On Friday 29th August, the new Playground at Ryan’s Reserve in Broadgully Road, Diamond Creek was officially opened.

Speeches were given by the Hon. Vicki Ward, Member for Eltham, Nillumbik Shire Mayor, Cr John Dumaresq, CEO Carl Cowie and Ellis Ward Councillor Peter Perkins. We were able to link council officers with members of the Ryan family who came along for the opening – Jock and Jean Ryan’s daughter and son, and two grandchildren.

The playground is in the area below the Ryan family’s original cottage. Some history of the Ryan family in the area was read by Cr Perkins:

The Ryan family first arrived in our district when they took up land in 1866. From the family’s earliest days, they supported the local community and through the generations helped to develop the township of Diamond Creek we know today.

Within ten years the next generation had purchased more land and continued to settle in as an important part of the community.

From the 1880’s Patrick Ryan became a prominent figure who supported many local organisations. He was a founding member of the Literary Institute and Free Library, supporting the local and wider community encouraging reading and education and drawing children into attending school. Later Patrick joined the district Schools Board of Advice.

As a landowner and farmer Patrick helped to form the Diamond Creek Horticultural Society, particularly as president of that society for many years. He was a member the congregation of St John’s Church, president of the committee for the Diamond Creek Football Club and Diamond Creek Sports Athletics Club.

In the late 1800’s Patrick became a councillor for the Heidelberg Shire Council which at that time covered Diamond Creek eventually being elected President. As a councillor over many years, he worked diligently to improve the facilities and amenities for the Diamond Creek Community – development of the recreation reserve, which is now Marngrook Oval, forming a syndicate to search further on the gold reef that had made our district so prosperous and one of Patrick’s major achievements, the upgrade to an iron bridge over the Diamond Creek in 1898 which stands just as strong today. He even ran an election campaign at the time with the slogan “Iron for Ryan”.

Patrick’s son John continued the family tradition of giving back to the community that gave so much to them. He was a supporter of the tennis club, the annual swimming carnival, parochial balls in the hall which sat opposite St John’s Church, and with his brother James ran Ryan Bros. butchers in Diamond Creek, Hurstbridge and Greensborough. James followed in his father’s footsteps when he was elected as councillor for Heidelberg Shire Council and in 1938 had a much needed footbridge constructed next to the iron bridge.

John’s son Jock was a well-known figure in Diamond Creek for much of his life. Jock was a minister of the Church of England whose interests in later years were our local history and archaeology of some of our local landmarks. He was a founding member in 1973 of the group that became the Nillumbik Historical Society where he volunteered and served in various roles – secretary, president and archivist. Many of our historic properties and places are protected today by Heritage Victoria and Nillumbik Shire Council through their planning processes due to the work and efforts put in by Jock and others. He with others in the society, over the past 50 plus years has preserved so much of our history and it is still being maintained today. The society will always be grateful to Jock for the foundation and ongoing work he did.

The name Ryan continues in Ryan’s Road; A.D. Ryan’s the heritage building on the corner of Hyde Street and of course in Ryan’s Reserve now developed into this wonderful community playground resource for our community.

Cutting the Ribbon – Vicki Ward MP, Cr Peter Perkins, Owen Ryan, John Dumaresq, Jill Barnett, Gary Ryan