Eltham & District’s latest Touchstone eBulletin has arrived and, as always, is full of good ideas and links to “How to” articles.

We have received some interesting stories about living with COVID-19 for our collection. Thank
you to the members who organised these. You are encouraged to keep a journal about your day
to day experiences, which can be the basis for a future written or oral history piece. Yarra Plenty
Regional Library has some helpful information. Recording these times

• State Library Victoria has recently launched their Memory Bank Project to archive what everyday
life in Victoria is actually like now, during this time of collective isolation. Memory Bank is a longterm
collecting project that invites you to share your everyday observations of pivotal moments
in time. Extraordinary moments, and ordinary ones too, can easily be lost in the day’s blur or
forgotten in a week’s time. More information and suggestions

• Nillumbik U3A is providing a weekly online newsletter full of news, fun, stories and competitions:
They also have a number of online videos about activities you may wish to investigate

• In our first edition we suggested that now was a good time to go through your family photos.
The National Archives of Australia has some good advice on how to look after your family archive

• Yarra Plenty Regional Library is extending their book valet service to include movies and TV
shows. A recommended reading list will be sent to you, curated by librarians. The library is also
co-ordinating a project with the City of Banyule, asking crafters to knit squares for a community
blanket

• Our Street Library remains open so if you are out walking, please drop in at the Local History
Centre, 728 Main Road, Eltham.

• Happy Mother’s Day to our mothers for Sunday May 10th. In 1968 The Australian Women’s
Weekly asked readers to send in responses to “Which gift pleased you most”. The resulting
article includes many ideas (or adaptions of), which are relevant today.

Are you or your family connected to Eltham District? Whilst COVID19 keeps us at home you can be a virtual explorer of Eltham and its history.

• Eltham District Historical Society’s Victorian Collection pages 
Here you can explore over 10,000 catalogued items, the majority of which are images, there due to
the activities of our dedicated Collections Team who continue to work behind the scenes.

• You can visit our website
Here you can read various stories and also catch up on past newsletters.

• You can visit our Facebook pages
Here you can explore a range of local history stories and information, including Throwback
Thursday and On This Day features.

• You can visit the Wikinorthia website
Here you can see an extensive range of local history stories about the northern suburbs.

• During this down time perhaps consider writing your memories and stories of living and working
  in Eltham and District for our archives.
• You could go through your photos and share your memories with family members. Consider
  donating archives, including photos relating to Eltham and District to EDHS. We can also arrange
  to digitise these.