Historical information

14 Stokes Place (Lot 83) was the home of Peter and Carla Vermey. The land was purchased in May 1979 and construction commenced September 1979. The home was built by Peter and Carla Vermey after the developer, Macquarie Builders went bankrupt. Sold October 2017 by Morrison and Kleeman Real Estate.

Stokes Place from end of court looking south, April 1980 [Photo: Peter and Carla Vermey]
Taken from the current linear park adjacent to No. 9.

Stokes Place was part of the Stokes Orchard Estate which was developed from the break-up of the the orchard owned by Frank Stokes who lived on the northeast corner of Nyora Road and Eucalyptus Road. His daughter Beryl advised that the Shire had levied a rate assessment on individual parcels of land within the orchard which became unaffordable resulting in its sub-division and sell off.

The Stokes Orchard Estate was developed by Macquarie Builders in two stages starting with stage 1 in 1976. Stokes Place was part of Stage 2 in 1979. The Estate was bounded between Nyora Road, Eucalyptus Road, Diosma Road and Stokes Place. The original orchard only just reached the left most portions of Stokes Place and did not go fully up to Diosma, rather to just beyond the extant of Stokes Place.

Stokes Place was known within the family as "The Oats" as that is where they grew oats.

Frank Stokes moved to Eltham c.1945 after visiting Harold Bird to view his orchard, located diagonally opposite Stokes Orchard from the intersection of Eucalyptus Road, Pitt Street and Nyora Road. It was on Harold Bird's recommendation that Frank purchased the land.

Stage 2 of the Stokes Orchard Estate, implented 1979, included Stokes Place coming off Nyora Road, as well as Orchard Way, The Crest, The Lookout and The Nook all coming off Diosma Road. The proposed lots (and streets) along Diosma Road did not eventuate due to the lack of a sewer system. These lots and streets were combined into 5 acre blocks, which were not able to be subdivided till the 1990s when the sewer was eventually run up Diosma Road.

Significance

The Stokes Orchard Estate collection is typical of housing developments of the late 1970s and 1980s. It was one of the earliest estates in Eltham following the nearby Woodridge Estate development.

Physical description

Digital file

Inscriptions & markings

Scanned by EDHS from 49 x 35mm colour transparencies provided on loan