ELLIS, Nathaniel (1848-1930)
Nathaniel Ellis came to Australia on the ship MacDuff in 1870 at the age of 21 to join his uncle William Ellis (1815-1896) who was working with the Walters family at Kangaroo Ground. Both William and Nathaniel participated in the development of the Diamond Creek area. Nathaniel was a member of the Literary Institute, a member of the Victorian Board of Advice for the State Schools, a councillor with the Shire of Heidelberg and in 1886 was elected Shire President. When Nathaniel left Diamond Creek he was presented with a handsome illuminated address which is now displayed in Ellis Cottage. Both Nathaniel and William selected land at Dixons Creek.
In 1876 Nathaniel married Susanna Margretta Andrew whose parents James and Ann Andrew had selected land in the south-west corner of the parish of Sutton on the Yarra River. In 1893 Nathaniel moved his young family to William Ellis's property at Dixons Creek which Nathaniel subsequently owned. The Dixons Creek ran through the property which was called Rose Hill and fronted the main road opposite the junction with Pinnacle Lane. Nathaniel and Susanna Ellis had seven children:
Nathaniel was as active in the Dixons Creek and Yarra Glen districts as he had been at Diamond Creek, including being an active Trustee of the Yarra Glen Cemetery for thirty years. He donated the entrance gates to the Yarra Glen cemetery just before his death in 1930.
