Eltham District Historical Society Inc

29/09/2026

12/09/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Eltham Leisure Centre Spa circa October 1987. (Photo: Shire of Eltham)

The Eltham Leisure Centre was opened on July 26, 1980, by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Winneke. This photo was taken by the Shire of Eltham Engineering Department. It was one of several enlarged prints mounted on chipboard for display in the Eltham Shire tent, at the 1987 Eltham Community Festival, featuring the various functional responsibilities of the Engineering department.

12/09/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Captioned - In the best tradition of Robin Boyd's "Great Australian Ugliness" - Dick Crichton. The photo was taken 15 June 1975 from the corner of Bolton and Brougham Streets showing undeveloped light industrial land being used as storage of portable toilets. The photo was taken by Dick Crichton and was one several photos sent to Shire Engineer John McDonald drawing his attention to various infringements of the zoning regulations in the use of this land.

21/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Looking north along Sunset Strip, Ocean Grove at intersection with Pembroke Road, circa 1988. (We have no idea why this photo was in an album of Council related photos. On the back of it is marked 'Beal'.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VKKZRy8NQvzhM9d89

21/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Reconstruction works by Eltham Shire Council, Bolton Street, Eltham, 18 July 1972 - looking south along Bolton Street to intersection with Main Road.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/d4bxodpJ4NMFo5Q1A

16/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: The Stokes family home blanketed with snow, corner Nyora and Eucalyptus roads, Eltham, Thursday, July 19th, 1951 [Photo: Frank Stokes; Beryl Bradbury (nee Stokes) Collection, EDHS]

You can read all about this event on our website in a ThrowbackThursday post we published Sep[tember 2018,
ThrowbackThursday: Snow Falls, Stokes Orchard, Nyora Road, Eltham, 1951
https://elthamhistory.wordpress.com/2018/09/13/throwbackthursday-snow-falls-stokes-orchard-nyora-road-eltham-1951/

16/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Milkbar, 29 Hartland Way, Eltham, c.1985 [Photo: Shire of Eltham]

One of two milkbars in the Woodridge Estate, the other being a short walk up the linear park to Eucalyptus Road. This one in Hartland Way is fondly recalled by locals as 'Effie's.' A third local milk bar was situated at the corner of Pitt Street and Bible Street and is still in business today. After ceasing operations as a milk bar, the Hartland Way building became home to the Artlines Studio during the mid to late 2000s run by Kerry Kaskaminidis providing art lessons to many local youngsters.

11/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Four generations of electric trains at Eltham Railway Station, 17 July 1983 [Photo: George Coop]

Left to Right:
1. Tait (Red Rattler) a wooden bodied train, first introduced in 1910 to be hauled by steam locomotives and converted to electric from 1919. They were manufactured from 1909 to 1952.
2. Comeng stainless steel bodied train, first introduced in 1981 to replace the last of the Tait trains and underwent refurbishment between 2000-2003. Some examples remain currently in service.
3. Hitachi stainless steel bodied trains were operated on the Melbourne network between 1972-2014.
4. Harris (Blue) steel bodied train introduced 1956 and operated until 1988.

11/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Nyora Road, Eltham, 1993 [Photo: Possibly Russell Yeomans]

Nyora Road, Eltham, 1993 - the east end of Nyora between Stokes Place and Reynolds Road was unsealed. This section was only a fire access track as evidenced by the trees growing in the middle of the road. Real Estate agents would advertise homes as down a (dusty) country lane. A few years later the tree was cut down and the road sealed in a shared contribution scheme. Residents along this section were required to contribute 50% of the cost.

09/08/2026

Where am I? UPDATE: Danielle Hardiman with Eltham Shire Council garbage collector, Joe Buhagiar with his horse drawn cart, Rattray Road, Montmorency, c.1965 [Photo: Gordon Allingham]

Photo: Gordon Allingham
Copied from Graeme and Lyn Hardiman, 30 March 2020

Lots of Rubbish by Jim Connor (EDHS Newsletter No. 252, June 2020

History is often about change and we experience this all around us, even with such basic services about how our rubbish is collected and even how our streets are cleaned.

Many people will remember putting out the sometimes battered steel or plastic rubbish bin to be collected by the ‘garbos’ as they rushed down the street and at times precariously hung off the back of a Council truck. They often seemed to be in a hurry as they grabbed a bin, tossed the contents into the truck and then went off on their merry way. Now, we need to decide which large coloured plastic ‘wheely’ bin to put out to be picked up by a mechanical arm extending from the truck, while the driver is ensconced in his cabin. Today they rarely handle the bins.

Large street sweeper trucks clean the streets, often while we sleep, whereas in the past it was indeed very different. When Montmorency was part of the Shire of Eltham, prior to the municipal restructure in 1994, there was one Council employee who was particularly well known in the area. This was Joe Buhagier, a unique and interesting sight, who with his trusty horse walked and cleaned the local streets.

Lyn and Graeme Hardiman remember him as a private person and Lyn would often talk with him each time he came along Rattray Road. One day he reluctantly agreed to have his photograph taken with their daughter Danielle, who was about 5 years old at the time, though he was a little embarrassed about all the fuss. Joe features in the Were Street footpath mosaics showing some of the well-known local Montmorency characters.