Eltham, Victoria

Eltham Melbourne, Victoria
Aerial photo of Eltham from south east
Eltham
Population:	17,581 (2006)
Postcode:	3095
Area:	13.2 km² (5.1 sq mi)
Location:	20 km (12 mi) from Melbourne
LGA:	Shire of Nillumbik
State electorate:	Eltham, Yan Yean
Federal Division:	Jagajaga
Suburbs around Eltham: Briar Hill Eltham North Research Montmorency Eltham Research Lower Plenty Templestowe Warrandyte

Eltham  pronunciation is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km north-east from the Melbourne central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2006 Census, Eltham had a population of 17,581.

Eltham is one of the 'green wedge' areas that provide relatively undeveloped, accessible environments within the Melbourne suburban region. These green wedge areas are under constant pressure from developments such as road and freeway expansions, but Eltham has managed to retain many tree-lined streets and leafy reserves. However, the character of the suburb is changing rapidly, with increased road traffic and higher-density housing becoming more common

Eltham is known for its tourist attractions, including the artists colony Montsalvat and the Diamond Valley Railway, the largest ridable miniature railway in Australia.

History

Eltham developed around what is now Main Road from the 1840s. A reserve for a village at the junction of the Diamond Creek and Yarra River is shown on maps around 1848. By 1851 the first Crown allotments were being subdivided and sold, along with a private subdivision developed by T. M. Holloway, known as Little Eltham. At this time, the town's centre was located around the intersection of Pitt Street and Main Road.

Eltham Post Office opened on 1 February 1854.

The arrival of the railway in 1902 drew business further north along Main Road to the current town centre.

The Eltham to Templestowe bridge (1855-1863, 1873-1935?)

In February 1855 Hungarian immigrant Sigismund Wekey purchased 211 acres (0.85 km²) in what was then Eltham (but is now Lower Plenty), through 'The Victoria Vineyard and Garden Fruit Company' of which he was the manager, with a vision of starting a wine industry in the new settlement near Melbourne.

In March 1855, Wekey held a meeting at the Bulleen Hotel and called for shareholders, "each according to his means”, in a proposed toll bridge, the first bridge ever built over the Upper Yarra, joining "Eltham" to Templestowe, and replacing a toll punt being operated by the company. The bridge would cut five kilometres off the trip from Eltham township to Melbourne, it was claimed at the meeting.

A plan, backed by a group of Melbourne businessmen, who would form the ‘Templestowe Bridge Committee’, attracted the necessary shareholders and the project was underway. 'Colonial Architect' of the day, James Balmain, did the design as a private commission, the engineers and builders were Allott & Greenwood. The foundation stone, laid by John Hodgson M.L.C., on 18 August, 1855, concealed a manuscript giving details of the people at the ceremony.

The bridge would have a span of 43 metres and a width of eight metres. It would cost 2,200 English Pounds ($US800,000 in 2010's currency). It would be located at the end of what is now Bonds Road, Lower Plenty, the land for this road being donated by local landowners John Seymour and David Bell. And the Central Road Board agreed to level the road to the bridge on the Templestowe side through the estate of Henry Stooke.

Meantime Wekey conceived a plan for another bridge at Studley Park, to improve and shorten the trip to the city even further. By 21 September, 1855, the plan for this second bridge was underway.

A stoppage in the works of the Templestowe Bridge was explained by Wekey on 22 September as being a dispute between the Board and the contractors over payment when the foundation on the Lower Plenty side was found to be different than expected, causing a change in the design—the contractors were wanting more money to accommodate this.

Unfortunately in January 1856 the Victoria Vineyard and Garden Fruit Company was forced to sell its land. The sale was to Mr King for eight English Pounds an acre - the land had been acquired originally for 4.60 English Pounds an acre - but Wekey had been confident it would soon be worth 18-20 English Pounds per acre! The company was wound up shortly afterwards.

It appears the Templestowe Bridge was operating by this time.

In March 1862, a deputation of Eltham residents approached the Commissioner of Railways and Roads, requesting the government buy the Templestowe Bridge then give it back to the Eltham District Road Board because, while its toll earning capability was not as remunerative as had been hoped, the bridge was a “great public convenience”. This request was denied.

In October 1863 there was a great flood causing the Yarra to rise 12 metres—it even flooded Elizabeth Street in the city. Several bridges were washed away.

In March 1865 a deputation of Templestowe residents to the Acting Commissioner of Roads and Bridges, offered 600 English Pounds, raised by them towards a new bridge to replace the Templestowe Bridge, and requested a government grant towards the cost. The Acting Commissioner “promised to give the matter further consideration” though "he did not see from what fund a sum of money could be granted to them”.

A repair job was carried out between 1873 and 1874.

There were several more large floods, notably in October, 1923, when the Templestowe Bridge, “a solid wooden structure on an iron girder, with stone supports” almost washed away again. The bridge also appears to have survived the significant December, 1934, flood as it is mentioned in a news article in The Argus newspaper in February 1935.^{[citation needed]} No other references have yet been found. And no picture of the bridge has been found either.

The last ‘bits’ of the Templestowe Bridge, joining what was Eltham to Finns Reserve at Thompson’s Road, Templestowe, finally washed away according to local folklore in the 1960s.

Around 1855 another bridge was built nearby in what was Eltham but is now Lower Plenty, over the Plenty River. This bridge, of bluestone blocks and steel, still stands today and is part of the Plenty River Trail close to the Heidelberg Golf Club and the Lower Plenty Hotel. It is possible that the Templestowe Bridge was similar in appearance to this.

Appeal to Artists

Buildings at the Montsalvat artists' colony, Eltham, Victoria

Eltham has been a popular location for artists since the early 1900s. Eltham is famous for the Montsalvat artist community, which built a rustic set of medieval-style buildings in the 1930s. Montsalvat is still open to the public and houses artists in residence, and a year round calendar of public programs.^{[citation needed]}

Aside from the Montsalvat artist community, Eltham has also been home to artists such as Walter Withers and Neil Douglas, as well as to writers such as Alan Marshall and Mervyn Skipper .

Significant buildings

One of the legacies of this artistic tradition is the local architecture, particularly the use of mudbrick as a building material. Alistair Knox (namesake for a major community reserve in Eltham's centre) was perhaps the best-known exponent of this technique of construction. Australia's first mudbrick community building, the Eltham Community Centre was opened in 1978. His protege, architect Robert Marshall, later Mayor of Eltham, went on to develop his own style of mudbrick and environmentally responsible architecture in Victoria, in his Hurstbridge practice which graduated a number of young, notable Australian architects.^{[citation needed]}

Monsalvat, in Hillcrest Avenue, operates as a commune for artists and craftspeople. The first building was constructed in 1935 by artist Justus Jorgensen. The Great Hall at Monsalvat was built in 1938.

Shillinglaw Cottage was built in 1878 by a local builder, George Stebbing, with handmade bricks using an unusual design featuring burnt header bricks throughout the facade.

St Margaret's Church, located in Pitt Street, was constructed in 1880 and is included on the Historic Buildings Register.

Eltham Primary School, located on Dalton Street, was first established in 1856. The original mud brick structure is still standing and in use.

The Eltham Courthouse, on the corner of Main Road and Brougham Street, was built in 1859 and was classified by the National Trust in 1977.

Eltham Trestle Bridge

The timber trestle railway bridge across the Diamond Creek, just south of the Eltham Railway Station, is one of the few remaining examples of this type of construction in Melbourne, and the only one still in use on a revenue railway. Built in 1901, the bridge was the subject of a lengthy dispute during the 1970s between the Victorian Railways and local residents over its preservation.

Education

Eltham encompasses the state secondary school, Eltham High School, as well as a private girls secondary school the Catholic Ladies' College (CLC). Another private secondary school, Eltham College of Education, takes its name from Eltham, but is located in nearby Research. Primary schools include Eltham Primary, Our Lady Help Of Christians Primary, Eltham East Primary and Eltham North Primary School. Several schools are also located in the exclusive connecting area of Eltham North, including St. Helena Secondary College, Plenty Valley Montessori School, Holy Trinity Primary School, Glen Katherine Primary School and near Eltham College of Education there is Research Primary.

Amenities

Eltham has a local train station, Eltham Station, located on the Hurstbridge Line.

The suburb is home to the Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club, one of the largest junior basketball clubs in the world^{[citation needed]}.

Eltham Eagles Soccer Club and Eltham Cricket Club are also popular gathering points.

Eltham has a football team competing in the Northern Football League.

The suburb is home to the Eltham Tennis Club, one of the largest tennis clubs in the Nillumbik Shire.

Eltham Little Athletics Club is one of the largest of the eight clubs competing weekly at the Diamond Valley Little Athletics Centre at Willinda Park, Greensborough.

Local Wildlife

The Eltham Copper Butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida) was discovered in 1938 in Eltham. After 1956 it was thought to be extinct until a population was found again at Eltham in 1986. A reserve for the butterflies has been created on land connecting to Eltham's Linear Park.

Notable residents

• Phil Judd - Musician, Artist. Founder of Split Enz and The Swingers. Wrote the #1 hit "Counting The Beat"
• Peter Helliar - Comedian
• Merrick Watts - Comedian
• Jennifer Adams - Newsreader
• Adam Dale - Australian Test Cricketer
• Ben Mendelsohn - Actor
• Peter Moore - Australian rules footballer with Melbourne and Collingwood - won two Brownlow Medals
• Adam Simpson - former captain of the Kangaroos Australian rules football club
• Wilbur Wilde - Musician, television personality
• Terry Wallace - Richmond Football Club - Former Coach
• Emily Browning - Actor
• Kerry Armstrong - Actor
• Jenny Teichman - Philosopher
• Cadel Evans - Cyclist
• Kimberley Starr - Novelist

External links

• Photographs taken around Eltham
• Local news in Eltham
• Nillumbik Shire