On-line Published Family Trees

Has someone else has already researched your family tree?

Here are four 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. 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.
3. Ancestry.com : http://home.ancestry.com.au/ 
  [Check out your local library as it may offer free access to Ancestry.com ]
4. Find My Past:  http://www.findmypast.com.au/
The Australian version of FIND MY PAST can be accessed for free at the Lilydale Library or Montrose Library.  Unfortunately it cannot be accessed from the library at the Mt Evelyn Station House.

Hours for the Montrose and Lilydale libraries can be found at the following link.

http://www.erl.vic.gov.au/main/page.php?m=7

Know any other internet sites that help you find your family's history?

History of Your Mt Evelyn House

Searching for the history of your house?

A: Is your house mentioned in one of our publications?

The Mount Evelyn History Group has several publications that may help you 
research your house: 

Tracks to Trails, a history of Mt Evelyn, Janice Newton, Paula Herlihy & Karen 
Leadbeater Phillips, 2001. Histories of some notable houses are included. The book 
is available from the History Group or from the Post Office or Station House, price 
$25. It is also in the Library, or you can read a customer copy at Morrisons Café. 

The First Selectors of Mt Evelyn, Janice Newton, 1996.
The booklet summarises files from the Department of Lands, mainly from the 1870s to the early 1900's. 

The Street Names of Mt Evelyn, Paula Herlihy, 1996. Information on the origins of street names and some of the local identities. 

There is also a Shire of Yarra Ranges Heritage Study, but research was done on 
only some of the properties we put up for investigation. 

B: To find the history of a house.

1. Check if the house has already been researched. Finding the history of a house is 
much easier if someone else has already done the research and recorded it.
 
2. Look at your title and note any names/dates of previous owners in case we already 
have information on them. Land Titles are legal documents and should be the most 
accurate source of information. Old-style deeds used to record all previous owners 
for that block (but not when it was part of an earlier property or selection). 
Unfortunately, modern title deeds no longer list previous owners, so people don't 
always have access to this information about their property. If there is a mortgage, 
the deed will be with the bank. The documents of sale should at least have the date 
of subdivision and the name of the previous owner.

3. The past details of the block can be looked up at the Department of Sustainability 
& Environment (formerly Lands Department), but the files are not very user friendly. 
Have as much information as possible beforehand. Get the title details from the 
street address and the reference for the previous title. Then go to the Land Titles 
office to continue your search. There are different methods for the old (common law) 
system, and the new (Torrens) system. See http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/property-titlesand-
maps. The History Group does not conduct these searches but Lilydale and 
District Historical Society (L&DHS) will do research for a fee (contact details below).

4. Try to date the house – does the style match the date of the subdivision? Even if 
the original house is gone, the land may hold clues to its history. What style is the 
garden? Are there any outbuildings from an earlier period? Look at the building and 
its environment for any interesting points, e.g. on a hill, near a waterway. Which 
creek catchment is the land located in? 

5. Check Tracks to Trails and our newsletter Things Past to see if the property or 
owner is mentioned. Indexing of back issues of Things Past is in progress. 

6. Look at The First Selectors of Mt Evelyn. Janice Newton has researched the 
Lands Department files for names of early owners and correspondence. Thanks to 
her good work, we can almost always find the original selector of a property. 

7. Check the Rate Books. Both Mt Evelyn History Group and the Lilydale & District 
Historical Society (L&DHS) have copies of the former Shire of Lillydale Rate Books 
1872-1945 on CD. They are scanned but not indexed in any way, so a visual search 
of page after page is required. The listings are by years, divided into Ridings and 
then listed alphabetically by owner’s name. You need to have some information 
about previous owners to begin your search. You can trace a particular building back 
from recent times to the year in which it was first rated. The year before should 
record the site as vacant land. Begin your search when the street had most of its 
houses built or at the year of the best water authority plan. 

8. Does your house have a name, or did it ever have one? Most houses had names 
until the 1950s and many of these older-style homes till stand. We are compiling a list 
of Mt Evelyn house names, past and present – we may have your house listed. 

9. Directories, e.g. Sands – use in conjunction with the earliest appropriate water 
supply authority plan of the area – typically plans show buildings which can be 
matched to directory listings. 

10. We have plans of some old real estate subdivisions. 

11. Once you have identified the past owners of your house, you may find 
information on them in institutional histories. The history of Mt Evelyn Primary School 
has recently been updated. Histories of the CFA, Tennis Club, Girl Guides, Melba 
Centre and some local churches have been written and a history of Morrisons is in 
preparation. Mt Evelyn Football Netball Club has an online history at: 
http://mefnc.wikispaces.com/ 

12. Look at the Lilydale Express for mentions of any names you have. The Lilydale and District History Society have bound copies. 

13. Additional sources include:

• property service files, especially water. 
• other Local Government and State Government records 
• rural land records – pastoral runs and land selection files 
• institutions and organisations, e.g. schools, churches, clubs, RSL 
• architectural guides – tender notices in newspapers etc 
• art works and illustrations 
• biographies 
• real estate agents. 

14. Sometimes just a Google search of owners’ names will bring up old newspaper 
references on Trove or information on family history sites.

15. Ask around (long-established neighbours are a useful resource). 

We appreciate your sharing the results of your research with us, so that we can 
help future researchers. 

C: General books on house research 

The National Trust Research Manual: trace the history of your house or other 
places, Celestina Sagazio (ed.), Halstead Press, Broadway N.S.W., 2004. 

How to Trace the History of Your House, Des Regan and Kate Press. Penguin, 
Ringwood, 1992. 

A Heritage Handbook, Graeme Davison and Chris McConville (eds), St Leonards 
NSW, 1991 (especially Chapter 14 – ‘How to Research the History of a House’). 

Australia’s Home, Robin Boyd, Melbourne University Press, 1952. Now out of print, 
but a classic work on the history of Australian house styles – very useful for dating. 

D: Old Maps

No luck? 

Mt Evelyn was previously called Evelyn, and before that Olinda Vale, along with a 
few other local names. The boundaries of Mt Evelyn and McKillop (same post code) 
have altered slightly over the years. Your property could have been part of Lilydale, 
Montrose or South Wandin. However any Mt Evelyn property would have been in the 
Shire of Lillydale from 1872 to 1994 and in Yarra Ranges after that. If you’re not sure 
what area your property was in, try to locate some old maps. We have some maps, 
or you could try: 

The State Library map collection, 
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/what-we-collect/maps 

Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, 
http://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Things_To_Do/Yarra_Ranges_Regional_ 
Museum 

Lilydale & District Historical Society will do research as a fund-raiser. 
Contact Sue Thompson, Lorraine Smith or Sandy Ross. 
http://www.lilydalehistorical.com.au/ 

Montrose Historical Society, PO Box 446, Montrose, Vic 3765. 

Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead & Museum, 
http://www.montdelancey.org.au/ 

Eastern Regional Libraries.
The website has suggestions on researching house histories: 
http://www.erl.vic.gov.au/main/page.php?m=23&page_id=859 

Material adapted from Celestina Sagazio 2004, The National Trust Research Manual. 
Compiled by Paula Herlihy & help from other history group members 

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

Electoral Districts and Mt Evelyn

Your Mt Evelyn relatives may have been rezoned into different electoral districts.

To have a clearer understanding of the situation the following details could be of help as you track down your relatives's names on old Electoral Rolls.

If your library has free access to online genealogy websites you can check out the addresses of your relatives up to the year 1980

Current Electoral district

Previous Electoral Districts and names

 Electoral Districts change over the years
State Divisions

Dates	District	Subdivision
1856-1859	Evelyn and Mornington
1859-1927	Evelyn	Lilydale (1924)
1827-1945	Upper Yarra	Croydon
1945-1955	Evelyn	Croydon
1955-1967	Scoresby	Croydon
1967-1985	Monbulk	Croydon (to 1976) Silvan (from 1976)
1985-present	Evelyn

Federal Divisions

Dates	Division
1901-1913	Mernda
1913-1922	Flinders
1922-1937	Indi
1937-1949	Deakin
1949-1984	La Trobe
1984-(redistributions in 1989, 1994 and 2003)	Streeton
Present	Casey

Information supplied by Senior Information and Research Officer of the Victorian Electoral Commission

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

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