Born on 10th of July 1889 in Eaglehawk, Victoria to William Sampson Symons and his wife Mary Emma (ne: Manning). William was the eldest of five boys and lived with his family in Eaglehawk until his father passed away in 1904 at which point Mary moved the family to the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. After […]

Jenni Mitchell
Jenni Mitchell grew up in Eltham and has been actively involved in the region for most of her life. She was elected by the community to serve as a Shire Councilor and has been a leader in local conservation and cultural issues within the region. She began painting at the age of ten with private […]

Contributing artists to the development of visual arts in Nillumbik
The following article with permission from its author Jenni Mitchell originally appeared on the Shire of Nillumbik website and her own website. It was originally titled: Acknowledging artists who have contributed to the development of visual arts in Nillumbik. The article followed the exhibition titled ‘Capture’ which was shown at the Eltham Library in 2002, […]

Greensborough War Memorial
Fifteen men from Greensborough who were killed in the First World War are memorialized on the cenotaph in War Memorial Park. The memorial drinking fountain was first located in Main Street. On 26 July 1927 “The Argus” reported that the “The Heidelberg Council has decided to grant a request made by the Greensborough Park improvement […]
Alan Moyes 2nd AIF
Private Moyes is remembered on the Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Tower From the Eltham and Whittlesea Shires Advertiser, Friday 13 March 1942 KILLED IN ACTION ST. ANDREWS The residents of St. Andrews deeply mourn the passing of an esteemed friend in Pte. Alan Moyes killed in action on March 4. Alan was a popular friend […]

Whittlesea Cultural Heritage Program
The following is an edited version of the speech given by City of Whittlesea Mayor, Cr Mary Lalios on the occassion of the 10th anniversary of the Whittlesea Heritage Program, 17 July 2009 Good evening everyone and welcome to the Great Hall for the start of our tenth anniversary heritage celebrations –a genuine milestone. Over […]
Impact of Black Saturday on St Andrews
Much of the fires at St Andrews were to the north of the town. The town itself is intact. Gaye Ponting, Secretary of the St Andrews Queenstown Historical Society has been in contact. She says that “our Society has been fortunate with the fires in St Andrews as the fire did not come into town […]
Diamond Creek Relief Centre following Black Saturday
The following is a copy of an email, with permission of the author sent to friends by a member of staff at Shire of Nillumbik following Black Saturday. From February 9 – 12 2009 she was able to act as the Relief Centre manager in the overnight shifts at the Diamond Creek Relief Centre. Thought […]
Christmas Day Floods 2011
Flood waters severely impacted some residents late in the afternoon of Christmas Day 2011 in Nillumbik and Banyule particularly with severe hail stones also being reported in the area. Roads, drains, cars, homes and fences were in some cases destroyed by the torrent of water caused by the storm, with many long term residents claiming […]
Black Saturday – Something about Henry
I noticed you are collecting experiences of the fires. I’m not sure if you’ll empathise with my experiences of that day as its about a horse, our horse and his name was Henry. We loved him and all our experiences of owning him, being with him, and coming to understanding him. He gave us a […]