A newspaper article on the first solar village in Australia, built in Nunawading. It has been designed specifically to meet Australian weather conditions.first solar village in Australiaresidential development, mock street forest hill, solar energy council, pullen, barry

Laughing Waters Walk, 7 Sep 2013 This Society excursion was a follow up to the Laughing Waters Story told to us by Jane Woollard at our Annual General Meeting in March 2013. It involved a walk commencing from the corner of Laughing Waters and Overbank Roads along Laughing Waters Road to its eastern end and returning partly over the same route - a total distance of about 2.5km. On the way we visited the two artist in residence properties, River Bend and Birrarung, to view the houses on them that are associated with Alistair Knox, Gordon Ford and others in the local mud brick and artistic community. We also able to walk around the derelict ruin which was once home to Gordon and Sue Ford, Boomerang House. An unexpected afternoon tea was offered to us by the artists in residence at Birrarung House and we had a brief opportunity to view inside the house. River Bend was designed and built by Alistair Knox for Rosemary and Bill Cuming in 1968. It sits in a deep cutting on a steep slope above the Yarra River and features floor to ceiling windows and glass doors set into mission brown timber frames and walls of reclaimed bricks in pinkish hue. Rosemary laid the brick paving around the house, a copy of the shell paving found in the ancient French town of Colmar, where the family had lived for a period. The kitchen was equipped with a 1960s stove as well as a cast iron wood stove reclaimed from Rosemary's sister's home in Armadale. Max and Tini Huygens, migrants from Holland, purchased the property in 1975 and named it Tilwinda from an Aboriginal word meaning 'hole in a rock'. In late 1981 Tini died after a short illness, but Max continued to live at Tilwinda until he moved to a retirement village in 2000 and the property was sold to Parks Victoria. Renamed River Bend, the property became part of the Laughing Waters Artist in Residency Program in 2008. Nillumbik Shire Council upgraded the property in 2012 with solar panels, a heat pump for hot water and double glazing to improve the comfort of the artists in residence and make the house more energy efficient. For a more in-depth description of the property and biographies of the various artists in residence commencing from 2008 to 2015, see Jane Woollard's book, "Laughing Waters Road; Art, Landscape & Memory in Eltham" published 2016.2013-09-07, activities, artists in residence, eltham district historical society, heritage excursion, jim connor collection, laughing waters road, river bend house

The Sunshine Energy Park (SEP) was a Council / Private adventure into using the methane gas stored in the former Albion Quarry to heat the boilers to turn the generators to generate electricity. This adventure failed as the qualities of methane gas was insufficient which led to a long protracted legal battle between the Council and its Consultants. This redevelopment proposed is to turn the vacant site into a major parkland including large scale tree planting, a possible solar farm, cycling & walking tracks, sports fields & stadiums, play spaces, a large urban forest & wetlands systems and more.Newspaper Article Star Weekly 28th May 2024 Page 1 - Energy park green lightsunshine energy park, hulett street, albion

In September 2025, Brimbank Council confirmed that its first community battery would be built in Gresham Way Reserve Sunshine West. The selected site was Gresham Way Reserve, chosen because it sits on suitable Council‑owned land, the local Powercor network has strong rooftop‑solar uptake, and the low‑voltage network could benefit from stabilisation and solar‑storage capacity. The capacity of the battery is 500kWh. The battery decorative artwork was by Artist Melanie Caple, featuring Galahs, Australian indigo flowers, large‑leaf bush peas. The artwork was selected by community vote. The battery was officially switched on 16 July 2026, marking Brimbank’s entry into shared renewable‑energy infrastructure.7211.01 - Brimbank Community Battery - Brimbanks First Community Battery Switched On - Star Weekly 28th July 2026 Page 5gresham way reserve, gresham way, sunshine west

These photographs, taken by The Advocate in 1999, show the machinery inside the Sunshine Energy Park Turbine House on Hulett Street in Albion. The Sunshine Energy Park (SEP) was a Council / Private adventure into using the methane gas stored in the former Albion Quarry to heat the boilers to turn the generators to generate electricity. This adventure failed as the qualities of methane gas was insufficient which led to a long protracted legal battle between the Council and its Consultants. This redevelopment proposed is to turn the vacant site into a major parkland including large scale tree planting, a possible solar farm, cycling & walking tracks, sports fields & stadiums, play spaces, a large urban forest & wetlands systems and more.These images provide a rare glimpse into the internal machinery housed within the Sunshine Energy Park turbine room.6944.01 - Sunshine Energy Park Hulett Street Albion 1999 Photographs (Advocate 1078).JPG 6944.02 - Sunshine Energy Park Hulett Street Albion 1999 Photographs (Advocate 1078).JPG 6944.03 - Sunshine Energy Park Hulett Street Albion 1999 Photographs (Advocate 1078).JPGsunshine energy park, hulett street, albion