History Group Publications

Mt Evelyn History Group has documented some facets of Mt Evelyn's History

TRACKS TO TRAILS A History of Mt Evelyn Second Edition Janice Newton Paula Herlihy Karen Leadbeater Phillips Begin here to understand the context of the lives of those who lived in Mt Evelyn.

ABORIGINES IN THE YARRA VALLEY AND NORTHERN DANDENONGS Follow the chronological story of the Wurundjerie people until contacts with the Mount Evelyn area and the life of William Barak of Coranderrk Station. There is insight to be gained from reading this book. Our Publications Aborigines in the Yarra Valley and Northern Dandenongs $15.00 Flower Farming in Mt Evelyn & District $4.00 From Holiday to Home WWII & 1950s $6.00 Gwen Hardy: a Tribute $5.00 History of the Melba Centre 1971-1997 $2.00 History of the Mt Evelyn Fire Brigade $5.00 History of the Supermarket Site $2.00 How Mt Evelyn was Named $6.00 Morrison House Changed a Community $25.00 Researching Your House in Mt Evelyn $8.00 Street Names of Mt Evelyn $4.00 The First Selectors of Mt Evelyn $4.00 The Happy Hermits & Diary of a Trip to Evelyn $12.00 The History of Guiding in Mt Evelyn $3.00 The Hut on the Grounds of Mt Evelyn Christian School $6.00 The Mt Evelyn Aqueduct $5.00 The Mt Evelyn Tennis Club $5.00 The Water Race $4.00 Tourists, the Dam & Depression 1920s & 1930s $6.00 Tracks to Trails: A History of Mt Evelyn (2nd Ed.) $25.00

   Colouring Mt Evelyn (30 pages pdf 4.3mb)

    Download our colouring book based on the Timeline Fence along the Warburton Trail in
    Mt Evelyn. Click here to download.

Mount Evelyn History Group contact details
Email: historygroup@mountevelyn.vic.au .
Postal address
P.O. Box 101 Mt Evelyn VIC 3796.
Enquiries, membership & book sales
Paula Herlihy (President), herlihy@alphalink.com.au
Mt Evelyn History Group webpage -  www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx

Schools and Teachers

Mt Evelyn Schools, Records about Teachers and Map showing location of our schools.

1910 Mt Evelyn Primary School No 33 Monbulk Road mount.evelyn.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au www.mtevelynps.vic.edu.au  ‘Mount Evelyn Primary School No. 3642   1910-2010 Centenary Edition’  Available for purchase from the  School Office.	1945 Memorial Pre School 24 Birmingham Rd Email address: unknown Website address: unknown "A History of Mt Evelyn Pre-School 1945-1995"
1973 Mt Evelyn Christian School 13 Hawkins Rd office@mecs.vic.edu.au www.mecs.vic.edu.au/ 21st Anniversary history book History outline on website	1975 Morrison House  20 Old Hereford Road  Contact via reply space on website http://www.morrisons.org.au/ "History of Morrison House" available from Mt Evelyn History Group .
1977 Fernhill Pre School 9 Fernhill Road Email address: unknown Website address: unknown Recorded history: Unknown	1978 Birmingham Primary School 43-49 Francis Crescent birmingham.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au www.birminghamps.vic.edu.au Recorded history: Unknown
1979 Pembroke Secondary School (Previously Yarra Hills Secondary College, initially Mt Evelyn Technical School) Old Hereford Road  yarra.hills.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au web.pembrokesc.vic.edu.au "Birth of a School" Winter 1992 Tirra Lirra magazine	1980 St Mary's Catholic Primary School 58 Clegg Road, Mt. Evelyn VIC 3796 principal@smmountevelyn.catholic.edu.au http://www.smmountevelyn.catholic.edu.au/ Recorded history: Unknown
1984 Joy Avenue Pre School 1 Joy Avenue Email address: unknown Website address: unknown Recorded history: Unknown	1991 Mt Evelyn Special Development  School Old Hereford Road mount.evelyn.sds@edumail.vic.gov.au www.mtevelynsds.vic.edu.au/ Its early history can be found in  "The History of the Melba Centre, 1971-1997" by Paula Jones & Nan Stevenson 1998.

1975
Morrison House
Old Hereford Road
"Morrison House Changed a Community"
( $25) available from Mt Evelyn History
Group. Inc
Newspaper report 15 Dec 2013

Still can’t find information about your family?

It maybe that your ancestors lived in Mt Evelyn / Olinda Vale but went to school in neighbouring towns.

1876 Silvan Primary School No 1801  (first known as South Wandin) 269 Main Road Silvan VIC 3795 silvan.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au http://www.silvanps.vic.edu.au/

1880 Montrose Primary School No 2259 Leith Road, Montrose, Victoria 3765. montrose.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au www.montroseps.vic.edu.au/

1865 Lilydale Primary School No 876
Try contacting the Lilydale & District Historical Society who have a copy of the original of the Lilydale Primary School Student Roll from the years 1905 -1964 at their rooms at the Old Courthouse in Lilydale, 

Website: http://www.lilydalehistorical.com.au/     Email address:  info@lilydalehistorical.com.au

This could be the answer given for the following situations where your family members:-
1.  Boarded in Lilydale during the week, perhaps with relatives but came from Mt Evelyn or
     Olinda Vale.

2.  Lived nearer to Lilydale school than Mt Evelyn's school before Birmingham
     Rd School opened in 1978. 

3.  Began school in Lilydale and then later moved to Mt Evelyn or vice versa.

Teachers records are kept at the Public Records Office in North Melbourne.District Inspectors wrote reports on their teachers.
These contain comments on the professional life of a teacher: date of birth, training,  promotion, schools where employed, strengths and weaknesses, and it can be seen how a teacher developed and improved in his/her role.
These documents are NOT available online but the teacher's record number can be found via the PROV website. You can use this number to search the Inspectors' Books at the PROV.

Education and Teaching VPRS 13719/P1 Database Index to Teacher Record Books, 1863-1959 Index to VPRS 907/P0 Teacher Examination Papers, 1863-1872 Digitised records

VPRS 5675/P0 Index to Special Case Files, Education Department, 1862-1977

VPRS 5676/P0 Register of Special Case Files, Education Department, 1852-1977

Location of Mt Evelyn Schools Click on map to enlarge

Map not drawn to scale

Mt Evelyn History Group webpage -  www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx

About this Blog

Where can you get more information about your Mt Evelyn ancestors?

This History Tools Blog is designed to answer that question.
Faded text indicates the topics that are yet to be listed.
Category 1 items are hotlinked ready for reading.

1. The Lives of People    (Evidence that they lived)    Newspapers -  Births Death Marriages    Cemeteries & Deceased Records    Family Trees Published On-Line    Military Records    Wills and Probate Records    Free Genealogy websites     Registry Office Search BDM $1	2. Community Groups    (How they related to each other)    Churches   CWA      CFA    Sporting Clubs    Senior Citizens     Mechanic’s Institute    Progress Association    Public Hall Committee    Schools and Teachers
3. Properties    (Where they  lived)     Maps – Old & New    Guest Houses       History of Your Mt Evelyn House    Early Owners	4. Directories    (How they were known by outsiders)    Telephone Book    Electoral Rolls    Post Office Directories    Shire Rate Books    Municipal Directories
5. Employment / Service    (How they were employed)    Law & Local Government    Industries    Railway Employees    Storekeepers & Businesses	6. Events- Group Memory    (What happened to them)    Events in Mt Evelyn    Local Historical Societies    Our Publications    Media Accounts

Information about sources is welcome.
Contact Mt Evelyn History Group - mtevelynhistorytools@gmail.com
Our webpage- www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx

Technical Note: The blog is best viewed using Internet Explorer and Chrome browsers.

Registry Office BDM search $1

Check your guesses for free but pay $1 to confirm your accuracy.

Registry of Births, Deaths, Marriages Historical Index Search 
https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/CA2574F700805DE7/page/Family+history-Search+family+history?OpenDocument&1=60-Family+history~&2=10-Search+family+history~&3=~

The Historical Index provides information about the following:

- births in Victoria from 1853 to 1911
- marriages in Victoria from 1853 to 1942
- deaths in Victoria from 1853 to 1985
- church baptisms, marriages and burials in Victoria from 1836 to 1853

1. Simple Search: $0.99c per successful search. 
You can obtain the very basic details of certificates for $0.99c per search 

(I have had no trouble paying by credit card online with this organisation)

You are not charged for the searching - only if the search yields a result. In this way I can check if my data is correct eg. From my list of Sykes names which ones were the children born to William and Mary Sykes? 
I plan ahead to make sure that the search only gives the information that I am actually needing.

Advice received from the Victorian Registry Office:
With regard to your searching technique, if you enter too much information into the search criteria screen, you may be excluding all results (unless every name and date exactly matches what is recorded on the index). "Less is more" when entering information into the search criteria screen.

2. Complete Birth Death Marriage Certificates require payment. 
See the details on the Victorian Registry Office website. 

Hint about original certificates.
Birth and Marriage certificates are more reliable than death certificates. This is because in some cases, remaining living family members (children, nieces, nephews cousins etc) may not have known much about the life of the deceased - the mother’s second name, the father’s birth place etc.

Hoping that this information will be of help to you.

Mt Evelyn History Group webpage -  www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx

Free Genealogy Websites

Be Surprised!
Search for your Mt Evelyn ancestors at a library.

Both Ancestry.com and Find My Past are freely available via library computers at many libraries   You just need your free library card number and PIN. 

You have to access them through the library website, once on one of the computers.
(Going direct to the sites doesn’t work)

Eastern Regional Libraries are
http://www.erl.vic.gov.au/main/page.php?m=152

Belgrave Library	Monbulk Community Reading Room
Boronia Library	Montrose Library
Croydon Library	Mooroolbark Library
Ferntree Gully Library	Ringwood Library
Healesville Library	Rowville Library
Knox Library	The Station House - Mt Evelyn Library
Lilydale Library	Yarra Glen Memorial Hall Community Reading Room
	Yarra Junction Library

Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation libraries are listed below:
 www.cclc.vic.gov.au

Cranbourne	Hampton Park
Doveton	Narre Warren
Emerald	Pakenham
Endeavour Hills

State Library of Victoria
 http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/


Tell the editor about other libraries that offer this free service.


Ancestry.com gives details on the following
         Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980
         Australian Death Index, 1787-1985
         Australian Marriage Index, 1788-1950
         Australian Birth Index, 1788-1922


Hint:   Consider checking the accuracy and context of information found in cyber genealogy sites. Compare your data against maps, cemetery records and newspaper articles. Scanning equipment used by these groups may reproduce the digit 5 as digit 3 or 8. Place names such as Camberwell may be 'read' as Cambrian Hill. 



Mt Evelyn History Group webpage -  www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx

Family Histories Published On-Line

Has someone else has already researched your family tree?

Here are five free ways to discover this.
In most cases you need to register and sign in each time you use the service

1. Internet Search Engine. Type in the name of your ancestor into an internet search
    engine. (No doubt you have already done that, eh?)

2. Use the Mundia website http://www.mundia.com/au/Search  which is linked to Ancestry.com
    a) Basically it shows you the research others have done and uploaded
        to the Public Members Tree section of the Ancestry.com site.
    b) Does not give you access to historical records provided by Ancestry.com.
    c) It can help you find relatives who are searching your family tree as their contact
        email addresses are supplied.
  
3. Family Tree Circles  http://www.familytreecircles.com
    a) You can enter your family name in the search box at the top of the page then
        register yourself as a family researcher. This step should lead you to other people
        who are also searching your family tree.
    b) Begin an online journal and upload some key family data to this website in the
        hope that other family members will find it.

Subscription Based Genealogy websites each offer 14 days free service to search for your family history.

4. Ancestry.com : http://home.ancestry.com.au/  
  
5. Find My Past:  http://www.findmypast.com.au/

[Check out your local library as it may offer free access to Ancestry.com and Find My Past.]

5. How to check Ancestry.com website for Public Member Trees

Seven hundred entries in Ancestry.com acknowledge connections to people who died in Mt Evelyn.
You can search for these under Public Member trees 

On the Home page Menu under  Search – select Public Member Trees

This opens up the Public Member Trees Search page.
Next write " Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia" for Death Location and press Search

Other variations of the same idea.
1. Marriage: Location  "Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia"

2. Name:  Any name of your ancestor that you can recall, first or family name

               PLUS

   Marriage: Location  “Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia"

               OR

   Death: Location  “Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia"


The email address of authors of Private Member Trees can be found by clicking on the family name given with the link.
   Hint:   Consider checking the accuracy and context of information found on cyber genealogy sites. Compare the data against maps and newspaper articles.  Scanning equipment used by these groups may reproduce the digit 5 as digit 3 or 8. Place names such as Camberwell may be 'read' as Cambrian Hill. On-line verification for $1 can be obtained from the Registry Office.

 Mt Evelyn Family Histories

Wayne Knoll's website

 http://silvanpioneers.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/list-of-early-silvan-pioneer-family.html

Wayne writes “For a History of the early 'SILVAN' Pioneers at WANDIN SOUTH, Families, who settled in the southern reaches of the Parish of Wandin Yalloak, south-eastern areas of the Parish of Mooroolbark, to the northern areas of the Parish of Monbulk showing some obvious overlap of the surrounding regions of Wandin, Seville, Yellingbo, Macclesfield, Emerald diggings, Monbulk, Olinda, Mt Dandenong, Kalorama, Mount Evelyn and Lilydale”

Mt Evelyn History Group webpage -  www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx

Wills and Probate Records

Is your ancestor's will available via the internet?

Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) has made public the Wills and Probate records from 1841 to 1925. The Wills reveal assets and names of beneficiaries.

Listed below are the Wills of people who were recorded as being residents of Mt/Mount Evelyn / Olinda Vale when they died.  All are available online.

Alexander Morrison,   Elizabeth Rogers,  Eric S. Kendall,   Mary Adams 

James Hamilton,   John Beasley,   William Andrews,   Daniel Scott, 

Wills of other people who once lived in Mt Evelyn may be listed under Lilydale or the town of their death.

You can read the digitised versions of Wills from the Victorian Public Records Office (PROV).

prov.vic.gov.au/index_search?searchid=54

Can't find your ancestor's Will online?

• Your ancestor who once lived at Mt Evelyn may have died elsewhere or his/her death was registered as being in Lilydale
  
  
• Your ancestor may have died after 1925. This Will can be read at the PROV (Public Records Office Victoria) in North Melbourne.
  
  
• Type your ancestor's name into a search engine for an online digitised newspaper. You  may find the following details - Death Notice, Funeral Details, Obituary, Notice of Probate  being issued to the  executor of the deceased's estate.

The Public Records Office of Victoria provides the following information:-

Terminology

A will is the legal instrument that permits a person, the testator or testatrix, to make decisions on how their estate will be managed and distributed after death. The will usually names one or more persons, the executor or executrix, to carry out the wishes and directions in relation to the estate.

A person who dies leaving a will is referred as having died testate. If a person does not leave a will, or the will is declared invalid, the person will have died ‘intestate’, resulting in the distribution of the estate according to the legislation of the state in which the person resided.

Probate is the process of proving to the court the validity of a will. The grant of probate is the official document issued to the executor of the estate to pay all debts, collect any monies due and to distribute any remaining assets in accordance with the wishes of the deceased as expressed in the will. 

Letters of administration are issued when a person dies without a valid will. This is the alternate grant to granting of probate.  The grant is normally made to next-of-kin and the estate is distributed on the basis of a formula laid down by legislation. 

Mt Evelyn History Group webpage -  www.mt-evelyn.net/Community-Groups/Mt-Evelyn-History-Group.aspx