VICPlanned settlement
Eltham
A supply village for the diggings that became a haven for artists.
1840sVillage surveyed near the Diamond Creek
WHAT STARTED IT
A village was surveyed near the junction of the Diamond Creek and the Yarra River, on the track settlers used to reach Heidelberg from the upper Yarra. A private subdivision to the north sold better and drew the town centre towards it.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
In the 1860s to 1880s Eltham grew as a food and supply centre for the Caledonia diggings upstream, with a flour mill, brewery, tannery, court house and police station. The railway from Heidelberg arrived in 1902 and pulled business to the station.
TURNING POINTS
1840sA village is surveyed near the junction of the Diamond Creek and the Yarra River.
1854Eltham post office opens.
1856Eltham’s local government district is established on 26 September; it later becomes Eltham Shire.
1860The court house and police station are built; both are now heritage listed.
1902The railway from Heidelberg to Eltham is formally opened on 5 June.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A bushy residential suburb on the edge of Melbourne’s green wedge. Mud-brick houses and the Montsalvat artists’ colony recall its 20th-century arts community.