Walker and Langhorne Street, Dandenong, 1950-60

This view shows the intersection of Walker and Langhorne streets between 1950 and 1960, with Walker street running from left to right and Langhorne street running from top to bottom. On the lower corner can be seen the Wessex, with Maggs following at the bottom. The name of the business between Maggs and Wessex is unknown to us at this time.

The small hut on the upper corner was the Rest Hut (built in 1943), until late in 1953, the local branch of the R.S.L. met here. In November of 1953 they officially moved to their new rooms further up Walker Street. Sadly with the extensions of the Capital Centre, forming the Dandenong Plaza, Westwood was demolished, now forming part of the carpark.

With little tables, chairs, couches and easy chairs grouped about it, and a fire place in the centre of the room, the hall had been very comfortably furnished and was much admired. The land was supplied by Mr. Tom Caroll, as a generous offer of the use of the land on which the hut stood “to do as they liked, for as long as they liked.” With the locals working on it every Saturday afternoon for the four months it took to build.

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General Motors Station, 1957

Originally opened as a single platform in 1 October 1956 to service the General Motors Holden car factory. An alternate date for the opening is 18 November 1956.General Motors Holden factory was completed in 1956. Construction of the station was paid for by General Motors.

The station opened at the site of a number of private railway sidings, two years after electrification of the line though it was commissioned, and at a time when suburban services to Pakenham did not exist. As a result, only a single platform was provided on the north side on the Down track, and services operated as extensions of Dandenong trains at factory opening and close times.

This was altered in January 1975, when suburban services were extended from Dandenong to Pakenham. The Up platform and footbridge to the north was provided in late 1974, and Pakenham trains were timetabled to stop at the station at factory opening and close times.

In 1991, General Motors closed, leaving the station essentially isolated. A notice was issued stating that the station was to close from November , 1991, however it remained open for a further eleven years, despite the closure and demolition of the factory, and the fact that the footbridge now led to a fenced-off, empty paddock where the factory had once stood. By the time it closed, only eight trains stopped at the station each day, four each way.

In late 2004, all signage was removed, "KEEP OUT" signage was installed, and access to the footbridge between platforms was fenced off. Station announcements on the line continued to announce that trains would stop at "all stations except General Motors" until April 2007.

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Parade, Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 1959.

A parade for the proclamation of the City of Dandenong in 1959, it does capture a wonderful moment and reminds us of the spirit which people once embraced this lovely town of ours.

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Shepley Oval, Pultney Street, Dandenong, 1950s

This simple looking oval would be transformed into Dandenong's premier sporting venue. The creek behind still ran close to its original path, before being realigned. The old McCrae street bridge can be seen up the back.

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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, March, 1959

Up the left you can see the old Maples store, Long after Maples left there was a fire in the store, Due to extensive damage it was demolished and became a small park between Lonsdale street and Palm Plaza/McCrae street.

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Aerial Shot, Gladstone Road, Dandenong, 1950s.

This 1950s aerial shot shows Gladstone road, with Princes highway running up the centre-right. Westminster carpet is visible on the corner of Gladstone road and Princes highway, David street running up the top of Westminster from the highway is still a dirt road past James street.

The Dandenong High School can be seen in the top centre-right of the image. Duplication of the highway had still no happened at this time, with a lot of vacant land still visible in the area. Westminster would last for a few more decades before being struct by fire.

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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong. Picture dated between 1950 and 1960.

This section of Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, shows the Old Post Office alongside the Town Hall. The centre median strip trees are a few years after the palm trees had been removed. In the distance one can also see the Cenotaph still in its original position opposite the Post Office.

Of interest is the fact that in 1916 the St Mary's school concert was held in the Dandenong Town Hall to accommodate the large audience numbers which had completely surpassed the abilities of the school building at that time.

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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, possibly 1950s.

With Coles under construction, possibly late 1950s, hard to confirm without hunting records. This view gives a never before seen view of Lonsdale Street from the eyes of another.

Taken from the former National Bank, now ANZ and Deakin, the 1960s Coles store was under construction, located at its original Lonsdale Street location next to Woolworths

Photo supplied by: Beverley Dobson‎

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Town Hall, Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, in 1954

In the early years, the honorary magistrates, local citizens of some standing, presided at the Dandenong Court of Petty Sessions, which met each fortnight in the Town Hall. 

In a sense, they complemented the work of the police force of the day. The significance of their work, was possibly a factor in influencing the Victorian Government to allocate £2,000 towards the new Town Hall built in 1890, which, at the time, was to include a Courtroom.

This location was in use for fifty years before, in 1939-40, the court moved to a site on the corner of Langhorne and Wilson Streets, Dandenong, where now stands the Police Station car park. In 1960, a new courthouse was built in Windsor Avenue, Springvale.

In the 1990s, the present Dandenong Law Courts were built in Foster Street, Dandenong, on land which was formerly occupied by the Presbyterian church, that had been demolished in 1987, and the Hall of the 2nd Scout Troop of Dandenong.

The 1990s court complex on Foster street, replaced all of the smaller courts in Dandenong, Springvale and Oakleigh and is now one of the busiest court complexes within the greater Melbourne region.

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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 1954/1955

Taken from the the Clock tower of the former Town Hall, looking up Lonsdale Street towards the Clow Street intersection. Many of these buildings are no longer part of the scenery in Dandenong's CBD.

Well before the streets of Dandenong became synonymous with the sounds of bellowing cattle, cracking whips and barking dogs, the district was alive with an enviable mixture of natural resources. Red gums and She oaks, flowing water, rich soil for agriculture and the great potential for dairy farming. This together with its proximity to Melbourne, helped define the tiny township’s support role in serving to build booming Melbourne.

Although first settled in the 1840’s, it wasn’t until the 1850’s that the signs of organized industry began to emerge as dray load after dray load of felled red gums made their way to Melbourne, with much needed timber to establish wharves, timber street pavers and railway lines.

Supporting this industry was a small labour force who, along with a handful of bold settlers, they laid the foundations of the bustling town that continues 158 years later to draw people, business and industry into it boarders.

Dandenong’s proximity to Gippsland also meant that it soon became known as “The Gateway to Gippsland” as it was perfectly placed with road, and later, railway links to Gippslands' own network of, once considered, inexhaustible natural resources.
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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, around 1952/1953

In February 1852 the township of Dandenong was proclaimed and this was followed up by survey and land sale, with land sales being announced in 1852 also. The 1854 census reported the population of the township of Dandenong as 48. In the 1857 census the population was 59, this included 37 males and 22 females.

On 6 February 1857 the Dandenong Road District was proclaimed and the Government approved funds to construct a road from Melbourne to Sale in 1858. On 13 February 1858, the first Court of Petty Sessions met in the newly-opened Bridge Hotel .

According to the 1861 census, the population of Dandenong was 193 and there were 40 houses. By 1865, the Victorian Gazetteer was reporting the population of the town as 250 and the number of dwellings as 50. It is worth noting that by that time Dandenong was being described as a ‘town’. It had a police station, courthouse and two hotels.

In 1871, the population of the Dandenong Road District was reported to be 864 persons - 447 males and 417 females. Within this district, the township of Dandenong was the only major centre of population with 57 dwellings and 311 people 164 males and 147 females.

Springvale was a tiny settlement of six dwellings, just beyond the then municipal boundary, with a population of 27 people - 12 males and 15 females. However, there were more residents dispersed around the surrounding area. There were enough children in both Dandenong and Springvale for at least two government-supported schools to be operating .

On 16 May 1873, the Shire of Dandenong was proclaimed, with a territory of 59 square miles and 273 ratepayers. As with the Road District Board, its responsibilities included constructing and maintaining roads. Within its jurisdiction were three toll gates, on the main roads, which brought in some revenue. It was also responsible for issuing licences to hotel-keepers.

The council met monthly, in a room within the Dandenong Mechanics Institute, on the Walker Street and Lonsdale Street corner, as it had no shire hall or council chamber of its own. Its shire secretary over many years was John Keys. The shire council took on numerous additional responsibilities.

In 1873, it accepted responsibility for the Dandenong Market, previously administered by commissioners appointed in 1866. Also in the 1870s it became involved in the drainage schemes for the Carrum Swamp, this being a heavy load on its finances. Both the Dandenong and Springvale centres benefited from the coming of the railway..

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The old McEwans hardware store in Dandenong around 1950.

McEwans became a landmark and household name in Dandenong, where numerous generations relied on getting there needs from them. The new McEwans was built sometime before 1960 in the Lonsdale Street premises. Eventually they were were pushed out of the market by newer, cheaper supplies. After a successful takeover bid by Repco Limited, McEwans in Dandenong was re-branded as Bunnings in 1993.

Prior to being the old McEwans store, it had been the Crump General Store, selling a vast supply of needs to the community ranging from stock feed, hardware and farm supplies, to linen, crockery and even delivery of groceries for the district folk with their horse-drawn lorry.

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Aerial view of Dandenong High School in the 1950's.

Dandenong High School was officially opened on 10 March 1919. Initially opened in temporary premises with juniors at the Old Fire Station and seniors at the Temperance Hall and Church of Christ.

The foundation stone was laid on 21 November 1919, the school was officially opened in late 1920, by then it had a total enrollment of 150. Do you remember "Siberia" at the bottom of the oval?

By 1959, overcrowding was an issue, originally designed to house only a few hundred pupils. The baby boomer invasion swelled its ranks to over 1000 and the sturdy brick buildings that once formed the core of the school were nowc omplemented by a hotchpotch of temporary constructions called 'demountables'.

The windows of these had either fences or strong wire grates erected in front of them as protection against cricket balls struck from the pitch on the main oval. The rear of the school, as a consequence, had the look of a migrant camp or a German Stalag (an impression heightened by Monday morning assemblies held in the enclosed courtyard).

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Aerial of Doveton, circa 1950s/1960s.

The area has it's origins as part of the Eumemmerring pastoral run. The part pictured became the Grassmere estate, which was subdivided into smaller holdings in the 1880s. The small farming community was served by a hotel and school. There was also a racecourse.

Doveton as a town came into existence in the mid 1950s when the State Housing Commission purchased a large area of land to provide low cost housing for returned soldiers and workers employed in the new factories near Dandenong. The early Commission housing was around the Autumn Place shopping centre. A lace factory had commenced operations on the Princes Highway in 1950. On the southern side of the highway, first International Harvester, then General Motors-Holden and then Heinz established large factories. These were followed by many smaller factories.

Doveton was named after F.C. Doveton, a Goldfields Commissioner and Police Magistrate, who had earlier lived in the area. By 1962, there were 1500 homes. At first, there were few community facilities, and there was a pressing need for schools. By 1969 there were seven schools:

The Doveton North technical school became part of Endeavour Hills when the Mulgrave Freeway divided it from Doveton in 1972, and the area south-east of Eumemmerring Creek (with its own school opened in 1977) became the suburb of Eumemmerring in 1981. Most of the schools had high enrollments within a few years of opening (Doveton West had over 1050 pupils in five years). In 2011 the State schools had been reduced to one, centred on the site where Doveton primary opened in 1956.

Image courtesy of: Victorian Places

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Part of a larger aerial view of Dandenong in the 1950's

Part of a larger aerial view of Dandenong in the 1950's, What can you see in this section?

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Dandenong Park in the 1950's

Dandenong Park in the 1950's, Pultney Street runs up the left side with a small portion of Foster Street and the old Garage in the bottom. Established over 100 years ago, it is one of the most significant parklands in the municipality, having strong historical and cultural links with Dandenong.

The park has a large range of well established exotic tree species throughout the reserve, including a significant oak in front of the Lawn Bowls Club, which was planted in the 1880s. There is also some mature River Red Gums, which are indigenous and a part of the original landscape.

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Late 1950's view of Lonsdale Street

Late 1950's view of Lonsdale Street, Dandenong

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St Mary's Church, 1950's

St Mary's Church, 1950's, including old church building - Corner MrCrae Street and Foster Street.

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Proclamation City of Dandenong, Journal supplement March 1959.

Proclamation City of Dandenong, Journal supplement 1959

Image supplied by Cheryl Newton Simmins


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Parade, Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 1959.

A parade for the proclamation of the City of Dandenong in 1959, it does capture a wonderful moment and reminds us of the spirit which people once embraced this lovely town of ours.
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