By Parker McKenzie
Tributes for Helen Coulson from members of the Dandenong Ranges community have revealed the impact her work made on those interested in the history of the hills.
Best known for her definitive book on the early history on the Dandenong Ranges, titled Story of the Dandenongs, Ms Coulson passed away in Echuca at age 103.
Monbulk Historical Society president Armin Richter said Story of the Dandenongs “is the most important historical book that has been written about the Dandenongs.”
“The book was very well researched and compiled. The added advantage was that it had been researched and written between 1952 and 1958, at a time when some of the district pioneers were still around to be able to give personal first-hand recollections dating back to as early as the 1870s and 1880s,” he said.
“Many historical accounts that appeared in Helen’s book were not known or recorded anywhere else. As a result, it is also a widely quoted publication.”
The now-defunct Fern Tree Gully shire commissioned the book, which has been reprinted multiple times.
Vice President of the Save the Dandenong Leagues Carolyn Ebdon said Story of the Dandenongs is the first reference if there is a historical fact to be checked.
“ I first got a copy of her book in the 1980s. I know that when I was it that, I suddenly realised how wonderful the Dandenongs are again,” she said.
“You’ve really fallen in love with it all over again, that’s what led me to seek out and join the Save the Dandenongs League. I attribute my joining the League really to Helen Coulson’s book and I’m sure others felt the same.”
Ms Ebdon said she had the opportunity to meet Ms Coulson in Echuca for her 100th birthday in 2018.
“I was really pleased to meet her and I shook her hand and thanked her personally,” she said.
“I remember that it discussed that we should try to organise or that perhaps the council should be trying to organise a reprint and then it was forgotten about, unfortunately. I don’t think anything’s happened since, but I’m sure it would be just as popular.”
