From Para Road corner at Greensborough, looking north over the Railway Bridge towards Apollo Parkways. The lamp in the foreground is a carbine lamp. Carbide granules were placed in a sealed container and water was dipped into the carbide to generate gas. The lamp lighter placed his ladder against the step on the side of the pole to change the carbide and light the lamp.
Exhausted, whitened crystals were dumped to the ground like a pile of bird droppings. Each week day morning, young boys like Alan Partington, who attended the Greensborough Primary School would scavenge in the droppings for pieces that were not exhausted. These small pieces would be placed in desk ink wells at school creating a vile stench.
The itinerant artist of this painting chopped wood for a lady living in a Para Road building. After receiving lunch for his work, he sat under the verandah and painted the carbide view as a thank you.
The painting resides in the collection of the Nillumbik Historical Society.
Electricity was supplied to Greensborough in 1926
Source: Reflections of Diamond Valley DV_F_00509 Album H (Local history collection, Diamond Valley Library, Yarra Plenty Regional Library)
The description given of the painting as looking down Main Street towards the river in 1912 doesn’t appear correct as the topography is wrong and there were several buildings in Main Street even in 1889 which aren’t shown. The painting I believe is looking up Old Eltham Road (now St Helena Road) from Main Street showing the street lamp and what could be a toll gate for those heading North or East.
The street lamp is also shown in a Rose collection photo of about 1927 at that intersection.
Noel Withers Greensborough Historical Society Inc.