Kangaroo Ground pioneers James Johnston (died 1895) with his wife Elizabeth commenced building this stone house on his Pretty Hill property, Kangaroo Ground in 1842. It was one of the oldest homes in the district till 1938 when new owner Mr Percy Cope, a master builder demolished the old building and a new brick building was erected in its place. Pretty Hill is one of the highest spots in the district with splendid views of the surrounding country.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 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, kangaroo ground, pretty hill, stonen house, homestead, johnston family, james johnston