by Nillumbik Historical Society
The Nillumbik Historical Society’s aim is to preserve and share the history of Nillumbik. We have a large archive of photographs, artefacts and historical documents relating to people who have lived in the area and places in the district where they lived, farmed and mined, with particular focus on the wider area around Diamond Creek.
The Society was formed in 1973 with the inaugural meeting held at Lovitt Cottage, now known as Ellis Cottage.
William Ellis migrated to Melbourne from Devon in the mid 1840’s and was an early settler in the district, initially working on a farm in Kangaroo Ground, until he took up land along the Diamond Creek in 1850. He added to his land holding in 1861 with the purchase of a neighbouring property. William lived on and worked the land living in a hut near the creek, and once established built today’s cottage using local stone completing it around 1865. The farm stretched from today’s Reynolds Road across the creek flats and hills towards Wattle Glen.
In 1870, William’s nephew Nathaniel also migrated from Devon. As William and his wife had no children and needed help, he came to support them on the farm. William and Nathaniel prospered during their time on the farm, giving back to the community and supporting development of the area.
The farm stayed in the Ellis family until after William’s death in 1896 when part of the farm was sold off according to conditions in his will. William also left a bequest of £100 to build the gateway at Nillumbik Cemetery, Diamond Creek. The gateway stands proud above the Sawpit Gully roundabout and is inscribed with the Latin words ‘Janva Vitae’ meaning Gate of Life.
In the following years, the property was lived in by various families until the Lovitt family purchased the remaining land, including the cottage, in the 1960’s. Phillip Lovitt and Peter Marriage rebuilt the cottage during the summer of 1972-73, as by then it was in an advanced state of disrepair; it had been used for some time to store hay. The cottage stayed in the care of the Lovitt family until it was sold, subdivided and developed in the early 1980’s.
As part of the subdivision, the cottage and seven acres surrounding it was passed to the Shire of Diamond Valley who repaired and rebuilt the cottage handing it to the Nillumbik Historical Society for safe keeping on behalf of the community in 1989. The reserve is still a public open place and is kept well maintained by the Shire of Nillumbik.
Since the site was handed to the Society a number of additions have been made. The lock-up from the site of the Collins Street Police Station was donated and moved to the cottage precinct and is a good example of its type. We use it as a standalone display.
The Nillumbik Historical Society has added a barn to the precinct to house our archives and display photographs and artifacts from our local history. We also use it for meetings and other gatherings. It was made possible by a great deal of fund raising work over 15 years so the barn could be built and fitted out.
The barn also houses an archival facility which allows the Society to efficiently meet a growing community demand for information about the local area. The barn and archives area, along with the cottage, hold many of our historical documents, photographs and artifacts.
Our latest addition is the Lone Pine Memorial, completed in October 2017 after six months of dedicated work by the VCAL students from Diamond Valley College, Diamond Creek Men’s Shed and with the support of the Montmorency Eltham RSL and Banyule Nillumbik Local Learning and Employment Network.
We take every opportunity to share information, photographs and objects we have gathered and received as donations over more than 40 years with the community. Our latest projects include storing images of our artifacts so we can put them online for a much wider community to view and beginning transcription of many of the letters we have, especially from local families during World War One.
We are open to the public on the first Sunday of each month or by appointment, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are looking for information.
For further information about the Society and Ellis Cottage Historical Precinct please contact us via our Facebook page or email elliscottage@gmail.com or phone: 9438 5619 (voicemail).
Find us at 10 Nillumbik Square, Diamond Creek. Best access and ample parking is off Main Hurstbridge Road, just look for the power lines crossing the road.
Nillumbik Historical Society Incorporated
PO Box 310, Diamond Creek, Victoria 3089
