Eltham was first incorporated as a
road district on 26 September 1856, and became a shire on 6 April 1871. In 1878, it was altered and re-defined. In 1912, it lost some of its area to the
Shire of Healesville. In August 1918, Eltham Shire Council discussed and "generally expressed themselves as favourable to the proposal" to obtain a "piece of land on the summit of Garden Hill,
Kangaroo Ground, and the formation of a memorial park in which a monument could be erected to represent the whole of the Shire." It was opened on
Armistice Day, 11 November 1926, by the governor-general, Lord
John Baird Stonehaven. The site became known as the
Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park. On 18 June 1958, it lost its East Riding to the Shire of Healesville. This area comprised
Yarra Glen,
Dixons Creek and parts of
Christmas Hills. It also lost part of its North Riding, near
Kinglake, to the
Shire of Yea, on 1 October 1972. On 15 December 1994, the Shire of Eltham was abolished, and along with parts of the
City of Whittlesea and the
Shire of Diamond Valley, was merged into the newly created
Shire of Nillumbik. The Kinglake district was transferred to the
Shire of Murrindindi, while
Montmorency and
Lower Plenty, in the shire's far southwest, were transferred to the newly created
City of Banyule. ==Wards==