No. 70 Famous local landscape designer Gordon Ford’s philosophy could be described in 3 words – “keep it simple”. Eltham Garden Retreat is a stunning example of this; 2 mud brick cottages set amidst a hectare of native gardens with natural paths, ponds and waterfalls. Gordon Ford (1918-1999) worked with Alistair Knox and Ellis Stones amongst others in the halcyon days of the late 40’s and 50’s, building mud brick homes and designing gardens that have become quintessentially Eltham. Ford bought the property in 1948, a couple of years after his war service in New Guinea. It was an old orchard and he set about building the house with friends in stages as more space was needed and scarce materials became available. Clifton Pugh apparently built the bedroom for £10. The gardens have been in the Open Garden Scheme since the 1980’s.
No 71 This house was owned by David and Joan Armfield and was hand built in 1969 by jazz musician Roger Bell. It is lime washed mud brick, of a timeless light filled design. It has only just been sold for the first time. David Armfield (1923-2010) was a painter and printmaker who worked in the newspaper world until 1965 when he became a full time artist. As a social realist, he painted common everyday themes of Australian life.
No 75 The original adobe residence was built in 1958-59 by Peter Glass (1917-1997) and others, true to the emerging “Eltham style” of mud brick buildings and gardens designed to complement the natural landscape. Glass acquired the lot from the musician Bell brothers and built an early mud brick house in 1939, which wasn’t roofed until 1945. This part is to the east of the present house, built in stages from 1958 onwards. The house features an unusual staircase and double storeyed main room. The garden is the site of a nursery established by Peter Glass, who also designed over 250 gardens and landscapes. Besides garden designer, Peter was an accomplished artist who studied under Max Meldrum. He favoured painting Victorian citiscapes and landscapes.
This article is part of a series for the Nillumbik Cultural Bus Tour program at Eltham Library November 2013
Image by Thomas Mühl from Pixabay
