"The dry stone walls provide a tangible link to the area’s white settlement, and they remain a symbol of the profound change in land usage from the original Kulin custodians to the European arrivals of the nineteenth century. The bulk of dry stone wall construction in Victoria occurred between the 1850s and 1880s. The gold rush of the early 1850s in particular inspired a flurry of construction. At this time, labour previously available for shepherding livestock dried up, as men gravitated to the goldfields to seek their fortunes. This necessitated the building of fencing to contain the district’s growing number of sheep, cattle and horses. An explosion in surveying, subdivision and the sale of Crown lands also contributed to a boost in construction. Government regulations that punished pastoralists for allowing their livestock to stray provided further incentive to fence-off previously open expanses of land. The major benefit of this type of fencing was that it utilised the materials at hand; the plentiful grey basalt that scattered the landscape. In the case of the dry stone walls built around Melton, the characteristic round or oval shape of the volcanic fieldstones on the western plains inspired some distinctive designs.54 Another advantage of dry stone walls was their ability to withstand the ravages of flood, fire and drought often experienced in the district. This durability accounts for the fact that many of these fences still exist today".

council, landscapes of significance

Pamphlet about Melton's history

landscapes of significance, council

"The Pinkerton family is remembered in Melton in part due to the historic graves of the original settler, Margaret Pinkerton, and four of her grandchildren, which were marked by a memorial cairn in 1931. Changes to sewage flood zoning in the area in the 1990s necessitated that these burials be relocated. Members of the Melton & District Historical Society oversaw a project to relocate the Pinkerton graves and cairn 200 metres from their original site to their current resting place at Mount Cottrell. This relocation ceremony took place on 8 November 1992, with the participation of local school students and with Pinkerton descendants playing a central role. This occasion also marked the opening of the Pinkerton Forest Project, which saw 50 hectares of degraded woodland in Surbiton Park protected for regeneration".

Pamphlet about the relocation of the Pinkerton graves

landscapes of significance, local identies, local special interest groups, pioneer families

Tour of historic sites in Melton including Melton State School 430 and Uniting Church

landscapes of significance, local architecture

Information relating to accomodation, history and heritage, parks and nature, things to do and public art in Melton

council

Information about the Willows homestead

local architecture

Things to see and do in Melton brochure

council

council

The memorial wall was constructed in 2010 to coincide with brigade's 75th anniversary. The wall represents the brigade members that have passed away while as members in the line of duty has served more than fifteen years of service to the Melton Fire Brigade. This wall is the relocation of the historic time capsule from the old fire station to to its new location in Henry Street.

emergency services

Formation of the Mt Cottrell Fire Brigades Group In its policy of creating smaller compact groups of fire brigades the Country Fire Authority Regional Officer Harry Rothsay in 1967 requested that the following 6 brigades surrounding Mt Cottrell transfer from their respective groups. Melton and Rockbank from Bacchus Marsh Group, Toolern Vale and Sydenham from Mt Macedon Group and Truganina and Werribee from Little River Group forming a new Group to the be named Mt Cottrell Fire Brigades Group. Group Headquarters was established at the Ferris road residence of Melton Captain E W Bon Barrie, who was elected Group and Communications Officer of Mt Cottrell. E W (Eddie) Gillespie and Keith Watt of the Toolern Vale brigade were appointed Deputy Group Officer and Group Secretary respectively

Region 14 Rural Fire Brigades Association First Annual Demonstration programme

emergency services

Strathtulloh Homestead at 1402-1600 Greigs Road, Melton South

local architecture

Proceeds of the postcard went to Melton Historical Society for the restoration of the Willows

Postcard of the Willows

local architecture, pioneer families, local special interest groups

The Staughton Memorial on High Street, Melton, is a memorial to Captain S.T. Staughton, D.S.O, M.L.A., scion of the locally prominent Staughton family who died at a young age.

Sketch and design for the restoration of the Staughton Memorial Lamp

pioneer families

"Eynesbury, Eynesbury Road was one of four properties into which Simon Staughton’s Exford station, established in 1841, was subdivided for his sons after his death in 1863. The Eynesbury station of approximately 20,000 acres was inherited by his second son, Samuel Thomas Staughton. Eynesbury remained unsubdivided until redevelopment for residential purposes commenced in the early 2000s, at which time it was the largest pastoral property within 300 kilometres of Melbourne".

local architecture, local identities

In 1865, Mr Shebler built the original Golden Fleece Hotel building and was demolished during the 1970s.

Drawing of the original Golden Fleece Hotel

local architecture

The Melton State School No. 430 built in 1869-70, with the bluestone additions constructed in 1877 and the brick additions in 1924. Is the only remaining nineteenth century school in the Shire of Melton.

Sketches are part of preparation for production of Red Book 'The first 100 years'

education, local identities, local significant events

Mary Dowling and John Luby had a cottage built on Reserve Rd Melton, the current site of the hardware store

landscapes of significance

Built in 1926 and opened in 1927, it was the receiving station of the Australian Imperial Wireless Service. In 1927, provided the nation’s first radio communication with Britain and North America. The station closed in 1969.

Former residential quarters of the Australian Beam Wireless Receiving Station at 653-701 Greigs Road East, Mt Cottrell.

misc.

Elizabeth Daley later turned her father's bootmaker shop into a haberdashery shop. She died in 1949. Her sister Annie had a tiny house nearby according to Edna. John Lugg rented the house after her death. Max Myers built a house on the west side of the cottage.

Elizabeth Daley's property with Max Myers' house in the background

local identities

The original Melton settlement on the flat where the golf course is now located. The tree still stands over Toolern Creek.

misc.

Photograph of brothers taken at Myers Gully (Ryans Creek), Western Highway Melton. Bruce 9.5 years, Max 6 years old.

local identities

Ian Barrie born in 1954, only child of Thomas and May.

local identities

Brothers and sons of Charles Ernest BARRIE and Jessie May LANG

local identities

Ernest Wesley BARRIE and Eva Edna MYERS's children

local identities

The Melton Viaduct, opened in 1886, is one of Australia’s largest early metal bridges. When opened it was the second longest Australian metal truss bridge, after the 1862 Moorabool railway viaduct (396 metres).

The Melton Viaduct is a trestle bridge over the Werribee River (now Melton Reservoir)

transport

Back L-R Fred Coles, Brian Nolan, Bernard Shelly, Wal Williams and Emil Jongebloed [Pat]. Front Teddy Cochrane and Bill Fogarty at there First Communion.

local identities, churches

local identities

Rosemary Rebecca BARRIE was born the 12th of April 1930, , sister of Hugh and the youngest grandchild of William and Mary Ann. She is a valuable source of family and Melton history. She married Max Myers of ‘Burnbank’ Melton, on the 31 August 1951 in Melton, Victoria, Australia.Max was the youngest brother of Edna Barrie.

Rosemary at the beach

local identities

Frederick John Watson MYERS was born on 01 October 1908 in Melton, Victoria. First child of Frederick Thomas MYERS and Martha Mary WATSON. He married Mary June BATTYE on 18 September 1948 in Victoria, Australia. He died on 07 February 2001.

Photos of Frederick John Watson Myers

local identies

The Bridge Road Bridge built in 1913 by Sir John Monash for the Shire of Melton. It was built to provide railway station access to the new farming areas.

Black and white photo of the bridge

transport, council