Clem Christesen wrote a brief history of "Stanhope" which was reproduced in EDHS Newsletter No. 162 May 2005. STANHOPE HOUSE is situated on the crest of Stanhope Hill about ten minutes' walk westward from the Eltham railway station and is bounded by Peter, Fay and Stanhope Streets. The original property, comprising 15 ½ acres with a frontage on Diamond Creek, was bought in about 1900 by Will Longstaff (b. 1878, d London 1953), official war artist during World War I, who became famous for his painting 'The Ghosts of Menin Gate', France which is now in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. The main residence, designed by Desbrowe Annear, was built of jarrah, with stucco walls and floors of Tasmanian hardwood The rooms were panelled with Californian redwood (sequoia). Away from house was a cottage (used as a studio), and stables, dairy and meat house. In 1919 Mr Theo. Handfield bought the property from Mrs Longstaff. On New Year 's Day 1924 most of the estate (eighty blocks) was auctioned. Bishop Reginald Stephen, Warden of Trinity College and distinguished scholar, bought the house and five acres in 1928. Dr and Mrs C.B. Christesen became the new owners in 1946 and subsequently extended the house on the north and south sides. 'Stanhope 'has had many very interesting art and literary associations. When Will Longstaff occupied it - he was a cousin of another well-known painter, Sir John Longstaff- various leading artists of the period, including Walter Withers who lived nearby, were frequent visitors. A son of Mr and Mrs Handfield, John, became a journalist and author, and now lives with his wife Esta at Homestead Road, Eltham. Bishop Stephen was related to Sir Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), one of the great representative minds of Victorian Britain, first editor of the monumental Dictionary of National Biography and father of the famous novelist and essayist Virginia Woolf. John Harcourt, novelist and music critic, rented 'Stanhope 'while he and his wife Fay were building 'Clay Nuneham' (mudbrick) at the foot of Stanhope Hill near the creek. Nina Christesen, academic and founding editor of Melbourne Slavonic Studies, was Head of the Department of Russian Language and Literature, University of Melbourne, from 1946 to 1977. Clem Christesen, poet, short story writer and painter, founded Australia's leading literary journal Meanjin Quarterly in 1940 and remained editor until 1975. Very many distinguished Australian and foreign writers, artists and academics-from Nobel prize-winning novelist Patrick White to the world's leading cellist Mstislav Rostropovich - have visited 'Stanhope ' over the years. The extensive garden is said to be one of the loveliest in Eltham. The main entrance is by way of Diamond and Peter Streets. film - kodak gc 400-6, russell yeoman collection, scan - 35mm negative, bishop stephen, clem christesen, eltham, nina mikhailovna christesen, peter street, stanhope, theo handfield, will longstaff

On the crest of Stanhope Hill at Peter Street, Eltham, stands the former home of a couple, Clem and Nina Christensen who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War 2 Australia. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p109 On the crest of Stanhope Hill at Peter Street, Eltham, stands the former home of a couple, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. In 1946, Clem and Nina Christensen bought the house, which had been designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear, considered to be one of Australia’s most innovative architects in the first quarter of the 20th century.1 That year the stucco building with a metal roof, built in 1910, was extended to the north and south. The main residence was built of jarrah, with stucco walls, floors of Tasmanian hardwood and rooms panelled with Californian redwood (sequoia). The property included a cottage, former stables, a dairy and meat-house. From its beginnings the property has attracted artists and intellectuals. Official World War One artist, Will Longstaff, bought the property – then 15½ acres (6ha) around 1900. Famous for his painting The Ghosts of Menin Gate, now in the Australian War Memorial Canberra, Longstaff was the cousin of another well-known painter, Sir John Longstaff. Several leading artists visited Longstaff at Stanhope including Walter Withers of the Heidelberg School, who lived in Brougham Street, Eltham. In 1919, Theo Handfield, father of author and journalist John Handfield, bought the property from Mrs Longstaff. Then in 1924 the land was subdivided and most of the estate (80 blocks) was auctioned. The next owner was related to novelist Virginia Woolf. Bishop Reginald Stephen, Warden of Trinity College, bought the house and five acres (2 ha) in 1928. He was related to Sir Leslie Stephen, the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and Woolf’s father. Novelist and music critic John Harcourt, was the next tenant, while he and his wife Fay, built their mud-brick house Clay Nuneham, at the foot of Stanhope Hill. Dr Clem and Mrs Nina Christensen, lived in the house until their deaths. Clem Christensen – who died aged 91 in 2003 – was a poet, short story writer and painter. However, he is most noted for founding Australia’s foremost literary journal2 Meanjin (originally Meanjin Papers), which he described as ‘democratic left of centre’, in Brisbane in 1940. Clem brought Meanjin to Melbourne in 1945 and remained editor until 1975. Enormously influential, Meanjin spawned and encouraged many of Australia’s best literary talents and it had an international reputation. Meanjin was the first to publish such writers as Judith Wright and David Malouf and it encouraged writers like Patrick White and Peter Carey. Nina Christensen – who died aged 89 in 2001 – was founding Editor of the Melbourne Slavonic Studies Journal and pioneered the study of Russian in Australia. In 1946 she established the Department of Russian Language and Literature at The University of Melbourne, which she led until 1977. Nina’s graduates largely staffed subsequent departments, in other Australian universities.3 However Nina’s Russian heritage and Clem’s outspoken views caused problems. They were forced to defend themselves in the Petrov inspired Royal Commission on Espionage in the 1950s, but were exonerated. The Christensens attracted and hosted many distinguished Australian and foreign writers, artists and academics, including Nobel prize-winning novelist, Patrick White and the world’s then leading cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich.4 Other writers and intellectuals who visited Stanhope were: Vance Palmer, Alan Marshall, A D Hope, Xavier Herbert, Nevil Shute, Geoffrey Dutton, Martin Boyd, Judah Waten, Bruce Grant, Dorothy Hewett and Sir Herbert Read. Painters included: Danila Vassilieff, Arthur Boyd, Albert Tucker, Justus Jörgensen, Robert Hughes and Clifton Pugh. Academics included: Manning Clark, Geoffrey Blainey, W Macmahon Ball, Richard Downing, Geoffrey Serle and scientist Tim Marshall. Politicians included: Jim Cairns, Pauline Toner, Lance Barnard, Sir Paul Hasluck, Sheryl Garbutt and performance artists included: film star Olivia Newton-John, members of the Bolshoi ballet and the Russian State Ballet of Siberia.5 Nina Christensen was honoured in 2006 at the Eltham Living and Learning Centre with the building of an amphitheatre designed by V Sverdlin.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, clem christesen, eltham, nina christesen, peter street, stanhope