Eltham Council (now the Shire of Nillumbik) commissioned this work in 1989 to create an entrance / gateway to Edendale Community Farm. It was also aided by a grant from the Ministry of the Arts (now Arts Victoria). The former name of this work was "Gateway to Edendale Farm". Edendale Farm is a demonstration farm modelling sustainable environmental practices, providing support to the local residents of Nillumbik. Established in 1986, the land was purchased in 1970. It was previously an English gentleman's residence and was used for grazing. It consists of 5.6 hectares, with the Diamond Creek meandering through the property. The Victorian Fences Act 1968 governs liability of occupiers of adjoining lands to fence, and deals with disputes between neighbours regarding boundaries fences and costs. This work took into consideration ideas and suggestions from residents and committees, who required the use of recycled materials and that the work celebrate man's relationship with nature, animals and the earth, as well as relate to the fence-line on the far side of the carpark. Trembath also absorbed significant aspects of local history, making references to Eltham's agricultural past, the clearing of the land, the destruction of trees, the ruthless pruning of trees by suburban Councils and incorporated such Australian features as the post and rail fence. 'The Fences Act 1968' is significant for aesthetic, historic and social reasons at a regional level. It makes prominent the historical and social significance of Edendale and the rural aspects of Nillumbik. The use of existing tree stumps and salt pots in the work explores the iconography of the countryside such as the isolated farmhouse, pioneering farming practices, post and rail fencing and the regrowth of lopped trees. The title of the work, as well as the extensive community involvement in its creation, also makes reference to the Victorian Fences Act 1968, which makes neighbours jointly responsible for the cost of construction and maintenance of fences in the partitioning of land for settlement. 'The Fences Act 1968' has been classified as of regional significance by the National Trust of Australia. The work is an installation of wood and metal, approximately twenty five meters long. The design is very informal and rustic and runs the full width of the fence-line. It comprises groups of recycled tree trunks fitted with metal caps (chrome-nickel 'salt pots' that are shaped like tall bowler / top hats). Metal rods protrude from the trunks and some of these rods have metal birds. Two larger, sentinel-like stumps at the two outer ends have metal flame-like wings, which bend inward. To the left of the entrance, a simple architectural element indicates an isolated farmhouse. The rustic fence runs between the groups of tree trunks with native planting in clumps along it. The fence-line incorporates a functional engineered double gate and post and rail fencing. There may be many interpretations of the work and the intention is to stimulate interest and imagination rather than alienate. Interpretation is based on the personal experience that a visitor brings. The artist recommended that no explanation of the design logic be positioned with the work. N/Apublic art, sculpture, edendale, recycled, wood, metal, fences act 1968, gate, trembath, salt pot, tree stumps

Sculpture at gateway to Edendale Farm, 30 Gastons Road, ElthamRoll of 35mm colour negative film, 8 strips and associated 10 x 15 cm colour printKodak Gold 100-5eltham, edendale farm, gastons road, sculptures, the fences act 1968, tony trembath

Vol. 2, No. 3, Jun-Jul 1997 CONTENTS WEAVING ON A ROLL Author Jon Weaving talks about the pitfalls of success 3 DON’T PASS THE GUINNESS Poet Patrick McCauley turns over a new leaf 6 AIMING FOR THE TOP Prue Acton chases a dream 9 CULTURAL TOURISM Selling a way of life 12 CONVERSATION WITH BOB SMITH An artist shares some thoughts on the why and how of painting 14 REPRIEVE FOR A GATE Some traditions refuse to die 16 STALKING THE STRANGER Short story by Chris Stonehouse 18 THEATRE IN AUTUMN Melbourne theatre is alive and well 21 TO A WOLF THE KILL Anne Delaney reviews Jon Weaving's first novel 23 EXHIBITION REVIEWS Richard Besley, Neophytes, The Eye of the Storm, Soft But True 24, 26, 27, & 30 CD REVIEWS 28 NEW SOURCE OF POWER Tony Trembath lights up a town hall 29 WHO’S DOING WHAT 32 "Peter Dougherty has been involved in the local art scene for many years. As publisher and editor of the arts magazine Artstreams, his comments on the various branches of the arts are widely respected. His "The Arts" column in the Diamond Valley Leader presents a brief summary for a much wider cross section of the local community. Peter also operates his own gallery and the Artstreams Cafe at the St Andrews market. Peter has a wealth of knowledge about present day and historical aspects of local art and artists." - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 161, March 2005Colour front and back cover with feature articles and literary pieces with photographs and advertisements printed in black and white. 36 pages, 30 cm. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1996) - Vol. 10, no. 5 (summer ed. 2005/​06) art streams, food for all seasons, prue acton, jon weaving, michelle lonsdale, sandon mcleod, patrickk mccauley, malcolm riddle, cultural tourism, valley of the arts tourism association inc., robert peter smith, danny chable, farm gate, spirit of eltham, chris stonehouse, eltham bookshop, carolyn pickett, anne delaney, richard besley, mike parr, anita furey, aboriginal art, indigenous art, julie le bon, jackie stojanova, ranee lee, daniel chabble, tony trembath, john kauffman, westerfolds park envirofest, were street cafe, helen o'grady children's drama academy, nillumbik art collection

Colour pencil drawing on paperNot signed. Not dated.drawing, diagrams, map, grid

Colour pencil drawing on paperNot signed. Not dated.grid, places, travel, buildings, snapshots

Colour pencil drawing on paperNot signed. Not dated.landscape, buildings, view, factory

Community Project. One of a series of calendars which the Shire of Eltham and the Shire of Nillumbik published annually Photography by Graham Hosking Photography. Monthly calendar printed in landscape mode, with feature photograph and template of dates for each of the 12 months presented. Includes advertisements. Back of the calendar includes a list of emergency numbers.calendar,1996,shire of nillumbik,research primary school,eltham north adventure playground,edendale gateway,tony trembath,eltham leisure centre,diamond valley railway,kangaroo ground pony club,eltham community and reception centre,eltham community centre,shire of nillumbik,swimming pool,yarra river,, diamond creek trail,yarrambat golf course,sugar loaf reservoir,map

Vol. 2, No. 2, Apr-May 1997 CONTENTS DRAWING ON NATURE Jenny Chong discusses the long transition from pottery to sculpture 3 THE WRITER IN THE THEATRE Alison Croggon talks about the pains and joys of writing for the theatre 6 A MUSICIAN'S MUSICIAN Daniel Chable on Steve Vai 9 JOURNEYS OF THE MIND The pathway of 14 regional artists 10 THE INVISIBLE THEATRE The contribution of the Melbourne writers' theatre 13 PHOTOGRAPHY Justin McMahon's camera turns the night sky into 'light paintings' 16 NOLAN AT MUSEUM OF MODERN ART Why the Ned Kelly series is the exhibition we had to have 18 THE VOICE IN BETWEEN Short story by Archimede Fusillo 21 THEATRE AND CD REVIEW A play that puts an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander point of view 26 THEATRE AND CD REVIEW 27 ALAN MARSHALL AWARDS 28 SOUL OF SOCIETY Ken Strong tackles some questions of creativity 30 "Peter Dougherty has been involved in the local art scene for many years. As publisher and editor of the arts magazine Artstreams, his comments on the various branches of the arts are widely respected. His "The Arts" column in the Diamond Valley Leader presents a brief summary for a much wider cross section of the local community. Peter also operates his own gallery and the Artstreams Cafe at the St Andrews market. Peter has a wealth of knowledge about present day and historical aspects of local art and artists." - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 161, March 2005Colour front and back cover with feature articles and literary pieces with photographs and advertisements printed in black and white. 36 pages, 30 cm. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1996) - Vol. 10, no. 5 (summer ed. 2005/​06) art streams, food for all seasons, sidney nolan, ned kelly at glenrowan, jenny chong, manningham artspace, alison croggan, steve vai, daniel chable, recherche speciality picture framing, harriet dance, eva gaitatzis, manningham artspace, rick amor, jenny chong, geoffrey gordon dance, ernest fries, isabel davies, lindsay edward, kazuko eguichi, deborah halperin, inge king, grahame king, kevin lincoln, david moore, akira takizawa, tony trembath, carolyn pickett, melbourne writers' theartre, faces coffee house, eastern metropolitan opera, justin mcmahon, albert tucker, archimede fusillo, slickers, whilefood delights, eltham school of ballet, eltham little theatre, peter chapple, alan marshall short story award, janet drake, jon weaving, barry dickens, do lunch at the library licensed cafe, ken strong, wingrove cottage community clinic, helen o'grady children's drama academy, eltham high school symphonic band, james morrison, eltham wiregrass gallery & cafe

Vol. 9, No. 2, May-Jun 2004 CONTENTS Comment 2 Kavisha Mazzella 3 The Thylacine Captured 6 A Special Place & Special People 8 My Life as a Dyke at LaMama 11 Reading the teacups with Julie Tipene-O'Toole 12 Sculture as Calligraphy 14 Poetry News by Ian McBryde 15 Eltham Jazz & Heritage Festival 16 Ramblin Jack Elliot 18 A Correspondence with the Heart 19 A Pony Called Letter 20 Shakespeare at Montsalvat 22 Book Review 23 CD Reviews 24 Arti n' About 26 Wining & Dining 30 Art Services and Classes 32 "Peter Dougherty has been involved in the local art scene for many years. As publisher and editor of the arts magazine Artstreams, his comments on the various branches of the arts are widely respected. His "The Arts" column in the Diamond Valley Leader presents a brief summary for a much wider cross section of the local community. Peter also operates his own gallery and the Artstreams Cafe at the St Andrews market. Peter has a wealth of knowledge about present day and historical aspects of local art and artists." - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 161, March 2005Colour front and back cover with feature articles and literary pieces with photographs and advertisements printed in black and white. 36 pages, 30 cm. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1996) - Vol. 10, no. 5 (summer ed. 2005/​06) art streams, kavisha mazzella, art streams gallery, tim burstall, bundoora homestead, sushi wushi eltham, clive dickson, thylacine, hurstbridge & districts community bank branch, bendigo bank, montsalvat, rose mercer, bahnhof cafe, plenty of colour, eltham gourmet poultry & game, mercers restaurant, stephen mercer, warrandyte cafe, odette kelada, julie tipene-o'toole, eltham fullife pharmacy, dynamic vegies, sculpture, tony trembath, poetry, ian mcbryde, eltham jazz festival, jack elliott, isaac bergman, monique delaney, st andrews hotel, latrobe university, manningham gallery, northcote pottery, congo systems, bulleen art & garden centre, hurstbridge galleries, thompsons amcal pharmacy, organic produce store, city of whittlesea heritage program

In October 2000, Council invited three artists from the region (Deborah Halpern, Matcham Skipper, Tony Trembath) to submit designs for a sculpture / public art work for the Eltham Town Square. The commission was paid for by supermarket giant Safeway (Woolies) as part of its supermarket permit, which required them to contribute to beautification work in the Town Square.This is the first of three parts. The 'Spirit of Nillumbik' is a celebration of the artistic spirit of Eltham and surrounding communities. Each area is identified through the flora and fauna represented in the panels. The work honours the many creative artists and architects, past and present, who have built homes and shaped lives and livelihoods with their unique creative spirit. Halpern describes her work as a public expression of their individual and collective visions. Halpern acknowledges these contributions to our hand-made history and the influence they have on the character and identity of Eltham and Nillumbik. Five picture and six woven balustrades each made out of welded steel / organic wrought iron and coated with wax. Imagery (flora - plants, landscapes and fauna - animals, birds, reptiles, insects) are all based on the local environment. There is also a relevant aboriginal presence amongst each of the panels. Each panel represents the different areas that make up the Shire. 'Water' for Warrandyte, 'Kangaroos' for Christmas Hills, 'Cockatoos and 'Valley Creek Flats' for Hurstbridge, 'Wombats', 'Bluetongues' and 'Possums' for St. Andrews/Kinglake, 'Orchids' for Panton Hill, 'Cows' and 'Grapevines' for the Kangaroo Gound Hill landmark. N/Apublic art, nillumbik, fauna, flora, wrought iron, balustrade, halpern, laurence, kangaroo, eltham town square, spirit, warrandyte, christmas hills, kangaroo ground, hurstbridge, kinglake, panton hill, water, valley creek flats, cockatoos

In October 2000, Council invited three artists from the region (Deborah Halpern, Matcham Skipper, Tony Trembath) to submit designs for a sculpture / public art work for the Eltham Town Square. The commission was paid for by supermarket giant Safeway (Woolies) as part of its supermarket permit, which required them to contribute to beautification work in the Town Square. This is the second of three parts. The 'Spirit of Nillumbik' is a celebration of the artistic spirit of Eltham and surrounding communities. Each area is identified through the flora and fauna represented in the panels. The work honours the many creative artists and architects, past and present, who have built homes and shaped lives and livelihoods with their unique creative spirit. Halpern describes her work as a public expression of their individual and collective visions. Halpern acknowledges these contributions to our hand-made history and the influence they have on the character and identity of Eltham and Nillumbik. Square floor mosaic. Black and white chequered border. Multicoloured coiled snake intercepted with six multicoloured peaks. Made up of small mosaic tiles and hand painted. Hand painted artist signature bottom right hand side. 'Deborah D. Halpern '01'eltham, halpern, mosaic, snake, square, laurence, painted, tiles, spirit, nillumbik

In October 2000, Council invited three artists from the region (Deborah Halpern, Matcham Skipper, Tony Trembath) to submit designs for a sculpture / public art work for the Eltham Town Square. The commission was paid for by supermarket giant Safeway (Woolies) as part of its supermarket permit, which required them to contribute to beautification work in the Town Square.This is the third of three parts. The 'Spirit of Nillumbik' is a celebration of the artistic spirit of Eltham and surrounding communities. Each area is identified through the flora and fauna represented in the panels. The work honours the many creative artists and architects, past and present, who have built homes and shaped lives and livelihoods with their unique creative spirit. Halpern describes her work as a public expression of their individual and collective visions. Halpern acknowledges these contributions to our hand-made history and the influence they have on the character and identity of Eltham and Nillumbik.Realistic depiction of 'chocolate lilies' in wrought iron (three flowers in bloom, four large buds and six small buds). Chocolate lilies are indigenous to Nillumbik.N/A

Poster of all Ballarat School of Mines staff (named)davis, sonia, dixon, heather, dixon, philip, durant, heather, dyer, robert, fennell, anne, firth, barrie, gaunt malcolm, gunn, peter, hobbs, lyn, hood, graham, howell, kevin, jelbart, john, johnson, murray, leith, john, lovett, bob, mcfarlane, roger, mendelson, steven, merrett, pam, nicholls, geoff, o'toole, jan, palmer, max, parfenovics, roly, pavey, sue, perrin, mary, pym, ian, rae, bradley, ryan, bill, seymour, carole, shiel, peter, sordello, john, staley, bruce, vallance, malcolm, vn dreven, john, watts, liz, whittle, bill, woodruff, brian, beanland, graham, collier, betty, crump, neville, d'angri, val, dunlop, barbara, fennell, anne (humphry), hall, paula, haller, walter, heighway, alastair, hocking, geoff, humphrey, anne (fennell), kellam, trevor, kisler, peter, lawless, bob, little, garry, mail, andrew, mclennan, brian, mcnulty, patti, mitaxa, ian, nunn, peter, olmstead, dennis, peart, alby, perry, graeme, pope, geoff, pyke, george, shannon, leo, sharman, eric, shearer, graham, sheehan, frank, shiells, peter, stefschenk, ray, stoddart, roger, turner, jim, vandreven, john, wallis,. lee, akers, keith, boast, keith, byrne, simone, calistro, paul, dixon, john, faull, shirley, fenelon, virginia, french, neville, gribble, isabel, grist, carol, haddow, david, haley, rosaley, harris, ian, hazlett, rocky, heffernan, liz, jardine, cynthia, kemp, john, knight, kim, lambeth, paul, lanigan, alison, lesock, peter, lyttle, gary, martin, kevin, mcmillan, adrian, mcneight, wendy, nestor, david, osborne, bill, o'shea, bob, parker, frank, penhall, graham, pink, alan, pink, merrill, rasmussen, mary, sarah, doug, schenk, ray, seymour, doug, sullivan, andrew, thake, tony, thorpe, sharon, tiller, donna, torrington, andrew, trembath, colin, trotter, peter, turner, sonia, webber, brian, wild, ron, williams, carol, wren, derek, yeomans, lorraine, bergin, peter, burgess, zena, crebbin, irene, gough, tsony, haller, fleur, murray, bill, oparski, cheyrl, snibson, graham, sordello, franl, sutton, ron, walsh, paul, adrian, bill, aiton, alan, barratt, geoff, bevelander, mark, bridges, bill, brown, doug, cartledge, brian, conroy, ken, cook, les, curran, laurie, davidson, ron, davies, dennis, dobbyn, col, edwards, harold, ellis, alan, fithall, david, flanagon, john, fletcher, jeff, harrison, john, howlett, keith, hutchions, bob, lindorff, les, lucas, ron, mccann, david, mcdonald, laughlin, mclellan, jan, mitchell, ian, morgan, bob, perovic, bruno, robinson, ian, shaw, jim, smail, andrew, stevens, bernie, symons, doug, trainor, malcolm, van hammond, hans, wallis, lee, whitefield, gordon, woolman, tom, max palmer, donna tiller, neville french, rocky hazlet, tony thake, colin trembath, anne fennell, doug sara, jan mclellan

1996 Nillumbik Art in Public Places Award (installed late 1997). A biennial program that ceased in 2007. The program commissioned artists to make and install public art in various sites around the Shire. Award judges that year were Tony Trembath and artist Peter D. Cole. Susie Kumar has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from RMIT and Naomi Kumar has a Bachelor of Fine Art in photography degree from VCA. The Kumar sisters designed the sixty meter gently curving bench in response to the topography of the site, Conventry Oval. The sculpture is designed to describe the boundary between the formal oval and the natural creek bank and a considered relationship to the bike track and the river. It forms a link between the activities and aesthetics of its environment. The work is a comical interpretation of the utilitarian public bench. From a distance the bright red runners (the colour of the local football team's stripe) appear to float about the surrounding green. One end of the work is straight and finished. The other remains 'unfinished' hence allowing for the concept of unlimited extension. The 'legs' (steel hurdles) are arranged with a sense of movement and rhythm in sympathy with the activities happening around the work and with the stands of trees in he background. 'Benchmark' also serves as a functional purpose; providing a choice of places to sit to watch action on the oval. Stainless steel, timber (Victorian Ash) and red enamel paint. Sixty meter long red bench that gently curves in response to Conventry Oval. Bolted on top of evenly spaced stainless steel hurdles, four rows of timber runners are joined to provide unbroken continuous lengths. The bench stands on a framed bed of crushed rock (Lilydale topping).N/Abench, sport, wood, victorian ash, stainless steel, public art, ekphrasis2017

Contents: List of illustrations, From the Shire President, Historical background, current perspective and catalogue of art collection. This includes over 100 items. Book produced to accompany exhibition held at the Eltham Community and Reception Centre, Main Road Eltham June 26 - July 4 1993. "This exhibition celebrates two aspects of the art collection of the Shire of Eltham. There is the work which shows the love of Eltham and the environment, and work which deals with much broader concerns" Artists include: Helen Aitken-Kuhnen, David Armfield, Brian Armstrong, Alan Baker, Yvonne Ball, Piers Bateman, Julie Begg, Judith Ben-Meir, Yvonne Birch, The Bodford Collection, Janet Boddy, Deidre Boeyen, Ian Bow, David Benchley, Don Brown, Gilbert Buchanan, Paul Cavell, Patty Chandler, Rosalie Cogan, Scott Joseph Cowcher, Augustine Dall'Ava, Greg Daly, Simon Dattner, Peter Day, Domenico de Clario, Robert Delves, Joh Ebeli, Mark Edgoose, Graham Fransella, Ernest Fries, Edward Ginger, Peter Glass, Drew Gregory, Alison Hann, Tony Harkin, Wendy Henderson, Stephen Hughes, Lindsay Imbandarinja, John Irving, Hilary Jackman, Jill Kahans, William Kelly, Margot Knox, Margot Kroyer-Pederson, Anne Kueffer, Bruno Leti, Kevin Lincoln, Paul Margocsy, Alan Martin, Barry Mills, Simon Barley, Jenni Mitchell, David Moore, Barbara Munro, Ewald Namatjira, Norma Neil, Mark Page, Herman Pekel, Shane Pickett, Anthony Pryor, Clifton Pugh, Lynn Quintal, Giuseppe Raneri, Ken Robb, John Serle, Marjorie Shattock, Leslie Sinclair, Matcham Skipper, Myra Skipper, Sonia Skipper, Harris Smith, Eric Stephenson, Adriane Strampp, Marian Sussex, Tony Trembath, George Turcu, John Wakefield, Peter Wallace, Ray Walsh, Michael Wilson, Walter Withers, Vic Wood, Doug Wright, Romana Favier Zorzut, Renier Zusters.Softcover . Includes separate sheet of paper printed on both sides: "catalogue supplement" and "errata"shire of eltham art collection

Edendale Farm is Nillumbik Shire Council's environment centre situated in Gastons Road, Eltham between the railway and the Diamond Creek. The homestead on the property was built in 1896 and is of historical significance, being the subject of a Heritage Overlay under the Nillumbik Planning Scheme. The Edendale property was originally part of an extensive land purchase in 1852 from the Crown by pioneer Eltham farmer Henry Stooke. He initially purchased 51 acres and later expanded his holdings by purchasing another three adjacent Crown allotments extending northerly from Josiah Holloway's Little Eltham subdivision. Despite clearing the land, Stooke did not build on this property, choosing to live on his property "Rosehill" at Lower Plenty. In 1896 Thomas Cool, Club Manager of the Victoria Coffee Palace in Melbourne purchased 7 acres of the original Stooke land and built the house now known as Edendale. Cool did not farm the land, instead using it as a gentleman’s residence, retiring to Eltham at weekends. In 1918 he purchased an additional 7 acres but in 1919 he sold the property. Later owners included J.W. Cox, the Gaston family and D. Mummery. In the 1980s the Eltham Shire Council purchased the site for use as a Council depot, but this use did not proceed. Subsequently, it was used as the Council pound. The Edendale Farm Pet Education and Retention Centre was established in the summer of 1988/1989 and was set up to replace the existing dog kennels with a high standard pet retention centre. The design style of the building was established to compliment the features of the existing house. It was equipped with 10 retention pens, a veterinary room and a pet education area where school children and other interested parties learnt about pet care procedures. It was later developed into a community farm and was run by an advisory committee and in 2000 it became an Environment Centre. In early 2006 an advisory committee was established for the development of a master plan for future development at Edendale Farm. The committee included Russell Yeoman, a former long-time shire planner and founding member of the Eltham District Historical Society. At the time of filming the Master Plan and future for Edendale was about continuing to develop Edendale as a centre of environment learning and looking at expanding displays and school program, running a lot more of life-long learning and workshops around sustainable living. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p101 A sharp turn from busy Wattletree Road by the railway line, brings a surprise. Only 1.4 km from Eltham’s centre, sheep feed, blissfully unaware of the hectic suburban activity so close by. At the entrance to the 5.6ha Edendale Farm is another surprise. A work of art that looks like huge tree trunks transformed into bowler and top-hatted men. The Fences Act 1968 by Tony Trembath with Mark Cain and John Doyle, 1996, is classified by the National Trust of Australia as having Regional Significance. The title refers to a government act on disputes between neighbors over the placement of fences and boundaries. This takes a ‘wry swipe’ at a community divided by trivial squabbles. It also celebrates making do with limited resources.1 Further along on the left, the office wall is decorated with a massive Eltham Copper Butterfly, designed by Robert Tickner and made by school children with used plastic bottles and other waste material. Nillumbik Council runs Edendale as an Environmental Education Centre, to help preserve and enhance the local environment. As early as 1988 the former Eltham Shire Council realised Edendale’s importance in meeting people’s needs, particularly of children, to enjoy farmland. The centre, with the Eltham North Reserve to the north - including remnant bushland and open parkland - makes up the major part of the public open space for this area. The council considers this area will become increasingly important to the local community for recreational use.2 Educational programs aim to encourage community involvement to ensure the long-term rehabilitation and protection of natural bushland areas. Edendale is used by people of all ages - from school children to adults - for environmental programs and workshops, as well as for recreation, to enjoy the domestic animals and to picnic. Edendale is also home to the Environmental Works staff who manage reserves and roadsides and support Nillumbik Friends environmental groups. The Friends propagate plants at the nursery, which grows indigenous plants and sells these to the public.3 The centre demonstrates the sustainable living the farm teaches, with features like solar hot water and drive lighting and for the fireplace, logs of recycled cardboard. Edendale has had a varied history as a dog pound and even as a retreat for Thomas Cool, Club Manager of the Victoria Coffee Palace in Melbourne. His single-storey weatherboard house built in 1896, which still stands, was grander than most homes in Eltham. Although such buildings were common in many other parts of Melbourne, Eltham’s poverty and remoteness did not encourage such construction. The Victorian rectangular-shaped house, with a corrugated iron roof and veranda, has elegant large rooms, leadlight windows, ceiling roses, two bay windows and ornately carved wooden fireplace surrounds. Cool bought seven acres (2.8ha) from pioneer Eltham farmer Henry Stooke’s 200 acre (81ha) farm, which he had bought from the Crown in 1852. In 1918 Cool bought an extra seven acres (2.8ha) but in 1919 sold the estate to farmer John Cox. In 1933 Cox sold Edendale to Mrs Elizabeth Gaston, after whom the road leading to the centre was named. The property was owned by several Gaston family members, who called it Edendale, then by a police constable, Douglas Mummery, until the Shire of Eltham bought it in 1970. Oddly Edendale was known as Mummery’s for almost 20 years, although Mummery owned it only for a short time.4 The shire used Edendale as a dog pound until amalgamation with other municipalities in 1996. The pound then moved to the Yan Yean Road, Plenty site, which had been used by the former Diamond Valley Shire Council. To the west and north the centre is bounded by Diamond Creek and on the east by the Melbourne-Hurstbridge railway line. Part of the Research creek forms the centre’s southern boundary.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, edendale farm