Eltham Cemetery - Artistic Recollections Booklet

59 / 72

The Eltham Barrel was a feature of the local
entertainment scene from the late 1960s until
it burnt down in 1989. The Barrel offered up to
400 guests Bavarian-style theatre restaurant
entertainment and was a beloved local
landmark. Designed by architect John Frederick
‘Jack’ Tipping, the building was a rare example
of mimetic architecture in Australia.
Despite the unique two-way curvature of its
form, construction took just over four months.
It was claimed to have been the biggest barrel
in the world and would have had the capacity to
hold over 8 million litres. Praised by the building
industry for its structural achievements and
bold use of materials, the restaurant otherwise
largely met with derision from the architectural
profession. One critic quipped, “hardened
alcoholics speeding down the Main Road at
Research may believe the millennium has come.”
The plant on this panel is the Kennedia prostrata,
commonly known as running postman. One can
easily imagine this prostrate shrub creeping down
the slopes where the Eltham Barrel once stood.
BarrelAND RUNNING
POSTMAN
PHOTOGRAPH
The Barrel Restaurant
Main Rd. Eltham,Vic.
John F.Tipping 1968
State LibraryVictoria
Photographer PeterWillie
INFORMATION
John FTipping
accessed at
Eltham Barrel restaurant
accessed at