattler, single carriage train, a.r warren

A Harris (Blue) train waits at Eltham StationDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford XP1 400 black and white transparencyharris (blue) train, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

The first Eltham Police Station was in the small building opposite Dalton Street rented from Mr Jarrold in 1857. In 1859 a dedicated Police Residence was built at 728 Main Road. A small weatherboard Police Station was attached to the side of the residence and a blue stone cell at the rear. Also on site were stables for the police horses. The Eltham Courthouse was built in 1860 and is the oldest public building in the district. In 1959 the Victoria Police purchased a house in Pryor Street to be refurbished as the Eltham Police Station. In 1961 the Police in Eltham move into Pryor Street refurbished buildings and office. During 2001 to 2002, the Eltham Police Station was demolished and a new complex constructed on site. The original 1859 Police residence is now home to the Eltham District Historical Society.albert frederick charles glover, allan fenton, arthur eggleston dungey, bertie stanton, charles briant, charles thomas martin, clyne harold mcphan, ebenezer williamson, eltham police station, gerard joseph o'toole, graham vincent joyce, harold shields, ian william bruce, isaac newton stevens, james boxhall, james chester draper, john scully, john stanley mcgough, john stuart bateman, john thomas cone, myles archibald lyons, peter lawlor, richard roberts, robert harry chrisfield, robert llewellyn, samuel james king, samuel o'donnell, sidney frederick little, thomas maher, victoria police, william charles sargeant, james francis fitzpatrick

L-R: J. Bond (Motorman), E.O. Egan (Assistant Station Master), A. Harrison (Station Master), G. J??th (Motorman), V. Henderson (Guard), P. Maloney (Porter), H.James (Guard)Colour photograph (digital) of page from Photo Albumeltham, railway station, a. harrison, e.o. egan, h.james, j. bond, p. maloney, railway staff, v. henderson

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5035 colour transparencyKodak Safety 5035 March 1981 process date of print473m, eltham railway station, george coop collection, hurstbridge railway line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodachrome colour positive transparency in cardboard slide mount.Processing date Jan 1983?472m, eltham railway station, george coop collection, hurstbridge line, red rattler, red rattler single carriage, single carriage train, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodachrome colour positive transparency in cardboard slide mount.Processing date Jan 1983?eltham railway station, george coop collection, red rattler, single carriage train, single motor carriage, tait train

Rarely used two coach set (usually single car)Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodachrome colour positive transparency in cardboard slide mount.Processing date Jan 1983?eltham railway station, george coop collection, red rattler, single carriage train, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5063 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, harris (blue) train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5063 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, harris (blue) train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5063 black and white transparency471m, eltham railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparency471m, eltham railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparency471m, eltham railway station, harris (blue) train, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparency471m, eltham railway station, harris (blue) train, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparency471m, eltham railway station, hurstbridge line, red rattler, single motor carriage, tait train

The Eltham Fire Station was opened in 31 April 1935. Years later the building was removed and erected for use of 1st Research Scout Group in Research Park by the early 1970s to make way for the Eltham Village Complex which was under construction by 1971. The Research Scout Hall was destroyed by fire in 2002.Black and white photographPhoto by Hugh Fischer, c.1950seltham, fire station, main road

The Eltham Apex Club conducted a Community Service Project (1965-1968) to raise funds for a new Ambulance Station to service the community. A site bounded by the intersection of Main Road, Grand Boulevard and Looker Road at Montmorency was purchased in 1969. In 1970, Eltham Shire Council undertook roadworks to construct Apex Way in preparation for the new station as well as duplicate Main Road, Lower Plenty, east of Grand Boulevard including the new Lower Plenty Bridge, which had been opened in November 1966, bordering with the City of Heidelberg. The Eltham Ambulance Station was opened 4 May 1975 by the Hon. Roy M. Vale, M.L.A. It was demolished in November 2017 to make way for a new larger station which also houses a MICA unit, opened 29 August 2018 by the Hon. Jill Hennessey, Minister for State Ambulance Services.20 born digital imagesambulance station, apex way, eltham ambulance station, eltham apex club, montmorency

View from driver's cabin The Station Master's house is located within the cluster of trees to the left of the photograph which is now the short term car park and bus bay. The Country Art Store is now Cafe 3095.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP4 black and white transparencycountry art store, eltham railway station, eltham station masters house

The Station Master's house was situated in what is now the short term car park and bus bay. It was sold for $1 and relocated to Park West Road and renovated.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5062 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, eltham station masters house

The Station Master's house was situated in what is now the short term car park and bus bay. It was sold for $1 and relocated to Park West Road and renovated.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5062 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, eltham station masters house

The Station Master's house was situated in what is now the short term car park and bus bay. It was sold for $1 and relocated to Park West Road and renovated.Digital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5062 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, eltham station masters house

Born Digitaleltham, railway station, eltham railway station, carparks

Eltham Shire Council offices in background L series electric locomotive L1159 was introduced into service 12 August 1953 and withdrawn 27 April 1987. It was scrapped January 1988. Source: [email protected] https://vicsig.net/index.php?page=locomotives&number=1159&class=L&type=Electric%20(1500V%20DC)&orgstate=VDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5062 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, eltham shire office, freight train, l class electric locomotive, l1159

Eltham Shire Council offices in background L series electric locomotive L1159 was introduced into service 12 August 1953 and withdrawn 27 April 1987. It was scrapped January 1988. Source: [email protected] https://vicsig.net/index.php?page=locomotives&number=1159&class=L&type=Electric%20(1500V%20DC)&orgstate=VDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5062 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, eltham shire office, freight train, l class electric locomotive, l1159

Eltham Shire Council offices in background L series electric locomotive L1159 was introduced into service 12 August 1953 and withdrawn 27 April 1987. It was scrapped January 1988. Source: [email protected] https://vicsig.net/index.php?page=locomotives&number=1159&class=L&type=Electric%20(1500V%20DC)&orgstate=VDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Kodak Safety 5062 black and white transparencyeltham railway station, eltham shire office, freight train, l class electric locomotive, l1159