Local Cemetery Excursion Sunday 27 May 1990 departed Eltham Shire Office at 9.30am and finish mid afternoon. Visits to Eltham , Kangaroo Ground, Queenstown (Smiths Gully), Nillumbik (Diamond Creek), St Katherines (St Helena) Hurst family graves at Hurstbridge and a little known early cemetery at Grteensborough. Attended by 20 members. In each case we were introduced to the cemetery with a brief talk. At Eltham, Frank Burgoyne gave us the benefit of his knowledge as a member of the cemetery trust and at Kangaroo Ground, Bruce Ness spoke in a similar capacity. The lunch stop was at Hurstbridge where we visited the Hurst family graves. The President of Nillumbik Historical Society, Jock Ryan, joined us at the Nillumbik (Diamond Creek) cemetery. He travelled on to St Katherines, St Helena, where he talked on the history of the church and cemetery.35mm colour positive transparency (1 of 23) Mount - Agfachrome Agfa CS System black 8 dotsshire of eltham historical society, cemetery excursion, graves, activities, cemeteries, st katherine's church cemetery, st katherine's church, mary (molly) joyce pitt evans (nee withers), walter withers

Six year old Judith Furphy was the first person known to have been buried at Kangaroo Ground Cemetery in May 1851. The cemetery is situated on an ancient river bed with exposed Nillumbik sands. The rest of the district is formed from black volcanic soil which was hard to dig. According to local historian Mick Woiwod (deceased) the site may have been a burial ground for the local Wurundjeri people as the exposed softer sands were always their prefered camping sites. The Hon. Ewen Hugh Cameron who lived at Pigeon Bank and was the Member for Evelyn for 40 years (1874-1914) was buried here in 1915. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p39 The Wurundjeri people might have buried their dead on the site of the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery, according to local historian Mick Woiwod. Kangaroo Ground was a premier hunting ground, but camping on the black volcanic soil would have been uncomfortable. Unlike most of Kangaroo Ground, its cemetery, on an ancient river bed, comprises a rare exposure of Nillumbik sands – always the preferred campsite for Aboriginal people. The cemetery area is the only place where the soil was soft enough to dig a grave easily.1 Six-year-old Judith Furphy was the first person known to have been laid to rest at the Kangaroo Ground Cemetery. She died on May 17, 1851, from a chill caught by resting on wet grass. Local Andrew Ross wrote ‘..no public burying place existed nearer than Melbourne. The case being considered urgent, a general meeting of the settlers took place on the evening of the 17th……. The result was the selection of unoccupied crown land …….which was subsequently granted by Government for a public cemetery.’2 Judith was buried the next day on May 18. Her grave was marked by the trustees with a plaque, which unfortunately states nine years old, when she was probably only six. Judith came from an illustrious family. Her brother, Joseph, was the author of Such is Life and other works. Another brother, John, developed and manufactured the famous Furphy water cart, which distributed water to World War One soldiers along with the latest rumours. Hence the name Furphy entered the Australian idiom, as synonymous with ‘rumour’. Judith’s father Samuel helped build the first Kangaroo Ground church school. Inside, near the entrance of the cemetery, on Yarra Glen Road, stand a rotunda and a water tank. Occasional benches invite mourners to pause and remember. The gate with wrought iron and brick supports, bears the inscription ‘Erected by Sir Ewen and Lady Cameron in memory of their daughter, Flora Margaret’. These are only two of the famous people connected with this cemetery. The Hon. Ewen Hugh Cameron JP and MLA from 1874 to1914, who lived at Pigeon Bank, Warrandyte Road, was buried here in 1915. Unrelated, but with the same name, was Sir Ewen Cameron who had been Minister for Health and was laid to rest there in 1964. Sir Herbert Gepp, a leading industrialist and the former owner of Garden Hill, at Yarra Glen Road, was buried there in 1954.3 Many of the more imposing tombstones belong to the earlier graves. Unfortunately bushfires have cracked several. But this adds to the melancholy attractiveness of the cemetery, graced by some beautiful eucalypts, cypress and pines. Early pioneering families represented at the cemetery include Armstrong, Barr, Bell, Harkness, Jardine, Johnston, Rogerson, Stevenson, Thomson and Walters. Armstrong and Bell were among the first families to come to the district and Stevenson owned the district’s first sheep station. It took in much of present day Christmas Hills, which was the name he gave his sheep station. Harkness was the first to suggest a Kangaroo Ground school be built, and one of the first to suggest establishing the Eltham District Road Board. Many of these families leased pastoral land before the mid-century and bought land when it came on sale in 1849. In the cemetery’s early days sections were devoted to the major Christian denominations (mainly the Protestant) and one section was set aside for ‘other’ or ‘non-believers’. However in modern times burial plots have not been placed in areas according to religious beliefs.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, kangaroo ground, eltham-yarra glen road, agnes bell cameron, agnes cameron (nee bell), cameron family, edward aubrey haughton, eugene cameron, evelyn florence cameron, ewen hugh cameron, gravestones, jane armstrong, jane bell, jessie agnes haughton (nee cameron), jessie cameron, john donald cameron, kangaroo ground cemetery, neville cameron, simon armstrong, vera cameron, william bell armstrong, wurundjeri

History of the Ellis family in Diamond Creek and Yarra Glen.William Ellis emigrated to Victoria in 1847 and bought most of the Wattle Glen area in 1850. He also had family connections to Kangaroo Ground.A black and white booklet, 12 pages, black and white illus.John Mackey in pencil inside front coverwattle glen, kangaroo ground, nillumbik historical society, william ellis, diamond creek, farming, walters family, ellis cottage

In 1983, the National Trust advised the Shire of Eltham that it was investigating a number of trees within the shire which had been nominated for recording the Register of Significant Trees of Victoria. The trees involved were described in the Shire of Eltham Historical Society Newsletter No. 29, March 1983 as follows:- 1. Eucalyptus melliadora (Yellow box) . a) An outstanding mature specimen 42 metres high in Laughing Waters Road, Eltham. b) Another mature specimen in Arthurs Creek road, Hurstbridge is reported to be the tree under which the bushranger Robert Bourke was tied after he shot and killed Henry Hurst in 1866 . 2. Quercus robur (English Oak). a) "Donaldson's Oak", Donaldsons Road, Kangaroo Ground was planted by John Donaldson from seed collected from Windsor Great Park in 1878. b) "Wippells Oak". This now misshapen tree is located on the St. Andrews Road near the Kangaroo Ground Fire Station. Its origins may have been similar to Donaldson's Oak, and as a young tree it apparently slipped from higher up the hill during wet weather. Both oaks are of local historical importance. 3. Eucalyptus globulus (Blue Gum). A large mature specimen at the corner of the Kangaroo Ground-St. Andrews Road and Bakehouse Road, Panton Hill. 4. Plantanas acerifolia (Plane tree) A number of trees forming the Avenue of Honour to Eltham's First World War soldiers along Main Road between Dalton and Pitt Streets, Eltham. 5. Pinus canariensis (Canary Island Pine), Pinus pinea, (Stone pine) and Cedras altlantica, (Cedar) These trees are located at the Hurst family graves in the grounds of the Hurstbridge Pre-school Centre. In 1991 the Shire of Eltham introduced controls into its planning scheme to protect sites of architectural, historic or conservation interest and significant trees. The controls were approved by the Minister for Planning and Housing. As advised in the Shire of Eltham Historical Society Newsletter No. 78, May 1991, a planning permit is required to demolish or alter any listed building or to destroy, lop or remove any listed tree. Provision is made for comments to be obtained from the National Trust or Historic Buildings Council in considering any applications. The buildings and trees listed were: Buildings: 250 Bolton Street Eltham (former Walter Withers home) "Rosehill" - Bonds Road Lower Plenty St Andrews Church of England - St Andrews "Montsalvat" - Hillcrest Avenue Eltham St Margarets Church and former vicarage - Pitt Street Eltham Presbyterian Church - Kangaroo Ground Parks and Environment Office (former police quarters) Main Road Eltham Former Court House - Main Road Eltham "Shillinglaw Cottage" - Main Road Eltham "The Robins" - Kangaroo Ground Road Warrandyte Trees: "Donaldsons Oak" - Donaldsons Road Kangaroo Ground Yellow Box - Laughing Waters Road Eltham Yellow Box - Arthurs Creek Road Hurstbridge Wippells Oak - St Andrews Road Kanqaroo Road Pines and Cedar - Hurst family cemetery Greysharps Road Hurstbridge Yellow Box - Parsons Road Eltham A large Blue Gum at Panton Hill has been listed but has recently died (1991). In 1993 work by Council Parks and Environment staff and volunteers resulted in the preparation of a Significant Tree Register listing forty-one trees or groups of trees. According to Shire of Eltham Historical Society Newsletter No. 91, March 1993, a similar number remained to be assessed for inclusion in the register. There is a wide range of indigenous and planted trees on private and public land and extending through the Shire of Eltham from Lower Plenty to Kinglake. Most can be viewed from publicly accessible locations. The Significant Tree Register lists 41 trees or groups of trees throughout the Shire. It contains a wide range of naturally occurring and planted trees. They have been assessed according to eleven criteria including size, age, rarity, historical value and the like. The list includes large old Red Gums at Lower Plenty, historic Oaks at Kangaroo Ground and Mountain Ash at Kinglake. The register includes a set of slides showing each tree. Garry Bartlett of the Council's Parks and Environment Section and Faye Shepherd were extensively involved in establishment of the register (Newsletter No. 93, November 1993). In 1999 Niliumbik planners prepared an amendment to the Planning Scheme to provide protection for approximately 200 of the places listed in the heritage studies and also in the Significant Tree Register commenced by the Eltham Council (Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 127, July 1999. In 2004, The Register of Significant Trees was presented to the Eltham District Historical Society by Nillumbik Shire Council as part of a wider collection of of its memorabilia of the former Eltham Shire Council (EDHS Newsletter No. 159, July 2004. Album of loose handmade paper sheets contained within a handmade slip cover constructed of handcrafted card with encapsulated flora material (flowers, vines, ferns) and tinted. Each page also contains an embedded/adhered fern leaf also tinted with lacqueur or similar, text as appropriate in ink by hand calligraphy. Each page also has a white protective sheet cut to size and adhered to back surface with sticky tape and folded over face of page. Pages variously have photographs and coloured masks adhered with a gum resin. Over time much of this resin has let go and photos/masks have been reattached using acid free archival safe adhesive. 15 pages 41 x 29 cm inclusive of 3 blank pages. Slip case 42 x 30 x 1 cm; face cover of slip case has broken off at left hand margin as insufficient depth/flexibility for contents.arthurs creek road, blue gum (eucalyptus globulus), canary island pine (pinus canariensis), couties road, donaldsons oak, donaldsons road, eltham, english oak (quercus robur), eucalyptus melliodora, graysharps road, hurst tree, hurstbridge, ironbark (eucalyptus tricarpa), ironbark hill, kangaroo ground, kangaroo ground-kinglake road, laughing waters road, panton hill hotel, panton hill, parsons road, significant trees register, sonia van bodegraven, sonjart, stone pine (pinus pinea). atlantic cedar (cedrus atlantica), wippells oak, yellow box gum (eucalyptus melliodora), yellow box gum