Historical information

Official opening of Eltham Library; The Hon. Rupert. J. Hamer, E.D., M.P. (left) and Cr. G.C. Dreverman (right), 17 August 1971, in front of a plaque reading "Eltham Library opened by the Honourable R. J. Hamer E.D., M.P. Chief Secretary of Victoria, 17 August 1971" on the exterior bluestone wall.

The Eltham Branch of the Heidelberg Regional Library Service was opened on 17 August 1971 by Victoria’s Chief Secretary R. J. Hamer. The library was designed by the firm Leith and Bartlett and was the southern wing of the Shire of Eltham Offices in Main Road Eltham. Visitors entered a “book plaza” which embodies the display techniques of a bookshop. Through this area was located a quieter area for reference and the more “purposeful” reader. The library was opened as part of the Shire of Eltham’s centenary celebrations.

The library and Shire Offices were demolished exactly 25 years later in 1996.

The current library was opened in 1994.

Significance

This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book, "Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.'
It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.

Physical description

Digital image