Pioneers & painters;: One hundred years of Eltham and its Shire

Eltham Shire is well known as a district in which live a large number of painters, sculptors, potters, writers and other creative people. The early settlers were, for the most part, resourceful and far-sighted; the present residents are no less so. Mention the name Eltham and many things spring to mind: conservation; the integrations of architecture with the environment; mud-brick buildings; Montsalvat--the list is endless. In 1971, the centenary of the Shire's birth, the Council felt that the publication of a history would fittingly mark more than a century of achievement. Eltham is fortunate in having Alan Marshall as a resident and editor of this book, to which many individuals have contributed. But Pioneers & Painters is more than just a local history; Eltham Shire's early story could be the history of any Australian pioneering community, which by courage and labour has built homes and villages, raised children and struggled to educate them to standards remembered form former homelands. The book is not only an outline of past achievements, but also a vivid, visual record of the excellent work being done in the Shire today, and an attempt to explain why it has such an attraction both for the people who live there and its many visitors.