Near Box Hill

In 1882, Melbourne's suburban railway services were extended from Camberwell to Box Hill, passing through open countryside that was mainly farmland and orchards. Following the extension of this service, sections of land were opened up for subdivision.

The artist depicts an idyllic scene where a few houses and buildings nestle in the green hills. While cattle graze in the foreground, impervious to the nearby train, the railway signal seems to be a glaring sign of progress in this bucolic landscape.

Although the exact location shown in this painting is unknown, it is thought to be somewhere near the present-day suburbs of Surrey Hills or Canterbury. Nothing is known about the artist, whose name may be a pseudonym.