Frank Facey commenced trading in 1917.

Frank Facey was born in Cranbourne, Victoria and after a career in coach building , started a Real Estate business in Dandenong which commenced trading in 1917. In 1945 a new site was purchased and a new office built in Lonsdale Street. In 1982 they joined the First National Real Estate Group. In 1990 Hall & Partners took control and they began trading as Hall & Partners First National from the same Lonsdale Street Location.

Frank’s son Angus joined his father in the business in 1930. His son Andrew followed in his footsteps and joined his father in the business in 1968 and took over the management in 1974 .

Image supplied by Geri Grover‎

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Aerial view looking across Grendas for depot to Dandenong.

This stunning photo of part of Dandenong, that has been transformed and lost forever, came with no date, but the size of the depot along with the former Tax Office in the backdrop does suggest a date range. George street and Stockmans Bridge now occupy part of this location.

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Mayfair Theatre, 170 Thomas Street, Dandenong in 1968.

The Boomerang Theatre (as it was known) officially opened in 1924 as one of Dandenong's earliest, if not first, theatre. In 1950 it became known as the Mayfair Theater.

The Mayfair Buildings (Between Lonsdale and Thomas streets) replaced Dunbar’s Royal "new" Hotel in 1922. Situated at the rear of 221–229 Lonsdale street, The Mayfair Theatre was demolished 1968, not long after this photo was taken, along with the Lonsdale street facing building.

Hanover arcade was built on this site also going through to Lonsdale Street, This too was demolished in the early 2010's, A site with many faces and constructions over the years now bares no historical buildings.

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Postcard showing BP Island and surrounding buildings in Dandenong.

You can see part of Scots Presbyterian Church and 2nd dandy scout hall facing foster street which were demolished for the court house complex.

Image supplied by Brad Farrell

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Tharle Butches, Lonsdale Street, Dandenong

Where Vanity Court now stands.   For more images like this visit us at https://www.facebook.com/olddandenong/

The Commercial Bank, 209 -211 Lonsdale Street, late 1800's

Separated from Dunbar’s Hotel with vacant treed land, the imposing and ornate Commercial Bank was built in 1869. The Commercial Bank also remained with its original façade until it was demolished. ) Its replacement was a two storey brown brick building typical of architecture in the 60’s

The Commercial Bank was the first bank to open a branch in Dandenong,in 1869 and continued throughout the years to support major developments in the town. As the pioneer of banking in Gippsland,it enhanced the central position of Dandenong in the region. The Commercial closed its doors in 1893 despite a public meeting expressing its support.

Tho first manager of tho Commercial Bank was Hector M. Sutherland, For fifteen years Mr. Sutherland occupied bachelor quarters at Dunbar’s Hotel, and I think that in those days everybody in the town and district knew “Mr. Sutherland’s room.” It was situated off the. main entrance, and long after Mr. Sutherland married and took up his life on tho bank premises the room retained its old name.

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Composite Bridge, Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 1904-2000s

Looking into Dandenong towards Foster street.

Over the years ‘the rapids of Dandenong’, so described once by the poet Adam Lindsay Gordon, have swept away more than one bridge in the area. The first bridge over Dandenong Creek was constructed in 1840. A flood swept this away ten years later and it was replaced.

The stone bridge, built in 1866, probably by Robert Huckson, lasted 52 years. Part of it was granite, quarried locally from the vicinity of Wedge and Power Streets.

This bridge was replaced in 1919 by a ferrous metal single-span bridge, with concrete deck, known as the ‘Peace Memorial Bridge’. It was designed by R. H. Woolcock, shire engineer,once described as ‘one of the best engineers in Victoria’. Part of the bridge still carries portion of the Princess Highway over the Dandenong Creek. Modern concrete bridges now span the local creeks at many points.


Courtesy of The Dandenong Journal

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Heatherton Road (Mile Creek Bridge), Noble Park, Undated

The timber bridge pictured here at Mile Creek was replaced by the concrete four cell culvert structure we have today in 1959. Bridges at Corrigan Road, and Douglas Street built in the early to mid 60's are also culvert structures made for the concrete channelisation of Mile Creek between the Sandown weir and Chandler Road.

Image supplied by: Gaye Guest - Information supplied by: Andrew Scanlon

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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 1950s

If you grew up in Gippsland, back in the 'olden days' before the freeways were built then you would have driven through the main street of Dandenong, many times. I'm not actually old enough to remember these palm trees, but they look very picturesque. This is one of a booklet of post cards published by Valentine Publishing in the 1950s (perhaps - someone may be able to date the cars)

Image courtesy of:  Casey Cardinia Heritage

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Albion Hotel, 329-333 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, between 1889-1891

The Albion Hotel stands on the site of Alexander Bowman’s store, which he started in 1852, possibly Dandenong’s first store. Bowman owned every street corner but one of Lonsdale Street in the very early days, and was said to have ‘owned half the township at one period’.

James Clarke bought the store erected by A. W. Bowman, and converted it into a hotel, which he named the “Mornington Arms.” Clarke took advantage of a rumor about the establishment of a permanent market to invest in this hotel, and it turned out to be a very profitable move. At first the house was merely a “beer shop.” However, Clarke did not live long to enjoy his prosperity, as, coming home from Melbourne one night, he was thrown from a cart and killed.

Alfred Pope (son of David Pope), conducted the house for a time, but was succeeded by Charles Dobson, who transferred from the “Shamrock Hotel" on the corner of Scott and Lonsdale Street. Charles Dobson purchased it in 1882 and re-named it the ‘Albion’ alter the hostelry in Bourke street, Melbourne, from whence the coaches left for Dandenong and Gippsland.

Peter McQuade was the proprietor in 1889 and the McQuades replaced the early one-storey timber building with the present two-storey building in 1891. Peter James McQuade was born in Ireland, and when he first arrived here, he farmed at Flemington before taking up land at Springvale, where he worked for fifteen years. He ran the Bridge Hotel 185-195 Lonsdale Street in 1887, and from 1889 owned and ran the Albion Hotel.

The hotel had been in the possession of varying members of the McQuade family continuously from 1889 until at least 1993 (Present ownership not known to us). The magnificent verandah as seen in this photo has been removed but the façade has remained largely unaltered, with an extension into a small retail premises next door.

The hotel has a near intact upper level, with timber sash double hung windows, but the ground level façade has been altered. Here the former face brick wall has been rendered and the original five openings (windows, doors) have been revised but the paneled Victorian-era timber door, with its top light, resembles the original.

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Aerial View of Dandenong in the 1950's

In this one you can see the area covering where the Dandenong Plaza now stands, Bordered by McCrae. Foster and Clow street with the former Myers now closing the left side of the Plaza.
An alternate version of this image can be found here.

Edward Ellis’s store which later became the Wessex is still visible on the corner of Walker and Langhorne diagonal to the rear of the Town Hall.

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