Photographs taken at theme parks, on the beach, in the accommodation during the Gold Coast school trip of 2012.Set of 67 full colour photographs taken during the 2012 Williamstown High School trip to the Gold Coast. williamstown high school, 2012, gold coast, school trips

Two black and white photographs of Williamstown High School boys on a school trip to Gympie, Queensland in 1949.On the back of photographs: George Birdwilliamstown high school, school camps, gympie, george bird, 1949, school trips

Black and white photograph of Williamstown High School boys on stairs, while on a school trip to Brisbane in 1948.Accompanied by a identifying note: Doc Walsh, top row, left. George Bird, 2nd row down, 3rd boy. George Piconi & Trevor Treadwell also in photograph.williamstown high school, 1948, school trips, brisbane, brisbane tour

Black cloth tie produced by Williamstown High School to mark an Adelaide school trip. [year unknown].williamstown high school, adelaide, school trips, tie

Red cloth tie, printed in yellow and black, produced by Williamstown High School to mark a school trip to Sydney in 1951williamstown high school, 1950, sydney, school trips, tie

Olive green cloth tie, printed in red black and white, produced by Williamstown High School to mark a school trip of 1951.williamstown high school, 1951, tie, school trips, tasmania

Black cloth tie printed in red and yellow, produced by Williamstown High School to mark a school trip to Mt Gambier in 1949.williamstown high school, 1949, mt gambier, tie, school trips

Sheet of blue card with 4 black and white photographs mounted using photo corners. Photographs are of the 1948 school trip to Mt Gambier with Mr Walsh.See above jpg for annotations on blue card.williamstown high school, 1948, doc walsh, mt gambier tour, school trips

One compact disk containing photographs from The Williamstown High School trip to Malaysia in 2007. Also some photographs of 9CT Home group of 2007.williamstown high school, 2007, malaysia, school trips, form 9ct

A report, written by a student, about a trip taken to the Great Barrier Reef by WHS students in 1950. 4 leaves of black and white photographs mounted on buff card. 15 type written pages of text. Text pages are glued together, back to back. Pages are housed in a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves.See PDF file for complete text.williamstown high school, 1950, school trips, great barrier reef

Collection of photographs from school trip to NSW and Queensland c1978. Students mostly not identified.

Collection of photographs from school trip to Central Australia commencing 19th September 1990. Attached image of report ftom the school magazine states "...a group of 40 students headed off on a long journey by bus to Central Australia". (See image 22736-00 for report).

An annual pilgrimage undertaken by Mentonians, led by Rev Roger Williams, until Papua New Guinea was deemed too dangerous for school trips.

Photo is understood to have been taken at Linton Reservoir Reserve on a school trip into the bush looking at/for native plants. Inscription indicates the postcard was given in 1913 to Stanley Bennett for good attendance at band practice. Mr H.B. Williamson was head teacher at Linton State School from 1911-1913, and also bandmaster of Linton Flute Band.Sepia postcard photo of a large group of children seated on the ground, in bush setting, accompanied by a few adults. A gentleman wearing a suit and hat (thought to be H. B. Williamson, Linton State School head teacher) is standing at one side of the group.On back of postcard, original inscription? in pencil: "Stanley Bennett for good atendance at Band Practice 1913 / 206 marks". Additional comments in ink on back of postcard: "Mr Bennett's son". "Mr Williamson was band master Linton Flute band". "Linton State School Mr Williamson Headmaster taken in reservoir reserve on trip to bush for native plants". h.b. williamson, linton reservoir, linton state school no. 880, pupils

Photocopy of an article in the State Electricity Commission of Victoria Magazine, Contact, Vol 1, No. 4, Feb 1937 titled "Electricity Supply for Buninyong" and "Ballarat Trams in Picturesque Setting". Each item had a thin strip of paper attached by staple to the top left hand corner, giving the Vol. No. details. The first story features the provision of power to the town of Buninyong on 14/1/2937. The supply was provided by a 6.6kV line running from Sebastopol. The second story with a photo of a line up of 7 trams in the Gardens following the annual outing of the Pleasant Street State School trip to the Botanical Gardens and special trams in general. Record revised 3/4/2019 to add digital images with those from Andrew Cook CD.trams, tramways, power supply, picnics, buninyong, wendouree parade

Photograph of Macleod High School students on a trip to Central Australia in 1961.Digital copy of black and white group photograph.Names identified on back of photograph.macleod high school, rosemary davies

Various stories written by local and former Tatura residents. Includes trip by school children to 1956 Olympic Games, Township of Tatura 1879, Matt Patterson's life story, Dhurringile Mansion history by J Lowry, W Doller and R NewnhamPlastic cover, black and white cartoon like characters and grave yard scene on front. Contains plastic sleeves each with printed material.tatura and district, documents, history, tatura residents, 1956 olympic games, tatura 1879, matt patterson, dhurringile mansion history, j. lowry, w. doller, r newnham

Yields information about a tour by a Melbourne private schools tour to Ballarat in 1961 and the costs and the Schools club association.Magazine - 14 quarto pages, Gestetner duplicated stapled on left hand side titled "Railway Club Review Vol. 3, No. 4" with a photo of an VR AEC rail motor on the front. Contains a listing of the club committee, news from the various school club, coming trips, articles including a report on the trip to Ballarat and visiting the tram system. See also Reg items 6668 for the tour booking form and 2137 for a photograph of tram 32.trams, tramways, tours, vsrca, ballarat, booking form

Every year the Ballarat School of Mines (S.M.B) produced a magazine, between 1898-1967. The 1927 magazine Editorial Staff- A.T Morrison, E. Van Beek, G. Dimsey, G. Inglis, L. Hillman, J. Muir, J. Johnson, N. Nicholls, B. Saunders, Dr. J. R. Pound, Mr. H. Jolly, A. Proctor, and J. Walters. Contains list of course students for 1927. Listing of School Council and staff for 1927 (inside front cover). Listing of departments, courses and fees (approximate) available at S.M.B . (inside back cover) *Articles -Mr. John Rowell regarding his receiving the Crouch Memorial Prize -S.M.B. Procession, 1927 -S.M.B. Ball July 20th at the City Hall -Letter to Editor 'The Chemists' Trip to Melbourne mentioning a tour of the Footscray Technical School; an exploration of the Mount Lyell Chemical Works; visits to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, The Melbourne Mint, the Deer Park Explosive Works (met with former S.M.B. students, A. Perry and H. R. Kofoed), Nobel (Australasia) Ltd. -Mentions of Literary Society activities -Geelong trip by school football team July 18th to play Gordon Tech. -Extract from the 'People's Paper', July 14 regarding the S.M.B Gala Night and the election of Miss S.M.B. -Mentions of the Mica Smith Scholarship -4th Annual reunion for Past Students Association, 23rd October -Descriptive article on Port Arthur -Tour of the Mount Lyell District, with mentions of the North Lyell Mine, Port Kembla, Lake Margaret Hydro Electric Works -Paper making -A brief description of the rubber industry -Decorating for the Gala Ball -Sporting activities, 1926 and 1927 -The Junior Techs class and sporting activities. Mentions of their participation in the Procession *Prints -S.M.B. Botanical Gardens by Graham Hopwood, awarded first prize -Caricatures unknown subjects, though to be staff and students at the school *Photographs -Editorial Staff -S.M.B. Athletic Team, 1926- Winners of the Herald Shield -S.M.B. Football Team, 1927 -School of Mines Girls' Basket Ball team, 1927 -Girls' Hockey Team, Ballarat School of Mines, 1927 -Winners of the Thompson Shield, 1926. Premiers N.C.D.- J.T.S.A. (Junior Technical School Association) *Advertisements -A.N.A. Hall, Camp St. 'The Rollicking English Company- "The Rivals", presented by the School of Mines Dramatic Company. Wednesday, 14th September, 1927.Green soft covered book relating to the Ballarat School of Mines student activities for the year 1927. smb, ballarat school of mines, hockey, ballarat school of mines botanical gardens, graham hopwood, basketball, netball, a.t morrison, e. van beek, g. dimsey, g. inglis, l. hillman, j. muir, j. johnson, n. nicholls, b. saunders, dr. j. r. pound, mr. h. jolly, a. proctor, j. walters

From L-R : Nathan Spielvogel, Hector Young, Percy Watt and George Holden. . Taken on the front porch at Illfracombe in 1908 after the four men had enjoyed a weekend fishing There appears to be a photo hanging on the wall in the background which looks like it could be of a young Marion Watt and the family's dog, a golden retriever In "The Gum Sucker at Home: Bound for Croajingolong 1908" by Nathan Spielvogel, published in Mary Gilbert's Personalities and Stories of the Early Orbost District, 3rd edition, p. 107-116, Spielvogel talks of his trip to Orbost, and fishing with Watt, Bruce and Young aboard Percy Watt's boat, the Maris Stella. Spielvogel's story says Young was the secretary at James & Birds auctioneers and "was one of the builders of the first foot bridge over the Backwater". It says George Holden was a Bank Manager at the Bank of Victoria. (info. from Campbell Watt) This photograph shows Mr Nathan Spielvogel on the left. He was a school teacher at the Orbost State School following Mr Rowe. Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (1874-1956), teacher, writer and historian, was born on 10 May 1874 at Ballarat, Victoria, son of Newman Frederick Spielvogel, pawnbroker, and his wife Hannah, née Cohen. As well as his stories he published a number of books about the history of Ballarat. Spielvogel taught at Orbost for at least a year Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (1874–1956) was a teacher, writer and historian. As a country schoolteacher, he traveled widely in the eastern Australian outback and also made a journey to London. Spielvogel gained distinction as one of the only Australian Jewish writers of his time. Many of his early books were best-sellers. He has an association with the history of Orbost having spent a year as a teacher at Orbost. The Watt family were early Marlo settlers.A black / white photograph / postcard of four men sitting around a small table playing cards. Two of the men have pillows behind their heads. Three are smoking pipes.on back - "On R - N. Spielvogel"spielvogel-nathan-orbost

These four photographs were taken at Bones Day, an annual sports competition between the Army Survey Regiment and the RAAF School of Radio at Bendigo c1982. The two units took turns each year to host the event. The day competition usually comprised basketball, cross country, golf, sailing, squash, softball, tennis, touch football, rifle shooting, tug-of-war and volleyball. The two sports featuring in these photos are touch football and tug-of-war. The “big bone” trophy comprising a large bone from a beast housed inside a wooden framed glass case, was awarded to the winner of the day competition. The evening competition often included darts, carpet bowls, hookey, quoits and billiards/snooker. The “little bone” (a mounted chicken bone) was the consolation trophy awarded to the winner of the evening competition. The 3-hour bus trip for the visiting unit on their return was typically very raucous. The history of the Bones Day competition is best described in the booklet titled - Bones of Contention Souvenir Program. 1965. Refer to Item 6267.These four photographs were taken at Bones Day, an annual sports competition between the Army Survey Regiment and the RAAF School of Radio at Bendigo c1982. The photographs are on 35mm negative film. They are part of the Army Survey Regiment’s Collection. The photographic negatives were scanned at 96 dpi. There are additional photos in this set that have not been scanned due to poor quality or low historical value. .1) - Photo, black & white, 1982, Touch Football Team Back Row L to R: Brian Fauth, Bruce Bowers, Bob Mason, Paul Baker, Danny Galbraith, John Hook, Scott Payne. Front Row L to R: Roy Hicks, Peter Imeson, Alan Glanville, John Gilbert, Wally Chilcott. .2) - Photo, black & white, 1982, Tug-of-War Team Back Row L to R: Cliff Webb, Peter Treble, John Lane, Andy Wilson, Rick Warren, Rusty Williams, Brian Paul. Front Row L to R: Brian Fauth, Rick Downie, unidentified, Ken Slater, Rhys De Laine, John Smith, unidentified. .3) - Photo, black & white, 1982, Tug-of-War Team L to R: Peter Treble, Brian Paul, Rusty Williams, Rhys De Laine, unidentified (2), John Smith. Army personnel in background standing L to R: Rick van der Bom, Paul Hopes, Ian Nelson, Mick Dempster, John ‘Flash’ Anderson, Geoff Havelberg, John ‘Stormy’ Tempest, Bruce Gordon, Dan Cirsky, Neil Jones, Gerry Gates, Peter Main, Bob Thrower, Barry Miller, Gill Park. Army personnel in background seated L to R: Roger Pearson, Mick Gillham, Penny Knott, Leanne Shirley. .4) - Photo, black & white, 1982, Tug-of-War Team L to R: Rick Warren, Cliff Webb, Andy Wilson, Peter Treble, Brian Paul, Rusty Williams, Rhys De Laine, unidentified. Army personnel in background standing L to R: Rick van der Bom, Ian Nelson, Mick Dempster. .1P to .4P – No personnel are identified.royal australian survey corps, rasvy, army survey regiment, army svy regt, fortuna, raaf school of radio, bones day

These eight photographs were taken at Bones Day, an annual sports competition between the Army Survey Regiment and the RAAF School of Radio at Bendigo in November 1978. The two units took turns each year to host the event. The day competition usually comprised basketball, cross country, golf, sailing, squash, softball, tennis, touch football, rifle shooting, tug-of-war and volleyball. The “big bone” trophy comprising a large bone from a beast housed inside a wooden framed glass case, was awarded to the winner of the day competition. The evening competition often included darts, carpet bowls, hookey, quoits and billiards/snooker. The “little bone” (a mounted chicken bone) was the consolation trophy awarded to the winner of the evening competition. The 3-hour bus trip for the visiting unit on their return was typically very raucous. The history of the Bones Day competition is best described in the booklet titled - Bones of Contention Souvenir Program. 1965. Refer to Item 6267.These eight photographs were taken at Bones Day, an annual sports competition between the Army Survey Regiment and the RAAF School of Radio at Bendigo in November 1978. The photographs were printed on photographic paper and are part of the Army Survey Regiment’s Collection. The photographs were scanned at 300 dpi. .1) - Photo, black & white, 1978, Softball Team Back Row L to R: Janet (Chopping) Justin, John Ashby, Scheryal Delforce, Tracey (Beckwith) Phillips. Front Row L to R: Zoe (Lisiewich) Ames, Di Chalmers, unidentified, Le-Anne (Smallshaw) Shirley, Lorraine (Daly) Talbot-Smith, Lynn Johnson. .2) - Photo, black & white, 1978, Tennis Team Back Row L to R: Mick Flynn, Chris Carter, Ken Delmenico. Front Row L to R: unidentified (x3), Adrian Rynberk. .3) - Photo, black & white, 1978, Golf Team Back Row L to R: George Austen, unidentified, Roger Rees. Front Row L to R: Peter Imeson, Greg Gilbert, unidentified officer, Paul Richards. .4) - Photo, black & white, 1978, Basketball action: Gill Park – No. 8 .5) - Photo, black & white, 1978, evening events: L to R: Garry Hudson, unidentified RAAF airwoman. .6) - Photo, black & white, 1978, evening events: L to R: Gary Warnest, Wayne Rothwell. .7) - Photo, black & white, 1978, evening events: L to R: Mick ‘Buddha’ Ellis, unidentified RAAF airwoman. .8) - Photo, black & white, 1978, evening events: L to R: Mick ‘Buddha’ Ellis, unidentified, Ian Belmont, Ken Slater. .1P to .8P – No personnel are annotated.royal australian survey corps, army svy regt, rasvy, army survey regiment, fortuna, asr, raaf school of radio, bones day

Grace Mitchell, a talented artist in later life and baker, managed a pastry shop business near the corner of Mount Pleasant and Main roads, Eltham in the 1950s. Shortly after her marriage to Arthur Mitchell in 1948, Arthur incurred a head injury from an accident and was unable to work. Grace realised she needed to be home to care for her husband as well as earn an income. She managed the bureaucracy of council permits, and made modifications to her home with savings to get the business off the ground without having to borrow money. Grace and Arthur were avid gardeners and would grow, wash and mince vegetables for pasties while Grace handmade and rolled the pastry. They cooked and minced their own meat for the pies and the fruit for the sweet pies came from their orchard at the rear of the property. She also baked scones and cakes. With weekend visitors travelling to Eltham on the train for days trips, her reputation grew as the spot for afternoon tea. Grace’s daughter Jenni mentions the visit of dancer, Robert Helpmann and U.S. actress Katherine Hepburn in her Grace Mitchell: a short history [2012]. Reminiscences in We did open a school in Little Eltham: Eltham Primary School 209, 1856-2006 a history [2006] include a mention of Grace’s famous pastry shop and the Sunday afternoon visit by Helpmann and Hepburn. Grace operated her pastry shop for over 16 years. She supported the Shillinglaw Cottage Preservation Campaign to preserve the cottage through its Flavour of Eltham community cookbook published in 1964 and hosted cooking classes in the new Living and Learning Centre. Grace Mitchell passed away aged 95 years in 2011. In memory of John Arthur Mitchell 1905 – 1975 And Grace Mitchell 1916 – 2011 Loving parents of Jennifer MitchellBorn Digitaleltham cemetery, gravestones, grace mitchell, john arthur mitchell

Vol. 7, No. 5, Nov 2002-Feb 2003 CONTENTS Comment 2 Raising Young Voices - Robert Williams 3 Gardening: The New Rock and Roll - Kate Hird 7 blOKes at the Collingwood Gallery 10 200? Banyule Youth Art Awards 11 A Trip in Time and Space - Seren Little 13 Melbourne Art Fair 2002 - Felicity Gordon 15 Eltham High School Photography 16 Susan Pickering: A Shift in Passions - Corinna Tautsche 18 Poetry News and Reviews - John Jenkins 19 Book Review: Amerika Psycho - Pam Dougherty 20 Book Review: Mirka Mora - Louise Poland 21 Noel Counihan: Geoff Todd: Op Art in Australia 22 Australian Music: Elizabeth Scarlett 23 CD Reviews: John Sangster, Judy Jacques, Bob Sedergreen 24 Artin' About 27 Wining & Dining 30 "Peter Dougherty has been involved in the local art scene for many years. As publisher and editor of the arts magazine Artstreams, his comments on the various branches of the arts are widely respected. His "The Arts" column in the Diamond Valley Leader presents a brief summary for a much wider cross section of the local community. Peter also operates his own gallery and the Artstreams Cafe at the St Andrews market. Peter has a wealth of knowledge about present day and historical aspects of local art and artists." - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 161, March 2005Colour front and back cover with feature articles and literary pieces with photographs and advertisements printed in black and white. 36 pages, 30 cm. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1996) - Vol. 10, no. 5 (summer ed. 2005/​06) art streams, eltham east primary school choir, willy wonka's ice cream gourmet food, anne williams, eltham fullife pharmacy, dynamic vegies, gardening, kate hird, thompsons pharmacy, chris dickson, banyule youth art awards, st andrews hotel, eltham wiregrass gallery, melbourne art fair, eltham high school, susan pickering, corrina tauschke, john jenkins, poetry, montsalvat, hurstbridge arts & craft, atmosphere nursery & cafe, bulleen art & garden centre, sushi wushi

My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days".   SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river

My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days".   SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river

My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days".   SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river