Nillumbik Historical Society Articles articles

Mr Charles Milthorpe and his family are the first known occupants of the building that now houses the Opportunity Shop on the corner of Brooks Crescent. Charles was an orchardist with a property in Broad Gully Road who won prizes for his fruit at the Diamond Creek Horticultural Show. After his marriage to Ellen Stone […]

HERBERT FAMILY With the continuing development along Collard Drive and down the hills to Herbert’s Lane and the creek flats, it is timely to share some information about the original property that goes back to the pioneering days of Diamond Creek. The new estates around Collard Drive are being built on what was 100 acres […]

John Wilson and his wife Martha Burgess arrived in Port Phillip as bounty immigrants on the 18th February 1844 with their seven children ranging in age from 1 to 17. They left their home in Langley, Essex looking for better opportunities as so many others at the time did. Bounty immigrants were expected to begin […]

Diamond Creek district sent at least 153 men to fight in the First World War; some enlisted early and were at the Gallipoli landings and later served in France and Belgium. Most of those 153 men served during the campaigns in France and Belgium with 31 losing their lives, buried in war cemeteries and in […]

In April 1885, residents from Diamond Creek District met at the Literary Institute to discuss the establishment of a District Rifle Company. Mr. E.M. Bill, schoolmaster of Nillumbik State School, chaired the meeting and read a letter from the Minister of Defence, that urged residents not to be behind other districts in showing their willingness […]

Diamond Creek has a number of significant trees; some officially recorded for their historic value and others not. We have details for some not recognised and hope this article provides inspiration for anyone who may know of trees not mentioned and who can provide us with a local tree’s detailed links to our pioneers, local […]

The 1891 Women’s Suffrage Petition   A momentous event for the women of Victoria took place in 1891 and 21 ladies form Diamond Creek contributed to it. Throughout 1891 a small but dedicated group of women took to the streets of Melbourne and across Victoria, travelling by train and foot, to collect signatures for the […]

There has long been speculation about the naming of Diamond Creek the creek, and Diamond Creek the place, with more than one story developed over the years. Which one is the more likely – Diamond the bullock’s drowning in the creek; clear water running over stones looking like diamonds; or the naming of the Diamond […]

George Durrant Starling and his wife Clementina left Norfolk, England and arrived in Melbourne in 1859 to start a new life, first living at Janefield, now Bundoora, where they ran a farm. They were joined ten years later by their grandsons George Davey Starling jnr. and Adrian Starling, then in 1886 their son George Davey […]

In 1861 there was gold mining of all kinds in places across the district. It was only a matter of time before gold was found in Diamond Creek as well. The discovery of gold in Diamond Creek in 1862, by Joseph and David Wilson, on land bordering Dr. Phipps’ and Charles Orme’s properties, was the […]

Across Diamond Creek district, when men were called to enlist during World War 1, a number of families saw more than one son depart for foreign shores. In this article are details of brothers from three local families, who departed on troop ships not knowing what really lay ahead of them. They were supported by […]

In the early 1860’s, an increasing number of families were taking up and improving properties across Diamond Creek district. There was an even greater increase following the discovery of gold in Diamond Creek in 1862. Very quickly our first mine, the Diamond Creek Gold Mine, was established attracting a large number of miners and their […]

When the Diamond Creek Horticultural Society held its third annual exhibition on Thursday, 10th March 1887, there must have been a great deal of excitement that it was to be in the newly-erected Horticultural Hall. The hall was purpose built for horticultural displays and measured 50 feet by 26 feet. It was built on land […]

How Did it Get up here? Some of you may be aware of the location of Diamond Creek’s war memorial but some people may not be aware that this is actually the cenotaph’s third location. The cenotaph was originally erected in the middle of the intersections of Main Road, Collins Street and Hyde Street in […]

How many times has Diamond Creek Police Station moved? The answer is four. Starting with the first permanent police presence in Diamond Creek in 1879 until the move to the newly built Emergency Services Centre on the corner of Main Hurstbridge Road and George Street in 2005, Diamond Creek’s police station has been in five […]

For ten years, from 1886 to 1896, Diamond Creek and its surrounding district was protected by an esteemed and well respected member of the Victorian Police Force. Constable Thomas Waldron was sent to our district to help police and manage the camps between Research and Diamond Creek that housed the navvies constructing that section of […]

The Godber family were early Diamond Creek settlers, first recorded in the district in the 1850’s. Two sons and a daughter of Job and Mary Godber were living in Diamond Creek and had married into local families during the late 1850’s and early 1860’s. Rosamond Godber married William Wilson, who had been in the district […]

An extract from Edward Bage, Diamond Creek: surveyor, adventurer and gentleman by Jock Ryan (Nillumbik Historical Society 2001) Victoria’s booming population led to houses and farms springing up haphazardly with little regard to the location of future townships or roads. One such community had developed twenty five kilometres north east of Melbourne where, in 1862, […]

The bridge that carries traffic across the creek west through Diamond Creek still stands strong after 126 years. We may take the bridge for granted today, but creek crossings built and used since the mid-1800’s have an interesting history that also reflects how the township and areas around it have developed. The first recorded mention […]

William Gray – Allwood Upper Diamond Creek   William Gray, who married Frances Hurst, added cider making to his business growing, selling and exporting fruit trees at “Allwood” Upper Diamond Creek after using the shared government plant of cider making equipment in 1905. William’s brother Owen produced cider at their parent’s property “Cleir Hills’ Back […]

From Diamond Creek’s earliest days, hot summer weather often meant locals spent time swimming to get some relief. That usually meant finding a part of the creek with a deep pool that could be accessed easily. A pool downstream from the bridge was popular with boys and young men, but young women and girls had […]

Talk given by Jean Verso at the ANZAC Day Service at Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park on 25 April 2024. My talk today is about three local servicemen who served in WW1. My great uncles STANLEY BRUNKER VERSO and ALLAN JOSEPH JOHN VERSO from Hurstbridge, and their mate CHARLES JAMES CALLAN from Queenstown, present day […]

November 1888-January 1889 – A Band is Formed   A public meeting was held on Monday, 8th November 1888 to take steps to start a brass band at Nillumbik. It was convened by Thomas Collins and reports of the meeting show the interest from the local community with twenty-six men agreeing to join the proposed […]

  Friday October 5th, 1866 was reported to be wet, wild and wintry. The rain had started the previous afternoon and increased in intensity overnight then rained unremittingly all day. The Australasian reported The wind all day blew strongly from the south and south-west. The temperature was very chilly. A dense canopy of moist-looking clouds […]

The Lawrey family, very early settlers in Diamond Creek, had an important and lasting effect on the development of our district. Descendants of John and Honor Lawrey live in the area today and continue to contribute to the community. John and Honor were natives of Cornwall, England hailing from the far west of that county […]

  The brickwork on chimneys can give us a reliable clue to the age of some of Diamond Creek’s early houses, because while the shape and appearance of a house may change over the years, chimneys seldom change. An Some of the most interesting chimneys are those constructed by a builder named Drinkwater who built […]

In the lead up to ANZAC Day, we would like to share some of the letters sent home during WW1 by brothers Stanley Alexander Wilson known as Boof, and Edward Colin Wilson known as Dick. We are fortunate to have a sizeable collection of letters from them to family at home during their service. This […]

Many in our district will know the single-lane bridge across the Diamond Creek at Hurstbridge as the Monash Bridge, while others will not. A lot of traffic passes through from other areas and some may curse it as it slows them down on their way to or from work. With increasing pressure on our local […]

This photo in the Nillumbik Historical Society collection of the level crossing at Diamond Creek was taken about 1920. It shows the road behind towards the ovals and bridges and it can clearly be seen that the road alignment is similar to today. The ‘dogleg’ in the road at the crossing has always been there […]

This historic photo is in the collection of the Nillumbik Historical Society.  Taken from paddocks below Collins Street some time around 1915, it shows how much the village of Diamond Creek has evolved. The original Royal Mail Hotel, licensed to William Inglis in 1867, was located on the corner of Inglis and Chute Streets.  It […]

The building that was on the road to Greensborough had three names during its sixty year history, each relating to a particular period of its operation and although it was outside the township boundary it was Diamond Creek’s first pub.  It was first licensed as the Evelyn Arms Hotel to Isaac Hawkins on 31st January, […]

The first Wattle Day at Hurstbridge 1912 Only a few months after the railway extension from Eltham to Hurstbridge was opened, a special train for a day excursion brought nearly 1,000 people from Melbourne to celebrate the Wattle Day holiday.  As the mass of passengers poured from the platform, they were greeted by photographers with […]

When Diamond Creek was cut in half by floodwaters in the early 1960’s, water would spread up the hill in Chute Street and those living on that side of town had no access to the railway station. So, what could you do if you needed to get to catch the train to work? Fortunately for […]