The foundation stone for St George's Church of England, Mont Albert was laid in 1886 on land donated by Edward Dyer and the first service was preached in January 1887. From 1904 until 1907 it was known as Holy Trinity, Surrey Hills. The original church was weatherboard and replaced by a brick one in the Gothic Revival style which was designed by local architect George J V Blackburne, who also designed the Wesleyan School at Surrey Hills. The building was partly funded by donations, profits from a bazaar and concert, and other people donated furnishings. The church had boundaries along Mont Albert Road and St Georges Road. In 1998 the Church was sold and converted into a complex of units. Its current address is 19 St Georges Avenue, Mont Albert. The purpose of this working bee in 1923 was to close up the double gateway, which in earlier times had been used for entry of by horse-drawn vehicles to the church grounds. 'Lugano' was built in 1893 for William Wilson, a prominent stonemason and importer of marble fireplaces. In 1903 it became the home of William Holmes who was Chief Electrical Engineer for the Victorian Railways. He designed the electrification of the Melbourne suburban network. 'Lugano' stayed in the Holmes family until the 1930s. Norman Carter took many photos of Surrey Hills and Mont Albert from the 1920s in particular of events and activities associated with the Church of England.Black and white photo of 6 men behind and in front of a picket fence, a section of which has posts and railings only. In front of the fence is a wide grassy verge on which a bench is set up for cutting lengths of wood. A large Victorian house ('Lugano') can be seen in the background and a lamp post with a street sign. Beyond the house are mature eucalyptus trees.churches, holy trinity church, anglican church, st george's anglican church, working bees, lugano, william holmes, william wilson, norman brodley carter

The drags would have been leaving St George's Church of England in Mont Albert Road. The foundation stone for St George's Church of England, Mont Albert was laid in 1886 on land donated by Edward Dyer and the first service was preached in January 1887. From 1904 until 1907 it was known as Holy Trinity, Surrey Hills. The original church was weatherboard and replaced by a brick one in the Gothic Revival style which was designed by local architect George J V Blackburne, who also designed the Wesleyan School at Surrey Hills. The building was partly funded by donations, profits from a bazaar and concert, and other people donated furnishings. The church had boundaries along Mont Albert Road and St Georges Road. In 1998 the Church was sold and converted into a complex of units. Its current address is 19 St Georges Avenue, Mont Albert. The annual Sunday School picnic was held at Hampton and drags were the usual mode of transport. 'Lugano' was built in 1893 for William Wilson, a prominent stonemason and importer of marble fireplaces. In 1903 it became the home of William Holmes who was Chief Electrical Engineer for the Victorian Railways. He designed the electrification of the Melbourne suburban network. 'Lugano' stayed in the Holmes family until the 1930s. The annual Sunday School picnic was held at at a variety of locations and drags were the usual mode of transport. Donor information is that this was taken as the congregation prepared to depart for at Hampton on the picnic held on 25/2/1922. There are 2 copies: the original donated print and an enlargement. The original was mounted on card with photo mounts along with 506, 871, 872, and 873. It measures 13 cm x 9 cm.Black and white photo of 4 'drags' (horse-drawn hooded carriages) lined up in Mont Albert Road near the corner of St George's Avenue, in readiness for departure for the Sunday School picnic. The carriages are loaded with people and decorated with flags. The front carriage has a material sign attached to the side; the top line of writing is not decipherable, but the bottom one reads "SURREY HILLS". Four men stand in the road, which has bluestone curb and channelling. In the background is 'Lugano'.On rear in ink: "S.S. picnic to Hampton / 25th. Feb. 1922" and in a different hand in biro: "At Mont Albert. St George's Church"churches, holy trinity church, anglican church, sunday schools, picnics, lugano, horse-drawn vehicles, william wilson, willaim holmes, st george's church of england, mont albert, mont albert road

Date is approximate. Electric trains replaced steam locomotives in 1922. Mr William Holmes of 'Lugano', Mont Albert Road was in charge of the design and introduction of the electrification of the Melbourne rail system.Black and white photo of an early electric train approaching the platform at Mont Albert station. A couple of spindly eucalyptus trees can be seen beyond the picket fence marking the boundary of the platform.Black and white photo mounted on card; measures 16.3 cm x 23.4 cm.mont albert station, railways, trains, norman carter

The house was formerly known as formerly 'Guildford' and built in 1888 to the design of architect Mr George Jobbins. 1900-1902: Home of Mr William Holmes, later of 'Lugano' in Mont Albert Road. 1906-1923: Home of Mr Phillip Parer and family. Briefly the home of Mr Phillip Dicker and family. From 1988 to March 2019 it was the home of Mr Peter Nicholls and his wife Clare (nee Coney) and their sons Jack and Luke. Peter Douglas Nicholls (8 March 1939 – 6 March 2018) was was born in Melbourne and was an Australian literary scholar and critic. He was the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction with John Clute.A colour photograph of the front entrance to a brick house showing the lacework on the veranda. Grey and white tiles set in a diamond pattern are set on the veranda and remnants of a vine adorn the left post of the veranda.house names, mont albert road, wandsworth road, surrey hills, 1988, 'monserrat', 'guildford', (mr) peter nicholls, (ms) clare nicholls, (ms) clare coney, (mr) george jobbins, (mr) phillip dicker, (mr) phillip parer, (mr) william holmes

The house was formerly known as formerly 'Guildford' and built in 1888 to the design of architect Mr George Jobbins. 1900-1902: Home of Mr William Holmes, later of 'Lugano' in Mont Albert Road. 1906-1923: Home of Mr Phillip Parer and family. Briefly the home of Mr Phillip Dicker and family. From 1988 to March 2019 it was the home of Mr Peter Nicholls and his wife Clare (nee Coney) and their sons Jack and Luke. Peter Douglas Nicholls (8 March 1939 – 6 March 2018) was was born in Melbourne and was an Australian literary scholar and critic. He was the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction with John Clute.A colour photograph of a house showing two large windows and a veranda to the left. There is decorative iron lacework along the veranda.house names, mont albert road, wandsworth road, surrey hills, 1988, 'monserrat', 'guildford', (mr) peter nicholls, (ms) clare nicholls, (ms) clare coney, (mr) george jobbins, (mr) phillip dicker, (mr) phillip parer, (mr) william holmes

The photo was taken at 8.15am on Friday 12 September 1919. The D class was a passenger and mixed traffic steam locomotive which operated on the Victorian Railways from 1902 to 1974. Originally it was introduced on mainline express passenger services, but they were quickly superseded by the much larger A2 class and were relegated to secondary and branch line passenger and goods service, where they continued in service for the next fifty years. The D716 was probably built at the Newport Workshops, post 1910 and before 1914. The expansion of Melbourne's population into new suburbs early in the 20th century, and the delay of the suburban electrification project, meant there was the need for faster and more powerful steam locomotives for the suburban rail network. In 1908, the basic design was adapted to create a more powerful locomotive. They were put to work on longer and hillier suburban routes including the Lilydale line. A total of 58 were built between 1908 and 1913. See wikipedia for a more detailed history of the D class locomotives. Electric trains replaced steam in 1922. Mr William Holmes of 'Lugano', Mont Albert Road was in charge of the design and introduction of the electrification of the Melbourne rail system.Black and white photo of a steam train approaching the platform at Mont Albert station. Rear in blue biro in Jocelyn Hall's handwriting: "Hamilton St Mont Albert / probably 1919".mont albert station, railways, trains, d class locomotives, norman carter, steam trains

Sourced via conversations with those interested in Surrey Hills History. Including Alan Holt, Jack McLean, Frank Bamford, Jocelyn Hall. Includes: Topographical maps, first Elgar Survey. First Wesleyan Church in Surrey Hills. Bibliography on P.50 (last numbered page) Provides a chronological history of Surrey Hills. Includes: First settlers, location, early land sales, commerce and trade.Provides a chronological history of Surrey Hills. Includes: First settlers, location, early land sales, commerce and trade.Back of Title page: To the Surrey Hills Historical / Arthur E. Tonkinfreehold investment and banking company, windsor park estate, (mr) dennis delany, mont albert village, surrey hills - history, royal hotel, surrey hills, humberstone's hotel, chatham state school, holy trinity church, lydswood, lugano, (mr) john butler maling, (mr) john hanlon knipe, mont albert primary school, (mr) james sneddon, (mr) arthur tonkin