``Newspaper clipping from the "Post", 10-2-98.The Maroondah community will lead the outer east with the development of a Public Internet Training and Access Centre. As part of the Multimedia Victoria funding allocation, a Learning Information Network and Community Service (LINCS) centre will be set-up at Eastland Shopping Centre in Ringwood. `

Maize,has been grown on the Orbost flats for at least 70 years. When early settlers began to arrive on the Snowy River somewhere in the 1880s, the land was mostly swamps and heavily timbered jungle on the river frontages. The swamps were drained, bit by bit, by men with short handled shovels and working in mud and water. The frontages were cleared by axe and shovel and fire. Several kinds of crops were experimented with such as hops, hemp and maize, the latter grew particularly well and became the main crop of district. The problem then was to thresh and deliver the product to the market. A small single cob machine was brought here and one man turned the handle, while the boy or Mum fed the cobs singly into the machine. A good day’s work would thresh about 50 bushels or about 12 bags (4 bushels). The task then was to cart the maize to market. For a few years this was done by horses and dray carrying about 60 bushels to Mossiface, where it was loaded onto river boats to Lakes Entrance, and then by ocean boats to Melbourne. Later it was taken to Bairnsdale by foot and loaded onto the trains to Melbourne. (more information in Newsletter October 2006) This crib, measuring seven chains, sixteen feet, contained 10,000 bags of maize cobs which were grown by Linc Timmons on Peter Irvine's farm (Fairlea?) in Orbost, East Gippsland. The growing of maize in the Orbost district contributed significantly to the economy of the township for many years, The many maize cribs once seen on the surrounding farms have now disappeared and this photograph is a pictorial record of that significance.A black / white photograph of a large maize crib full of maize in a paddock. There is a large framed copy of the original.agriculture-orbost farming-maize-orbost maize-crib-orbost

Eltham's original Wesleyan Methodist Church Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p97 The pretty Uniting Church building at the corner of John and Main Roads Eltham has served the community since 1881.1 Originally called the Eltham Wesleyan Church, the church became the Eltham Methodist Church in 1902, the year it united with the Primitive Methodists.2 As the church community developed, influencing and being influenced by the wider community, its buildings changed accordingly. Eltham Wesleyans first worshiped together in 1850 at the home of William and Mary Crozier on 24 acres (9.7ha) bounded by Mount Pleasant Road and Pitt Street. From 1855 the Wesleyans worshipped in a slab-and-bark hut; then in 1858 in a chapel on Henry Street close to Maria Street (now Main Road). Meanwhile, in 1860, the Primitive Methodists opened a brick chapel at the corner of Susan and Bridge Streets. The John Street building – in the Early English Gothic style with biochrome brick window frames, buttress heads and pinnacle – was designed by architects Crouch and Wilson. Church member George Stebbing built the church as he did Eltham’s St Margaret’s Anglican Church and Shillinglaw Cottage. The Church Honour Roll is a poignant reminder of how church members have served the wider community: 27 members enlisted and 11 died in World War One. Despite the Great Depression, 1931 was a time of expansion for the church. Its red-brick hall was opened by prominent Methodist and philanthropist F J Cato of the Moran and Cato Grocery chain. The hall enabled the church to attract people from outside through activities like its gymnasium – with 40 boys and youth participating – and the girls’ callisthenics club, which competed at the Ballarat South Street Competitions. The church also held concerts, bazaars, picnics and sports, with badminton and tennis played on the church court at 23 John Street. Two stained-glass windows commemorate tragic events. A dove representing the Holy Spirit and Comforter marked the death in 1936 of member Effie Lowerson from scarlet fever at 14 years. The other depicting the Biblical story A sower went forth to sow, commemorates Ross Gangell, who died in 1961 at 23 years of a rare blood condition. Eltham’s population expanson resulted in the growth of the church and an extension in 1971, designed by member and architect Colin Jones. The church was linked to the hall and additions included a foyer, vestry, meeting room and toilets. The design reflected the Eltham style of the time, with its simplicity, extensive clear glass, reused baked clay-bricks from the 1881 church, heavy ceiling beams and solomite (compressed straw) ceiling. On June 26, 1977 the church became part of the new Uniting Church in Australia consisting of the former Methodist and Congregational and most of the Presbyterian Churches. In 1981 membership peaked at 159 – about 20 years after most Protestant churches – and continued to reach out to the wider community.3 In 1987, 147 children attended Selihoo, the weekly after-school program organised with St Margaret’s Anglican Church. From 1993, the church with other local churches, participated in LINC (Love in the Name of Christ), helping the wider community in various ways including babysitting, transport, gardening and visiting. Despite such initiatives, church numbers declined, and on June 23, 1996, the church merged with the Montmorency Uniting Church.4 However, the church continued to proclaim its message of love in community service and strong social justice action, such as in Jubilee 2000, supporting debt relief to the world’s 45 poorest countries. Some of the many church members who have had an outstanding impact on the wider community include Philip Shillinglaw, farmer and poet, and Arthur Bird (after whom the Arthur Bird Reserve is named), a pioneer orchardist and the Sunday School Superintendent for 33 years. Others were: the Rev Dr Cliff Wright, who established the Methodist Youth Fellowship and was prominent in the World Council of Churches, the Rev Brian Howe, who became Deputy Prime Minister and Tim Marshall, awarded the Order of Australia in 2000 for his work on salinity.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, eltham uniting church, eltham methodist church