Historical information
Part of a personal letter from a church member printed on yellow paper with a black and white photograph.
Transcription:
"And so home again to .. a fire!! Eltham Christina School and Church, where I worship was extensively burned by a known arsonist on Oct 10 (1998). We lost tthe 3 school rooms and 2/3 of the church. Another school kindly offered classrooms for the children. November 28 and a makesafe wall means school and church are now functioning in the good 1/3 of the church, until the remainder is rebuilt. So many have ministered to us in so many ways over these past weeks and we do thank the Lord for each one."
The Stokes family settled in this area of Eltham in the 1940s and were associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1920s subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises were owned by the Nillumbik Community Church who were in operation till November 2010 when the Eltham Baptist Church commenced a lease arrangement until the site was purchased by them in April 2012. The building is constructed of brick and timber with a balcony on two sides that looks over an expanse of grass.
Sources: STOKES ORCHARD – AN INCOMPLETE HISTORY February 28, 2015 http://www.elthamhistory.org.au/
Australian Christian Church Histories - Eltham Baptist Church http://www.churchhistories.net.au/church-catalog/eltham-vic-baptist/
From a magnetic spiral bound photo album featuring a series of photographs (some cropped) with captions relating to the staff, students and activities of the Eltham Christian School which operated as part of the Eltham Christian Church at Nyora Road, Eltham. See also entries for each photograph.
Physical description
Typed letter printed on yellow paper with a black and white photograph
