Sound Shell, Dandenong Park, undated.

The Sound Shell structure was constructed at Dandenong Park in 1967, after some strong lobbying by the Dandenong R.S.L and Citizens Band. In 1964 the band was invited to present a deputation to the Public Works Committee to express their concerns about accommodation at the old Memorial Hall, where they stored their instruments and practiced. They presented adeputation to the Council in January 1965. In May 1965 the Council decided to build a concert auditorium in the Dandenong Park to cater for community groups such as the Dandenong R.S.L. and the Citizens Band.

In February 1966 the Public Works Committee assigned the design and development of the sound shell (with public toilets and a band room) to Alsop and Duncan P/L with a note or condition that the council would decide on the location and approximate area for the structure. The location was at the rear of the bowling club with the shell fronting Foster Street and conveniently situated between two paths forming a triangle.

In April 1967 the architects Alsop and Duncan P/L submitted working drawings and specifications for ‘A Sound Shell, Conveniences etc at the Dandenong Park’ to Council and called for tenders that closed on the 18th May 1967. Tender documents described the location of the sound shell as follows:
“...in front of the large cypress tree which borders along the
western side of the Croquet Lawn and is sited so that only one
tree in the Park, which can be replanted will be interfered with.”

The sound shell and toilets were intended to replace two antiquated toilets, which were causing so much concern due to dilapidation. The plans were shown to the community and on 8 May the council recommended that the plan be adopted as there had been no objection from the public and the work could be carried out under the supervision of the design architect.

In June 1967 the tender of Ajax Contractors for $21,585 was accepted, following a recommendation from the architects, and the shell was constructed as a brick, steel and concrete structure. The estimated cost of the works, including architects’ fees, was $22,000. The opening of the sound shell on the 5th November 1967 was marked by an outdoor Catholic Mass celebrated by five priests, two of whom representing missionaries of the Sacred Heart Movement. It was to be the first outdoor mass ever celebrated in Dandenong. Father O’Donnell, parish priest of St Mary’s, Dandenong, presided at the mass.

After all of the lobbying and eventual success in having the shell built, the R.S.L. and Citizens Band were denied full access to it for practice sessions and storage. Council’s time restrictions (one night per week only and no use between 12pm Saturday to 4pm Sunday) were not satisfactory to the band. Nevertheless, after long negotiations between the band and the council, the band became a regular user of the shell. Other users of the auditorium were Carols by Candlelight, Dandenong Assembly of God, St Mary’s Parish, Salvation Army, Australia Day Committee and other community groups.

On the 5 June 1988 the sound shell was named after Mr Stan Prior, a Dandenong identity and the city’s oldest practicing band man. Stan was born in South Melbourne on 19 July 1890 and went to school at Eastern Rd Primary School in South Melbourne. His 100th birthday was celebrated by the community of Dandenong and hosted by the Mayor Cr B. J. Powell in the Dandenong Town Hall on 22 July 1990. Mr Prior played the cornet with the City of Dandenong Band until he died in August 1992. By the end he was more of a mascot than a musician but his great age and his status as a veteran of two world wars meant he was a household name in Dandenong. He loved visiting the local nursing homes to play music for the old folk.

As part of the master plan to revitalize the Dandenong Park precinct, the stage was demolished in late June 2016, along with the Bowling Club, Croquet Club and Kindergarten located within the surrounding area. The intent to build a boulevard path and redesign the gardens within the park required removal of all existing structures.

Demolition, June 28th-29th, 2016.

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Aerial shot of Sandown Park, 1945-2010s

The area to the north side of the railway line was owned by William C. Cullen, a Brighton publican who had used the area for horse races from December 1888. He was encouraged by horse racing enthusiasts to lay out a saddling paddock and grandstand enclosure as planting flower beds and trees.

He called it Oakleigh Park. In 1888 tenders were called by Richard Speight for the construction of a wooden grandstand called Springvale Racecourse but this has since been demolished. The total racecourse area was 134 acres with the remaining acreage left for grazing.

In 1891 the course was leased to Samuel Willis, David Boyd and Charles Heape, who ran the Victorian Trotting Club, for the cost of £20,000. This course was to be used as their meeting place after their lease at Elsternwick Park had expired. They renamed it Sandown Park, after the fashionable racecourse adjoining the railway station of Esher, about 15 miles south west of London, in Surrey England. They retained the lease of the course until 1932.

The Sandown course consisted of a racing course of almost 12 furlongs and a steeplechase course of almost two miles. The spectators watched from two stands tiered in ramps; one could hold 500 and the other 2000 people.

In the late 1920s, the Select Committee investigating Victoria’s races and racecourses decided that privately run clubs run for profits should be closed. Sandown Park had been managed by Michael Patrick Considine since 1895 and the children of the late Henry Skinner for a 20% profit. In April 1929, the owners thought they should try to sell the course but it was passed in at £65,000 and they decided to lease the site for grazing. Sandown closed in May 1931.

In 1934 the Springvale and District Coursing Club was encouraged by a few locals to organise some races. Roy Maidmont of the National Coursing Club organised the Sandown Greyhound Racing and Coursing Club, leasing the racecourse for £150 a year. They sought to obtain a licence to organise formal speed coursing but their plans were temporarily delayed when in 1942, the Government took over Sandown Park for army training and all coursing racing was stopped.

In 1944, the Sandown Coursing Club began to race at Sandown but, in 1947, their plans had to be shelved again when they had to seek another meeting venue. The course was advertised for sale but the Coursing Club was unable to raise sufficient funds. The Victorian Trotting and Racing Association in association with the Williamstown Racing Club (with whom they had amalgamated to form the Melbourne Racing Club) bought the course for £41,000.

In 1950 the course was cleared of all trees to make space for a motor racing track. In July 1957 a contract for £154,000 was let for the construction of the new track. In 1959 a total of £400,000 was spent on the construction and grassing of the race track drainage, fencing, water mains, levelling and filling, provision of running rails and on other improvements.

In 1962 the motor racing track was officially opened by Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Bob Stillwell. In 1963 the Melbourne Racing Club merged with the Victorian Amateur Turf Club (VATC) to facilitate the opening of new horse racing facilities. The racecourse was designed by Mr H. J Wagstaff, a track engineer, it had two straight runs and two turns at each end, 9 furlongs and four chains long. To lengthen this for different races there were legs or ‘chutes’ leading into the oval track. It was also about this time that a new grandstand was required to meet the increasing patronage of the course.

The new grandstand was cantilevered to provide an unrestricted view, bars, totalisator windows, dining rooms and most services undercover. In 1965, an overpass, opened by Cr F. Wachter of the Springvale Council, was constructed to facilitate access to the course. Its use was restricted to days of horse or motor racing. It was financed by the Victorian Amateur Turf Club and built by the Country Roads Board for £90,000. The site was designed to accommodate 12,000 cars with room for expansion and a train station was built on the railway side of the property to cater for rail travellers.

The new VATC Sandown Racecourse was opened by the Victorian Premier, Mr Henry Bolte on 19 June 1965. The Sandown Racecourse has a close association with the Sandown Cup, originally known as the Williamstown Cup, which was first run in 1888 and staged in Williamstown until 1936. Flemington became its host from 1940 to 1950 and Caulfield from 1951 to 1964. In 1965, when the new Sandown
track was opened the race was renamed the Sandown Cup.

In March 1999 the VATC proposed to re-vamp the Sandown Cup, including a name change to Sandown Classic and the introduction of weight-for-age conditions (replacing handicap conditions). In 1997, an Equine Quarantine Centre was used for the first time and, in 1999, the racecourse was renovated and reopened on the 10 October.

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131 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 1973 and 2013.

131 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong - 1973 and 2013, 

40 years and still going strong. Some buildings remain the same.

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Aerial, Sandown Park, 1945-2010s

Worth noting the completely different track layouts of the original (pre 1931) and current (post 1965) Sandown racecourses. The former remained in place in 1945 unused to make a comparison. The original didn't go all the way to Dandenong Road with the Springvale Cemetery railway passing through this area crossing Dandenong Road over a small bridge approximately where the 7-Eleven petrol station now stands. Corrigan's (Corrigan) Road ended at present-day Racecourse Road which is now a dead end residential street (access blocked off in the 1980s)

It would be interesting if there are any pictures of the electrified sidings at the original Sandown station. You can see the original island platform was alongside the DOWN track only with a pair of sidings on the northern side existing in 1909.
http://signaldiagramsandphotos.com/mywebpages/vr/Metropolitan/743'09.htm

Photo and information supplied by: Andrew Scanlon

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Aerial views of Dandenong in 2003 and 2013.

What a difference 10 years can make when urban renewal take hold. With Dandenong Train Station in the bottom left corner, Lonsdale street running up the right side and Walker Street (George street after it passes Robinson Street) running across the top. Some dramatic changes have taken place.

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Then and Now, Walker Street CFA/Gallery, 1930s/2010s

Then and Now, Walker Street CFA/Gallery, 1930s/2010s

Image supplied by: Keith Pakenham'

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