The Shire of Eltham was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

about northeast of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the state capital of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994.

History

Eltham was first incorporated as a road district on 26 September 1856, and became a shire on 6 April 1871. In 1878, it was altered and re-defined. In 1912, it lost some of its area to the

Shire of Healesville The Shire of Healesville was a local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1887 until 1994. History Healesville was first incorporated as a shir ...

. In August 1918, Eltham Shire Council discussed and 'generally expressed themselves as favourable to the proposal' to obtain a "piece of land on the summit of Garden Hill, Kangaroo Ground, and the formation of a memorial park in which a monument could be erected to represent the whole of the Shire." It was opened on

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

, 11 November 1926, by the governor-general, Lord John Baird Stonehaven. The site became known as the

Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park is located at 385 Eltham Yarra Glen Road, Kangaroo Ground, Victoria, Kangaroo Ground in the Shire of Nillumbik. in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The site includes the war memorial, with a firespotting ...

. On 18 June 1958, it lost its East Riding to the Shire of Healesville. This area comprised Yarra Glen, Dixons Creek and parts of Christmas Hills. It also lost part of its North Riding, near Kinglake, to the Shire of Yea, on 1 October 1972. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room. On 15 December 1994, the Shire of Eltham was abolished, and along with parts of the

City of Whittlesea The City of Whittlesea is a local government area located in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covers an area of , and in June 2018, it had a population of 223,322. History What becam ...

and the

Shire of Diamond Valley The Shire of Diamond Valley was a local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1964 until 1994. History The name relates to the lowlands to the ...

, was merged into the newly created

Shire of Nillumbik The Shire of Nillumbik ( ) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It contains outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and rural localities beyond the urban area. It has an area of 432 square kilometres and at th2021 census the Shire had ...

. The Kinglake district was transferred to the

Shire of Murrindindi The Shire of Murrindindi is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 14,478. It includes the towns of Alexandra, ...

, while Montmorency and Lower Plenty, in the shire's far southwest, were transferred to the newly created

City of Banyule The City of Banyule is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was created under the Local Government Act 1989 and established in 1994 as an amalgamation of former councils. It has an area of ...

Wards

The Shire of Eltham was divided into three ridings on 16 March 1955, each of which elected three councillors: * Central Riding * North Riding * West Riding

Suburbs and localities

* Briar Hill (shared with the Shire of Diamond Valley) * Christmas Hills (shared with the Shire of Healesville) * Cottles Bridge *

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

* * Greensborough (shared with the Shire of Diamond Valley) *

Hurstbridge Hurstbridge is a town in Victoria, Australia, 28 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Hurstbridge recorded a population of 3,554 at the 2021 census. Hurstbri ...

(shared with the City of Whittlesea and the Shire of Diamond Valley) * Kangaroo Ground * Kinglake (shared with the Shire of Yea) * Lower Plenty * Montmorency *

Panton Hill Panton Hill is a town in Victoria, Australia, 32 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Panton Hill recorded a population of 1,063 at the 2021 census. Histor ...

Research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

* Smiths Gully *

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

* Strathewen * Warrandyte North * Watsons Creek * Wattle Glen (shared with the Shire of Diamond Valley) * Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in 1958 Victorian Year Book.

Books on the Shire of Eltham

* Marshall, Alan, ''Pioneers and Painters: One Hundred years of Eltham and its Shire'' Melbourne, Thomas Nelson, 1971 * Marshall, Marguerite, ''Nillumbik Now and Then'' Research, Vic. MPrint Publications, 2008

References

External links

Victorian Places: Eltham and Eltham Shire
{{Coord, 37, 43, S, 145, 09, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-VIC, display=title

Shire of Nillumbik 1994 disestablishments in Australia 1856 establishments in Australia