Historic Mudbrick Tour Goes Online

In March 2023, the Nillumbik Mudbrick Association pivoted to host their first virtual mudbrick house tour to great success. For many years the familiar Eltham Mudbrick Tour had been conducted in person and with great enthusiasm by dedicated volunteers.  It all started in the 1970s to spread the word about the wonders of this ‘new’ material by the famous draftsman and father of modern mudbrick building, Alistair Knox.  Knox had long promoted the rational benefits of the traditional material, and helped develop an industry devoted to modern, simple houses built in tune with the environment and in harmony with the surrounding landscape and climate.

Over the decades since, there have been hundreds of houses opened to interested punters looking to celebrate the strong tradition of earth building across Eltham and the greater Melbourne Peri-urban region.  Punters have long attended for many reasons; to learn from the builders and owners, and to be able to see the houses in-situ and ask questions directly of those who had lived, worked and built in the area.

This year, due to Covid and lower volunteer numbers, the group pivoted to move online.  Through a well-crafted combination of live interviews with pre-recorded walk-throughs, the session gives a snapshot of the range of mudbrick earth homes in the Eltham region, the people who designed and built them, and how they’ve evolved over the generations.

If you’re looking to build with mudbrick, this video tells the story of the Australian mecca with decades worth of accumulated experience on screen, and the stories of those who live in them. A must watch, with a cuppa and a notepad.

To view the video of the Virtual Eltham Mudbrick Tour 2023 in full head here

Or you can check out this one minute clip

To keep up with the work of the tour for future years, head to

Eltham Mudbrick Tour website, the Nillumbik Mudbrick Association and the Facebook Group

Instagram @ eltham_mudbrick_tour