The Shire of Eltham was a local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. 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.
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, 11 November 1926, by the governor-general, Lord John Baird Stonehaven. The site became known as the Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park.
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 and the Shire of Diamond Valley, was merged into the newly created Shire of Nillumbik. The Kinglake district was transferred to the Shire of Murrindindi, while Montmorency and Lower Plenty, in the shire's far southwest, were transferred to the newly created City of Banyule.
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* Greensborough (shared with the Shire of Diamond Valley) Hurstbridge (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 Research Smiths Gully St Andrews Strathewen Warrandyte North Watsons Creek Wattle Glen (shared with the Shire of Diamond Valley)
* Council seat.
Population Year Population 1911 3,423 1947 7,028 1954 11,441 1958 14,660* 1961 16,575 1966 20,213 1971 23,712 1976 28,631 1981 34,648 1986 39,784 1991 42,670
* 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