Nillumbik articles

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 […]

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 […]

We publish our newsletter the Nillumbik Custodian each quarter for our members. Issues from 2021 and earlier are publicly available to view and read on Trove / National Library https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1552649449 Please feel free to browse through and read whatever you find interesting or become a member to receive each issue as soon as it’s published.

Nillumbik Cemetery is one of a number of Pioneer Cemeteries in the district with burials going back to its establishment in 1867.  The cemetery has been managed and maintained by Trustees since that time and it still is today.  The Trustees are volunteers who give their time to keep the cemetery in the condition they […]

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 […]

Original 1974 publication of The Diamond Valley Story by Dianne H. Edwards All copies are in brand new condition having been stored by our society since they were given to us by the author for our contribution of photographs and information   Contact Us to arrange your purchase   Collect from Ellis Cottage or arrange […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

  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 […]

For morning or afternoon tea at one of Nillumbik Shire’s oldest buildings, built in 1865.   Enjoy exclusive access to Ellis Cottage, our barn with historic displays and surrounding gardens.   Devonshire Tea & Talk with Tour – $18 per person or Tea, Coffee, Biscuits & Talk with Tour – $10 per person served with […]

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 […]

Drop by and have a chat with us on our   Next Open Day   Sunday, 4th May 2pm – 4pm   Entry $3   covers both the cottage and the barn   Children Free  

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, […]

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 […]