ADA LAURA LYON Ada Laura Apted was born in 1898 at Queenstown, Victoria the daughter of William Ernest Apted and Sarah Ann Watts On the 2 July 1923 she married David Andrew Lyon at Panton Hill Vic. The Lyon family are well known for the fleet of small buses they ran out of their Eltham Garage. In the interim years between becoming married and moving to Eltham (census records indicate they were there in 1931) they lived in several other suburbs including Doncaster and Ivanhoe At the conclusion of World War 2 the citizens of Eltham decided that a memorial should be made to those of the district who had given their lives during the war. Whilst there had been earlier discussions in 1943 by a body of Eltham Women under the title of "the Women's Auxiliary of the (proposed) Eltham War Memorial Trust'' the first official steps were made on the 27 March 1945 in a meeting by the citizens of Eltham under the title of the Eltham District Progress Association. At this meeting one of the first agenda was the appointment of a committee called "The Eltham War Memorial Trust''. Another was to decision that the Memorial should include: A Baby Health Centre, A Children's Library, And a Pre-School Centre From the inception of the project Mrs Ada Laura Lyon worked tirelessly as a member of the Women's Auxiliary to raise money for the memorial. At the election of the officers of the Trust Council in 1961 she was elected as one of the three Vice Presidents. On the 27 September 1962 Ada suddenly passed away. The news of her death was reported at the following Trust meeting. The President Mrs Morrison voiced the feelings of all present that Ada had done so much for the Trust since its inception and had received the satisfaction of seeing the completion of the three units of the War Memorial Trust which had been her goal. On Tuesday 31 August 1965 the Diamond Valley Mirror reported that on the 28 August 1965 the Eltham War Memorial was transferred from the Eltham Memorial Trust to the Shire of Eltham. A special tribute was paid to the late Mrs Ada Lyon a foundation member who made the Trust her life. A memorial plaque (the sundial) was unveiled in her memory. Ada Lyon was interned at Eltham Cemetery on the 28 September 1962. She was survived by her husband David (who passed away on the 25 November 1975) and their two children Betty and Ian. Eltham Methodist Memorial Section Grave 204. [Author: Jim Allen c.2014] Folder of information on Lyon family. Contents: 1. Ada Laura Lyon (nee Apted) - biography written by Jim Allen (1 A4 page)biography, ada laura lyon (nee apted), david andrew lyon, eltham war memorial trust, sarah ann watts, william ernest apted

Update of 1st editon by Jock Ryan published in March 2003. 2nd edition (Revised) Nillumbik Historical Society December 2017 Brief history of the agitation and eventual extension and opening of the Hurstbridge Railway line from Eltham to Diamond Creek, Wattle Glen to Hurstbridge, which was opened in June 1912. Includes details of events thereafter including Wattle Day and Railway accidents. Profusely illustrated with black and white photographs from the collection of the Nillumbik Historical Society (Diamond Creek). Agitation for a railway extension began in 1888 when a meeting was held at Arthurs Creek to press for the construction of a railway line from Heidelberg to Kinglake. The Chairman Mr Charles Draper said this was necessary because this was the best fruit growing district in Victoria. Mr Cameron M.P. pointed out that whatever route the line took it would have to follow the Diamond Valley from Eltham. At the same time another meeting was pressing for the line to be extended to Queenstown (St Andrews). However when detailed surveys were made it was discovered that the only possible route was to Hurstbridge because of the hills. In 1912 the railway was opened terminating at Hurstbridge. Bound with orange covers. Text with black and white illustrations. 30 pages.hurstbridge railway line,diamond creek,wattle glen,hurstbridge, nillumbik historical society

Despite inclement weather, up to 500 people attended the opening of the Eltham-Hurstbridge railway on 25 June 1912. Local member of parliament Ewen Cameron and Victorian Premier William Watt were present. Agitation for a railway extension began in 1888 when a meeting was held at Arthurs Creek to press for the construction of a railway line from Heidelberg to Kinglake. The Chairman Mr Charles Draper said this was necessary because this was the best fruit growing district in Victoria. Mr Cameron M.P. pointed out that whatever route the line took it would have to follow the Diamond Valley from Eltham. At the same time another meeting was pressing for the line to be extended to Queenstown (St Andrews). However when detailed surveys were made it was discovered that the only possible route was to Hurstbridge because of the hills. In 1912 the railway was opened terminating at Hurstbridge. Digital filerailway station, hurstbridge

The locomotive was built by the American Baldwin Locomotive works in 1880 and was converted to a W class engine by the Phoenix Foundry at Ballarat in 1882. Agitation for a railway extension began in 1888 when a meeting was held at Arthurs Creek to press for the construction of a railway line from Heidelberg to Kinglake. The Chairman Mr Charles Draper said this was necessary because this was the best fruit growing district in Victoria. Mr Cameron M.P. pointed out that whatever route the line took it would have to follow the Diamond Valley from Eltham. At the same time another meeting was pressing for the line to be extended to Queenstown (St Andrews). However when detailed surveys were made it was discovered that the only possible route was to Hurstbridge because of the hills. In 1912 the railway was opened terminating at Hurstbridge. Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Safety 5035steam train, w-197, railway construction, steam locomotive

Agitation for a railway extension began in 1888 when a meeting was held at Arthurs Creek to press for the construction of a railway line from Heidelberg to Kinglake. The Chairman Mr Charles Draper said this was necessary because this was the best fruit growing district in Victoria. Mr Cameron M.P. pointed out that whatever route the line took it would have to follow the Diamond Valley from Eltham. At the same time another meeting was pressing for the line to be extended to Queenstown (St Andrews). However when detailed surveys were made it was discovered that the only possible route was to Hurstbridge because of the hills. In 1912 the railway was opened terminating at Hurstbridge. Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Safety 5035steam train, railway construction, wattle glen

Gold was discovered on One Tree Hill in 1854. The site has been worked intermittently until fairly recent times. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p53 Though still a working mine, One Tree Hill Mine at Smiths Gully, now stands in a tranquil reserve surrounded by bush and native animals - in contrast to its heyday. In the mid 19th century, when the mine was part of the Caledonia Goldfields, hundreds of men in search of their fortune worked the alluvial gold in the Yarra River, its tributaries and the reefs that made up the goldfields. Miner Stan Bone, assisted by Wilfred Haywood, is the last of the independent gold miners in the area and still uses the quartz crushing battery as miners did when gold was first discovered in the area in 1851.1 Stan, who is the last of six generations of miners in his family, was aged 17 when he began mining on his father Alex’ mine, The Golden Crown in Yarrambat. These days, after blasting the gold-bearing rock in Mystery Reef, one of the four reefs at One Tree Hill, Stan transports it around five kilometres by tip truck to the Black Cameron Mine for crushing. There he uses water from the waterlogged mine, (which still contains gold), as the Happy Valley Creek at One Tree Hill is usually dry.2 The One Tree Hill Mine has been worked for close to a century since it opened around the late 1850s.3 The Swedish Reef was its most productive reef and one of the largest in the area. Around 1859, extractions included 204 ounces (5.8kg) of gold, won from 57 pounds (26kg) of stone.4 Then during World War Two, Stan’s uncle, Bill Wallace, and Alex Bone, closed the mine. In 1973, Stan, with his Uncle Bill, reopened the Black Cameron Mine and worked there until 1988. Stan resumed mining One Tree Hill in 1998. As late as the 1920s gold was picked up by chance! When crossing a gully on his way to vote at the St Andrews Primary School, Bill Joyce picked up some quartz containing gold. This site was to become the Black Cameron Mine. The Caledonia Diggings, named after Scotland’s ancient name by local Scots, began around Market Square (now Smiths Gully) and included Queenstown (St Andrews), Kingstown (Panton Hill) and Diamond Creek. There were also poorer bearing fields in Kangaroo Ground and Swipers Gully (now Research). * None of these compared in riches to the Ballarat and Bendigo fields5, but the Caledonia Diggings continued intermittently for close to 100 years. Gold was discovered in Victoria following a bid to stem the disappearance of much needed workmen to the New South Wales diggings. Several businessmen offered a reward of £200, for the discovery of gold within 200 miles (322 km) of Melbourne. Late in June 1851, gold was first discovered at Andersons Creek, Warrandyte. Then in 1854, George Boston and two other men discovered gold at Smiths Gully. Gold transformed the quiet districts, with a constant flow of families and vehicles on the dirt tracks en route to the Caledonia Diggings. Three thousand people worked the gullies in Market Square, including about 1000 Chinese miners. The square established its own police, mining warden, gold battery, school, shops and cemetery and grog flowed. Market Square flourished until the middle 1860s. Bullocks transported quartz from the Caledonia Goldfields to the crushing machinery at the Queenstown/St Andrews Battery, near Smiths Gully Cemetery. It was destroyed by bushfire in 1962. By the late 1850s, most early alluvial fields were in decline, but minor rushes continued until around 1900 and some until the early 1940s. Some miners did well, although most earned little from their hard labour in the harsh and primitive conditions.6 But according to historian, Mick Woiwod, the gold fields helped to democratise society, as individuals from all walks of life were forced to share experiences, and the ability to succeed, depended less on inherited wealth or social rank.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, gold mining, one tree hill mine, smiths gully

Built c.1868, St Andrew’s Anglican Church is Nillumbik Shire’s oldest timber church and is historically, socially, and spiritually significant to the Shire of Nillumbik. The church is historically significant because it may have given its name 'St Andrews' to the town (another suggestion is that the name came from the local hotel), it is also historically significant as one of only four buildings that remain from the Caledonian goldfields era of Queenstown (now St Andrews) and one of only a handful of buildings that survived the 1960s bushfires. The church is historically, socially, and spiritually significant because it has played an important part in community life for more than 150 years; a proposal to move the church in 1984 met with strenuous opposition. Much of the fires on Black Saturday 2009 were the north of the town. The town itself remained intact - as did this heritage building. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Local significance Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p69 The St Andrews Anglican Church and former St Andrews Primary School, are two reminders of the district’s early days, when it was founded on gold. St Andrews, then called Queenstown, was the earliest goldfield in the Caledonia Diggings.1 It was the Upper Diamond Gold Mining and Administrative Centre, with 3000 miners. Queenstown was also the seat of the Court of Petty Sessions. The church and school then stood close to European and Chinese stores, three hotels, a brewery and a quartz mill.2 In 1861, Queenstown was officially proclaimed a township. From 1865, the name Queenstown was interchangeable with St Andrews, until 1952, when the town was officially named St Andrews. As gold declined from the early 1880s, Queenstown changed dramatically into a settlement of small farms. St Andrew’s Anglican Church, built in 1868, is the Shire’s oldest timber church and possibly gave its name to the township.3 The small timber church was opened on November 1, 1869, by the Dean of Melbourne. Anniversary tea meetings helped raise funds, and in 1889, a three-bedroom parsonage was built alongside. In 1910, the vicar, the Rev Selwyn Chase (and friend of the Scouting Movement’s founder, Baden Powell), established the 1st Queenstown Scout Troop, only two years after Scouting began in Australia. The church was important to the lives of many local residents who were baptised, married and had funeral services there. But by the 1950s the population had decreased and so did the weekly attendances. Around the mid-1960s the church closed, then fell into disrepair. So in the mid 1980s it was sold to the Education Department and was under threat of relocation or demolition. However this caused such opposition from locals,4 that instead, the Anglican church leased it as part of the Panton Hill parish5 and it was reconsecrated in 1987. Queenstown’s first school was held in a tent after transferring from Andersons Creek, Warrandyte.6 From 1858 a church school, Caledonia Diggings, stood west of the main road, a quarter of a mile (0.4km) before Buttermans Track. In 1882 the school was moved from a leased building, owned by headmaster Robert Harris, into a larger building on the corner of the School and the Heidelberg-Kinglake Roads. It had been moved from Smiths Gully and included a teacher’s three-roomed residence.7 In 1887 the school was replaced by the Queenstown State School No 128, although it was also called Caledonia Diggings until 1891. In 1956 it was renamed St Andrews. Still standing, this building is now used as the St Andrews Community Centre and the residence is leased for private use. The original timber-lined room remains alongside the extensions, and is distinctive with its high ceiling and tall small-paned windows. In 1984 a new school was built 500 metres west of the old school. Many residents have contributed much to St Andrews but one family that has done so for several generations is the Harris family. Robert Harris was an active member of the St Andrew’s Anglican Church, and worked hard at improving the town’s amenities until his death in 1887. He was a signatory to the successful 1863 petition to the Chief Commissioner of Police, against the proposed removal of the Court of Petty Sessions and police station at the Caledonia Diggings. The police station stayed in the town until 1917. Harris was Head Teacher of Queenstown State School from 1864 to 1874, then of the Smiths Gully school until it closed in 1882, and he continued teaching at Panton Hill until his death. His son, Robert Charles Harris, was editor and printer of the local newspaper, The Evelyn Observer, from 1873 until 1915. Robert’s son, William Shelley Harris, served in the Boer War and in World War One. In 1928 he became Kinglake National Park’s first park ranger. Robert’s daughter Elizabeth, taught needlework at Queenstown State School, and later ran the post office in Kinglake.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, st andrews, st andrews anglican church

Heritage site report and gazetteer by David Bannear, head consultant for archealogy for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Includes information on the Warrandyte Goldfield and the Caledonia Goldfield, Queenstown (now known as St Andrews), One Tree Hill, Kingston (now known as Panton Hill), Kangaroo Grounds, You You Hill, Kingstown, South Morang, Nillumbik, (now known as Diamond Creek), Steele's Creek, Yarrambet and Kinglake. Photocopy of map headed: Location of mines and reefs from Geological survey of Victoria, Yan Yean with the Diamond Creek prominant on the map. no date35 page report with map and print out of cover letter (email form) from donorcaledonian gold fields, caledonina gold field, david bannear, gold mining, harry gilham collection, queenstown, st andrews, warrandyte goldfield

Official opening, Thursday 5 December at 2.30pm of exhibition held 5 December 2019 - 6 January 2020 in the Eltham Community Gallery, Eltham Library Eltham District Historical Society is a member of the Yarra Plenty Heritage Group, which together with the Nillumbik U3A Painting and Drawing Group participated in an exhibition of historical photographs and original artworks side by side in a celebration, at the Eltham Library Community Gallery, of all things summer - picnics, swimming, boating, horsing around and enjoying nature with family and friends during long summer days. 56 Born Digital images2nd eltham sea scouts, andrew ross museum, eltham district historical society, eltham library, exhibition, greensborough historical society, heidelberg historical society, museums australia (victoria), nillumbik historical society, nillumbik reconciliation group, nillumbik shire council, nillumbik u3a drawing and painting group, roving curator, st andrews/queenstown historical society, u3a, yarra plenty heritage network, yarra plenty regional library

Black and white copy of photo printed on glossy photographic paper 30.5 x 40.5 cm (12 x 16 inch); image size approx. 18.5 x 28 cmOriginal photo appears to be a copy from a newspaper or illustrated print article. Original glass plate negative held by State Library of Victoriaqueenstown, st. andrews, st. andrews hotel

Possibly a picnic for returned servicemen from Gallipoli. This photo was taken in front of the Police Paddocks with the police station on the left. Model T Fords parked with soldiers, drivers and locals resting on the police paddock in front of the Queenstown (St Andrews) station. The RACV Volunteer Motor Corps service during World War One was the reason the organisation was granted its Royal prefix. Automobile Club of Victoria members volunteered their time and vehicles to collect returning soldiers and nurses from ships at Princes Pier, Port Melbourne. Trips were also often arranged for convalescing soldiers to country areas for picnics and to “revive spirits”. The soldiers were also picked up from the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg and Mont Park Military Hospital in Macleod. Queenstown (St Andrews) was a common picnic spot. The Evelyn Observer reported on June 9. 1916 "Some 75 returned soldiers visited Queenstown on Sunday, 28th ult., and were hospitably entertained by local residents who had provided refreshments sufficient for 150. Mr. Milne in an appropriate speech welcomed the soldiers, and Mr. Robison suitably responded.” The photo was reproduced page 108 of “The Diamond Valley Story" by Diane H. Edwards.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.Digital image, 16 x 24 and 12.5 x 9 cm and 4 x 5 inch B&W Neg sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, queenstown, cars, police station, st andrews, soldiers, picnic, exhibition yprl 2019-12, gallipoli, model t ford, pioneers and painters, police paddocks, retuned soldiers

Reproduced on p31 of 'Pioneers & Painters' Was destroyed in 1962 bushfire. Now Peter Franks Reserve, St Andrews On Friday 29th (August 1919) …, the Hon. S. Barnes, M. L. A., Minister of Mines, accompanied by Mr W. Everard, M.L.A., Mr. V. Dickson, secretary for Mines, and Mr. Merrin, Chief Mining Inspector, visited Smith's Gully for the purpose of opening, the new Government battery which has recently been erected. The party arrived punctually at 12.30, and was received by an assemblage of about 200 residents, including, those representing local prospecting and mining interests. At the mill house the Minister wished prosperity to mining on the old Queenstown field, and, in a few appropriate remarks, gave the battery the name of St. Andrew's. Then, as the stamps began to fall, three hearty cheers were given by the gathering. ….. The Queenstown field, dating back to the early sixties, might be regarded as a link that took them back to the Augustine age of gold mining in Victoria…From 1868 to 1918 the total yield of gold from the field was 274,606 fine oz. It might be that here, as elsewhere, deeper prospecting would give new life to the Queenstown goldfield. The miners of Queenstown, who through long year's had never lost faith in the possibilities of the field, felt that the purpose for which they were that day marked the beginning of a new era in the history of local reefing. …. The new mill is situated on the bank of the creek opposite the Queenstown Cemetery, and consists of a five head battery (Berdan pan) and 12 h.p. portable steam engine housed in a spacious structure of wood and iron. A concrete weir across the creek provides a good water supply, and all the necessary pumps, settling dams, etc., have been installed. Later on, should circumstances warrant it, it is pro-posed to erect Wilfley tables for concentrates. Eltham and Whittlesea Shires Advertiser and Diamond Creek Valley Advocate, Friday 5 September 1919, page 3This 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.Digital image 4 x 5 inch B&W Neg Print 20 x 25 (2)shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, queenstown, st andrews, st. andrews battery, gold mining, s. barnes, merrin, st andrews battery, v. dickson, william h. everard, peter franks reserve

"The State Battery was the central component in the gold mining of this area from the 1920s. The battery crushed the gold bearing quartz extracted from the mines and was a sizeable weatherboard building enclosing the engine and stampers. All that now remains are the bases for the machinery that comprised the battery, one timber and a couple of concrete bases and the nearby dam, which supplied water. However the historic significance of the site remains and is enhanced by the Queenstown Cemetery on the other side of Smiths Gully Road". - Bick Study 1922 This site is now the Peter Franke Reserve and is managed by Parks Victoria Photo Source: The Leader, Nov. 2nd, 1929This 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.Digital imagesepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, queenstown, st andrews, gold mining, smiths gully

Ski-Horizon is the official journal of the Federation of Victorian Ski Clubs which began publication in 1949. The were 26 original member clubs which included Albury Ski Club, Bogong Ski Club, Myrtleford Ski Club, Tallangatta and District Ski Club and Wangaratta Ski Club. Two pioneers of Falls Creek, Tom Mitchell, M.L.A., and Martin Romuld were Vice-Presidents of the Federation.This Journal is significant because it documents the early development of skiing in Victoria.The journal features stories and events chronicling developments in Victoria and internationally. Items related to the Falls Creek Area in this issue include:- Page 1:- Resulting from a meeting between Bob Howe (Albury Ski Club) and Tom MItchell (Upper Murray S.C.) a group of Wodonga Boy Scouts have had their first skiing trip under the aegis of Albury Ski Club Page 11: Results for N.E.D.S.A. versus Southern Districts Ski Association (South Island, N.Z.) These events were held at Queenstown as part of the Trans Tasman Tour. Skippy St.Elmo placed 5th in the Ladies' Slalom and 4th in the Ladies' Downhill. Dick Walpole who was to become an Olympian in 1960, placed 5th in the Men's Slalom and equal 4th in the Downhill.tom mitchell m.l.a., toonallook, fred griffith