Various news articles pertaining to the January 1962 Victorian bushfires in the Dandenong and Healesville districts which by second day had spread on to a 150 mile front fromDaylesford and Kinglake through to the Dandenongs. Specific Eltham Shire districts mentioned include Ninka Road, St. Andrews, Kinglake, Hurstbridge on page 2 • Fires Blazing on 150M. Arc: "Need a Miracle", p1 (Illust.) – Victoria’s worst bushfire day since “Black Friday,” 1939 • Night dash as bushfire sweeps by, p2 (Illust.) • Kalorama Saved: Fire 100 Ft. Away, p2 • Stay away, says police chief, p2 • The Tragedy of the Fires, p3 (Illust.) • Good save by firemen, p4 (Illust.) • S.E.C. Firemen Saved N. Yallourn, p4 • Cherry river of flame, p4 • From the fire front: Fire-fighters are bitten by snakes, p4 • They faced the fury, p6 (Illust.) • The ’39 Blaze, p6 • They fought and failed, p6 • Hills Aflame: 2nd Day, pp16-17 (Illust.) • Respite at Olinda HQ, p16 (Illust.) • Here is Ruin, p17 (Illust.) • This fireman had to work among piled up furniture … p32 (Illust.) tom fielding collection, victorian bushfires - 1962, victorian bushfires – 1962, black friday, victorian bushfires – 1939, c.h. howe, daylesford, country fire authority, dandenongs, yallourn, central gippsland, montrose, olinda, kalorama, healesville, st. andrews, hurstbridge, ninka road, kinglake, yarra glen, a.l. mccutcheon, st. andrews postmaster, eltham shire secretary, max watson, police commissioner porter, observatory road, mt. dandenong, whittlesea, one tree hill, sassafras, the basin, steel’s creek, ruby ryan, the basin progress hall, yaallourn, yallourn north, stet electricity commission (s.e.c.), hernes oak, mcdonalds track, florence milkins, lieutenant-colonel k. leggett, bonza view road, ringwood police station, michael o’connor, volunteers, fire damage - buildings

A history of Eltham Post Office. Australia Post: Gold brought life to the township - Diamond Valley News, Tuesday July 2, 1985, p17 On February 1, 1854, the first Eltham Post Office was established, commencing an association between the township and the Postmaster-General's Department that has continued for 131 years. At that time, the number of permanent residents would have been fairly small, probably less than 200. The discovery of gold in June 1851, at Anderson’s Creek, some five miles away, and later at Caledonia Diggings, Queenstown (now known as St Andrews), about 14 miles to the north-east, brought large numbers of prospectors passing through the township, hopefully culling the creeks and gullies for the precious metal. This additional "floating population" brought a greater demand for supplies and for communication with the outside world, and so it helped in the development of Eltham. Today, Eltham is a thriving township. It boasts an excellent shopping centre, municipal offices, court house. post office and many other amenities. Eltham continued to develop at a leisurely pace. During 1860, a total of just over 8000 postal articles were handled at the Eltham Post Office. By 1862, the mail route was "to and from Melbourne by way of Eltham and Kangaroo Ground, three times a week, by coach". There was also a branch mail that operated between Eltham and Greensborough, three times weekly. This was also conveyed by coach. Some time between 1864 and 1868 the management of the post office passed from Thomas Hunniford to his daughter, Miss Anne Hunniford, who managed the Eltham Post Office until her death in 1928. A big improvement in communication was provided for Eltham residents when a telegraph office was established at the post office in 1877. During 1923 a manual telephone exchange was provided at Eltham, the first two subscribers being J.J. O’Connor and Eltham Police Station. In 1949 the manual exchange was replaced by an automatic exchange and there were some 150 subscribers. Following the death of postmistress Miss Anne Hunniford in 1928, B.M. Burgoyne was placed temporarily in charge of the office. In 1929, J. N. Burgoyne was appointed postmaster, and he in turn was succeeded by H. C. Burgoyne in 1951. The post office was moved to a new site in 1954, but continued under the charge of Mr Burgoyne. In January 1958 there was a further change of site when the post office was raised to official status and transferred to new premises in Main Rd. William Donoghue was acting postmaster when the new office was opened. In March 1958 Mr W.E. Tovey was appointed postmaster, followed by Douglas McG. Gilmour in 1959. William Donoghue was fully appointed in 1966 and Barry Reichelt followed in 1973, prior to the present postmaster, Peter Jolly in November 1982. Peter is a young man with 18 years' experience. He commenced his training as a postal clerk at the training school in Melbourne in 1968 and was promoted to postal clerk at the Brunswick Post Office in 1969. He was finally transferred as postmaster to Fawkner Post Office in 1980. He has been at Eltham Post Office for the past 2½ years. He is married with one child and lives in Montmorency. The Eltham Post Office employs a staff of 21, of whom seven are indoor staff, 12 are postmen and two are drivers. The postmen in Eltham have an uphill battle delivering mail because of the hilly terrain. Nine of the postmen deliver mail on motorbikes, and the two delivery vans are both four wheel drives. Eltham Post Office services basically a residential area, with deliveries to 5600 homes. This is growing at the rate of 600 homes every 18 months, i.e. about 32 homes per month. At the present rate we will need a new postman every 18 months.Digital file only - Digitised by EDHS from a scrapbook on loan from Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes), daughter of Frank Stokes.anderson's creek, anne hunniford, b.m. burgoyne, barry reichelt, beryl bradbury (nee stokes) collection, eltham police station, eltham post office, eltham post office history, gold, h.c. burgoyne, j.j. o'connor, j.n. burgoyne, peter jolly, postmaster, telephone exchange, thomas hunniford, w.e. tovey, william donoghue

Letter from Postmaster-General's Department to J.T. Niclassen of Buttermans Track, St Andrews concerning telephone equipment destroyed in recent bushfires, 22 Feb 1962 Letter, Joan Kennedy to Mavis Gill, 8 Nov 1962 Letter, Dick (Windy) Gale to Mavis Gill, 18 Apr 1962 Letter, Winnifred Whyte to Mavis Gill, 25 Jun 1962 Letter, N. Cleary to Mavis Gill, 18 Dec 1962 Letter, Doris Young to Mavis Gill, 22 Dec 1962 Re-building of Pensioners Cottages, St Andrews 1962c Declaration of Trust, Eltham and Diamond Valley Benevolent Society, c/o Mrs Mavis Gill, 1973Newsletter No. 136, January 2001 Mavis Gill who is known to our 'older generation' of members (oh to be an octogenarian) has given the Society papers and photographs of the 1962 fires in the St Andrews area. Mavis was involved in obtaining funds for "building relief' purposes so that volunteers could rebuild for those who lost their homes in that area. It lists many voluntary groups who were also involved in the rehabilitation of the fire victims in the area.Folder of letters and documentsvictorian bushfires - 1962, bushfires, fire damage - buildings, houses, st andrews, mavis gill, pensioners cottages, christmas hills, alistair knox, arthur leonard sloman, brian redmond smyth, buttermans track, con sloan, d. goddard, dick (windy) gale, doris young, e. howard, frederick thomas scott, gaunt henry, grant lane, j.t. niclassen, jack niclassen, joan kennedy, joseph kennedy, kangaroo ground relief committee, molly clark, n. cleary, n.r. cleary, patterson, pmg, postmaster-general, robert barclay, robert william fell, winnifred whyte

Sepia photograph of Hunniford’s Eltham Post Office, Main Road near Bridge Street, Eltham, c.1888 (Postmistress Anne Hunniford possibly on left). The building originally had a shingle roof. Anne Hamilton born 1814 Co Tyrone, Ireland married Michael Head Burgoyne (1820-1843) in 1839, Co. Tyrone, Ireland. They had two children, Charlotte Caroline (1840) and John James Thomas Neville (Londonderry, Ireland 1844) Whilst pregnant with John, husband Michael died. Following John’s birth, she emigrated to Victoria, Australia where she married Thomas Hunniford in 1854. Daughter Anne Jane Hunniford was born in Eltham in 1855. Anne (Annie) Jane Hunniford and John James Thomas Neville Burgoyne were half siblings. In the mid 1860s Annie Hunniford succeeded her father, Thomas Hunniford as Post Mistress for Eltham. Photo dated based on advertising on façade of the building by Annie’s half-brother, John James Thomas Burgoyne promotes his services as the area manager for John M’Ewan and Co, Auctioneers as well as him being agent for the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia, National Insurance Company of Australasia, Federal Mutual Livestock Association of Australasia, and as a House, Land, Estate, Insurance and Financial agent. This was the time period that he placed advertising for same in the local paper. Australia Post: Gold brought life to the township - Diamond Valley News, Tuesday July 2, 1985, p17 On February 1, 1854, the first Eltham Post Office was established, commencing an association between the township and the Postmaster-General's Department that has continued for 131 years. At that time, the number of permanent residents would have been fairly small, probably less than 200. The discovery of gold in June 1851, at Anderson’s Creek, some five miles away, and later at Caledonia Diggings, Queenstown (now known as St Andrews), about 14 miles to the north-east, brought large numbers of prospectors passing through the township, hopefully culling the creeks and gullies for the precious metal. This additional "floating population" brought a greater demand for supplies and for communication with the outside world, and so it helped in the development of Eltham. Today, Eltham is a thriving township. It boasts an excellent shopping centre, municipal offices, court house. post office and many other amenities. Eltham continued to develop at a leisurely pace. During 1860, a total of just over 8000 postal articles were handled at the Eltham Post Office. By 1862, the mail route was "to and from Melbourne by way of Eltham and Kangaroo Ground, three times a week, by coach". There was also a branch mail that operated between Eltham and Greensborough, three times weekly. This was also conveyed by coach. Some time between 1864 and 1868 the management of the post office passed from Thomas Hunniford to his daughter, Miss Anne Hunniford, who managed the Eltham Post Office until her death in 1928. A big improvement in communication was provided for Eltham residents when a telegraph office was established at the post office in 1877. During 1923 a manual telephone exchange was provided at Eltham, the first two subscribers being J.J. O’Connor and Eltham Police Station. In 1949 the manual exchange was replaced by an automatic exchange and there were some 150 subscribers. Following the death of postmistress Miss Anne Hunniford in 1928, B.M. Burgoyne was placed temporarily in charge of the office. In 1929, J. N. Burgoyne was appointed postmaster, and he in turn was succeeded by H. C. Burgoyne in 1951. The post office was moved to a new site in 1954, but continued under the charge of Mr Burgoyne. In January 1958 there was a further change of site when the post office was raised to official status and transferred to new premises in Main Rd. William Donoghue was acting postmaster when the new office was opened. In March 1958 Mr W.E. Tovey was appointed postmaster, followed by Douglas McG. Gilmour in 1959. William Donoghue was fully appointed in 1966 and Barry Reichelt followed in 1973, prior to the present postmaster, Peter Jolly in November 1982. Peter is a young man with 18 years' experience. He commenced his training as a postal clerk at the training school in Melbourne in 1968 and was promoted to postal clerk at the Brunswick Post Office in 1969. He was finally transferred as postmaster to Fawkner Post Office in 1980. He has been at Eltham Post Office for the past 2½ years. He is married with one child and lives in Montmorency. The Eltham Post Office employs a staff of 21, of whom seven are indoor staff, 12 are postmen and two are drivers. The postmen in Eltham have an uphill battle delivering mail because of the hilly terrain. Nine of the postmen deliver mail on motorbikes, and the two delivery vans are both four wheel drives. Eltham Post Office services basically a residential area, with deliveries to 5600 homes. This is growing at the rate of 600 homes every 18 months, i.e. about 32 homes per month. At the present rate we will need a new postman every 18 months.Sepia photograph (two copies plus two black and white enlargements)Shop originally had a shingle roofpost office, eltham, main road, anne jane hunniford (1855-1928), federal mutual live stock insurance association of australasia, federal mutual livestock association of australasia, john j burgoyne, john m'ewan and co. auctioneers, national insurance company of australasia, national mutual life association of australasia

Hunniford's Eltham Post Office, Main Road near Bridge Street, Eltham, c.1895. Possibly Miss Anne (Annie) Hunniford, Post Mistress, on left. Annie was post mistress from the mid 1860s until her death in 1928. Photo taken by Clark Bros, 25 Thomas St, Windsor. Clark Bros operated from this address from c.1894 to 1914. Australia Post: Gold brought life to the township - Diamond Valley News, Tuesday July 2, 1985, p17 On February 1, 1854, the first Eltham Post Office was established, commencing an association between the township and the Postmaster-General's Department that has continued for 131 years. At that time, the number of permanent residents would have been fairly small, probably less than 200. The discovery of gold in June 1851, at Anderson’s Creek, some five miles away, and later at Caledonia Diggings, Queenstown (now known as St Andrews), about 14 miles to the north-east, brought large numbers of prospectors passing through the township, hopefully culling the creeks and gullies for the precious metal. This additional "floating population" brought a greater demand for supplies and for communication with the outside world, and so it helped in the development of Eltham. Today, Eltham is a thriving township. It boasts an excellent shopping centre, municipal offices, court house. post office and many other amenities. Eltham continued to develop at a leisurely pace. During 1860, a total of just over 8000 postal articles were handled at the Eltham Post Office. By 1862, the mail route was "to and from Melbourne by way of Eltham and Kangaroo Ground, three times a week, by coach". There was also a branch mail that operated between Eltham and Greensborough, three times weekly. This was also conveyed by coach. Some time between 1864 and 1868 the management of the post office passed from Thomas Hunniford to his daughter, Miss Anne Hunniford, who managed the Eltham Post Office until her death in 1928. A big improvement in communication was provided for Eltham residents when a telegraph office was established at the post office in 1877. During 1923 a manual telephone exchange was provided at Eltham, the first two subscribers being J.J. O’Connor and Eltham Police Station. In 1949 the manual exchange was replaced by an automatic exchange and there were some 150 subscribers. Following the death of postmistress Miss Anne Hunniford in 1928, B.M. Burgoyne was placed temporarily in charge of the office. In 1929, J. N. Burgoyne was appointed postmaster, and he in turn was succeeded by H. C. Burgoyne in 1951. The post office was moved to a new site in 1954, but continued under the charge of Mr Burgoyne. In January 1958 there was a further change of site when the post office was raised to official status and transferred to new premises in Main Rd. William Donoghue was acting postmaster when the new office was opened. In March 1958 Mr W.E. Tovey was appointed postmaster, followed by Douglas McG. Gilmour in 1959. William Donoghue was fully appointed in 1966 and Barry Reichelt followed in 1973, prior to the present postmaster, Peter Jolly in November 1982. Peter is a young man with 18 years' experience. He commenced his training as a postal clerk at the training school in Melbourne in 1968 and was promoted to postal clerk at the Brunswick Post Office in 1969. He was finally transferred as postmaster to Fawkner Post Office in 1980. He has been at Eltham Post Office for the past 2½ years. He is married with one child and lives in Montmorency. The Eltham Post Office employs a staff of 21, of whom seven are indoor staff, 12 are postmen and two are drivers. The postmen in Eltham have an uphill battle delivering mail because of the hilly terrain. Nine of the postmen deliver mail on motorbikes, and the two delivery vans are both four wheel drives. Eltham Post Office services basically a residential area, with deliveries to 5600 homes. This is growing at the rate of 600 homes every 18 months, i.e. about 32 homes per month. At the present rate we will need a new postman every 18 months.Sepia photograph mounted on cardpost office, eltham, main road, anne jane hunniford (1855-1928), clark bros. photo

The present store was built circa 1900 to replace another which had been destroyed by fire in 1898, which had replaced a predecessor on the opposite side of the road in 1865. The store was also used as a post office until early 2000s. The general store is historically significant because it has a long association with Kangaroo Ground and has been an important centre of community life for more than 120 years - Council meetings used to be conducted in the front room of the store at a time when Kangaroo Ground rivalled Eltham as the major centre of the Shire. The general store is historically and aesthetically significant as one of a group of three well preserved public buildings in the Kangaroo Ground hamlet and as a major heritage component of Kangaroo Ground which was one of the earliest settled areas of the Shire and which has the character of an English village rather than an Australian settlement. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p77 Today the general store is an uncommon form of trade but the one at Kangaroo Ground continues a long tradition of friendliness and service. For more than 100 years it has been a centre of community life. In the settlement’s early days a previous general store, on the same site, was the meeting place for the Eltham District Road Board, precursor to the Eltham Shire Council. For years Kangaroo Ground rivalled Eltham as the shire’s major centre. It developed very differently from the rest of the shire as its rich soil attracted prosperous Presbyterian Scots who had large agricultural properties.1 The present store was built to replace another one, which had burnt down in 1898, after replacing a predecessor on the other side of the road in 1865. The store retains its outward character and its cellar, although inside it has changed considerably. It now includes a café and offers local produce, milk bar products, grocery items, gas and other fuel. Until early this century the store was also used as a post office. Kangaroo Ground’s first postmaster was Andrew Ross, who first operated from the school opposite, then from his hotel next to the present tennis court site. The first postmaster at this store was Edward Weller, followed in 1868 by James Anderson. At that time a mail coach ran three times a week between Eltham and Woods Point through Kangaroo Ground, Yarra Flats, Healesville, Fernshaw, Marysville and Matlock. Some early postmasters were Rodger, McLaughlin, Greenway and Burns.2 Burns was the only postmaster operating from the store. The others operated from Andrew Ross’s hotel. The mail service improved in 1892 when coaches ran from Melbourne to Queenstown (now known as St Andrews) and changed horses at Kangaroo Ground twice daily. The only telegraph office in the district at that time was at the Kangaroo Ground Post Office. Telegrams to outlying areas such as Queenstown and Kinglake had to be sent by hand. A local resident in the early 1900s often rode his pony to deliver telegrams and was paid one shilling a mile porterage. The store has also contributed to the lighter side of Kangaroo Ground life. During the years that Con Wraight owned the store, between 1906 and 1946, a new piano was needed for the Kangaroo Ground Hall, so monthly dances were held to raise money. When the piano was bought, a grand ball was held in the Kangaroo Ground Hall to celebrate the occasion and supper followed at Mr Wraight’s barn, cleaned especially for the occasion. Every New Year’s Eve, a Scottish piper would set off from between the store and the schoolhouse, playing his pipes, and march to Cameron’s Pigeon Bank homestead on the Kangaroo Ground-Warrandyte Road. Between 1914 and 1922, the store was a station for the Kangaroo Ground Bush Fire Brigade’s tanker. It consisted of a wooden barrel on a cart, fitted with a hand-pump, and stood on the side of the road outside the store. Joy Ness, who belonged to an early Kangaroo Ground family, moved here in 1940 and recalled her impressions of the store at that time: ‘It was a very dark shop stained in a dark colour and on the walls just below the ceiling hung hurricane lamps, ropes, kitchen utensils and other goods for sale. ‘Goods were weighed on a brass scale with weights, on which mothers also weighed their babies, because the nearest Infant Welfare Centre was at Greensborough. The bacon was cut with a hand slicer and later a pot-bellied stove warmed the store. Farmers and other locals used to gossip around it as they collected their daily mail. In those days the butter and cheese were kept in the cellar as no ice was delivered for cooling.’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-yarra glen road, kangaroo ground general store

Originally Wellers Hotel, it was constructed by Edward Weller in 1872. Following his death in 1883 it was taken over by his widow, Mary Weller. The hotel was delicensed in 1909 and converted to a private residence. Around 1920 William Pitman bought the property, succeeded by his son Vernon who coined the term Pittman's Corner. Vernon and Isabel Pitman owned the house form 1945-1973. Following Vernon's death, Isabel remained there till her death in 1983. The property was converted to a restaurant in 1984 by owners Robert and Kath Hendry who undertook extensive renovations in 1988. Shawn and Stephanie Wolfe purchased the property from the Hendrys in 2003 and introduced live entertainment with many famous bands and entertainers from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s performing there, including James Reyne, Daryl Barithwaite, Brian Cadd and Billy Thorpe. In 2014 the Wolfe's sold the property and the entire contents were sold at auction. New (local ) owners Gregory Anderson, Craig Jones and Steve Gist refurbished the property and relaunched it as Fondata 1872 in 2017. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p87 A low-lying brick building at a turn on the main road, on the way to Kangaroo Ground, was once a welcome resting place for travellers. In the late 19th century Weller’s Pub, as it was called then, provided a store and an overnight stopping place and changing post for Cobb & Co coaches. The coaches were bound for the Caledonia Goldfields, near Queenstown (now St Andrews) and the Woods Point gold mines.1 Builder Edward Weller constructed the hotel and store on three acres (1.2 ha) in 1872 and after he died in 1883, his widow, Mary, continued to run the hotel, which was delicensed in 1909. This was not the first enterprise Weller ran in the district. In about 1866, he came to Kangaroo Ground and rented a general store and nine acres (3.6 ha) of land. The store, opposite the present school, was on the site of the present store and Weller also acted as the postmaster there. Mrs Weller was born in Scotland in 1841 and came to Victoria with her parents in about 1852. After two years in Melbourne the family moved to the Caledonia Goldfields where they remained for several years during which time she married Weller. The couple subsequently had five sons and five daughters. Weller’s Pub was made of handmade bricks fired from clay dug on the property. The pub must have been a haven on hot days with its 40cm thick walls throughout. One quaint reminder of its early use is that every room except the dining room has an outside door. Inside, the pub was converted to a home with extra doors connecting the inside rooms. There is no trace of the original bar room in the present dining room, where the steps leading to the cellar were bricked in. An unusual feature is the pressed metal which lines the ceilings, yet with moulding and white paint, looks like plaster. The main road once passed the back of the building and wound up to the top of the hill through a cutting. This steep hill was known to the bullock drivers in the early days, as Salvation Hill, because they were always very glad to reach its peak. After the hotel was delicensed it was converted to a private residence and extensive renovations were made, changing much of its design from a Victorian to an Edwardian style.2 Between 1912 and 1915, Gordon Cameron, a Cobb & Co coach driver and his wife rented the former hotel. Mr Cameron was related to the parliamentarian Ewen Cameron of Pigeon Bank, Kangaroo Ground, and his wife was related to Albert Pepper who owned Pigeon Bank from 1916 to 1919, when Gordon Cameron bought it. About 1920 William Pitman bought the property, which in turn was owned by his son, Vernon, who coined the name Pitman’s Corner. He and his wife Isabel owned the house from 1945 to 1973. Then as a widow Isabel Pitman lived there until her death in 1983.3 In 1984 the property was converted to a restaurant by owners P A Tribe, a barrister, his wife Sharon, and Robert and Kath Hendry. Extensive renovations maximised the splendid views of the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley.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-yarra glen road, fondata 1872, kangaroo ground, wellers restaurant, billy thorpe, brian cadd, craig jones, daryl barithwaite, edward weller, gregory anderson, hotels, james reyne, kath hendry, mary weller, restaurants, robert hendry, shawn wolfe, stephanie wolfe, steve gist