On the map, it looks like just another outlying suburb of Melbourne, 23 kilometres north-east of the centre. But there is – still – an Eltham identity.

For decades it attracted artists and dreamers, who painted or built remarkable anachronisms like Monsalvat, a medieval lord’s country house. It’s Australia’s centre of mudbrick building. And while eastern suburb types pride themselves on their leafiness, Eltham goes well beyond leafy into outright bushy.

The rest at The Age