non-fictionThis Environmental History of the Cardinia Shire incorporates the Environmental History of the former Shire of Pakenham, compiled by Carlotta Kellaway for Graeme Butler & Associates and the Environmental History of those areas of the Shire formerly in the Shires of Cranbourne and Sherbrooke, compiled by Jill Barnard for Graeme Butler and Associates. An environmental history, which is meant as a guide to the identification of sites of significance within a shire, cannot be a complete social history of that shire. Rather, it is meant to be a summary of the various ways in which people have used and reacted to the natural environment, altering it so as to create economic, social, cultural and educational uses for themselves and their neighbours. [from the introduction] cardinia shire (vic.), heritage studies, tivoli berry farm (clematis), carramar (emerald), nobelius heritage park, dalmore public hall, horace hardy farm complex, emerald lake park, the grange (koo wee rup), glen afton (yannathan), myrtlewood (yannathan), vay view farm (lang lang), emerald railway station, timber bridges (yallock creek), emerald county clud, oak lee (emerald), sycamore lodge (emerald), cambden wollybutt row (emerald), silver birches (emerald), lang lang cemetery, old monomeith homestead sites, monomeith park (monomeith), dustings garage (koo wee rup), koo wee rup public hall, koo wee rup lockup, wattle theatre (koo wee rup), harewood (koo wee rup), warook homestead (monomeith), old yallock, st john's roman catholic church (koo wee rup), royal hotel (koo wee rup), budgeree (yannathan), cascades guest house (clematis), rutter farm (tooradin), koo wee rup swamp drains, upper ferntree gully to gembrook railway, great southern railway, misson's butchers shop & residence (lang lang), english scottish & australian bank (lang lang), clematis park, row houses (lang lang)

Identified by inscription on the back of the photograph as "Early Pitfield", and the buildings as "Matthew Hamilton Baird's . . . hotel & store". Information from Joan Hunt (see 'Pitfield/Kaleno' file) says the Emu Inn or Pitfield Hotel was at Pitfield/Wardy Yallock township on the road from Skipton to Geelong. Part of this area - foreground, to the left, was called "Buncle's Flat", named after John Buncle, a carpenter who lived in a cottage there with his family. An early timber inn on the Wardy Yallock Creek was owned first by Peter Hardie and then by Edward Langhorne/John McNamara in the 1840s and a mail run from Geelong was established to it in 1846. Matthew Hamilton Baird was the lessee or owner from 1852, and Benjamin Fernald from about 1860. In 1853, the nearby store, at that time owned by William Whitecross, caught fire. The fire spread to the hotel and both buildings were destroyed. The hotel was replaced by the brick or stone building seen in the photograph.Small black and white copy of original photograph which shows trees, fencing and farm buildings in foreground, and in the background a large stone or brick building plus smaller timber buildings (dwellings?) situated along a roadway. On the right of the photograph the road goes over a large bridge of timber construction.On back of photograph: "Early Pitfield showing Matthew Hamilton Baird's store & hotel & store".pitfield bridge, pitfield hotel, pitfield township, buncle's flat, emu inn, buildings, hotels, matthew hamilton baird, benjamin fernald, edward langhorne, john mcnamara, william whitecross, 'old pitfield'