Ellis’s Store, 118 Walker Street, Dandenong, Late 1880's

In 1856 William and Edward Ellis (brothers) settled in Dandenong. Edward Ellis erected operated this store for some time, Built for him in the 1870's, it saw many modifications over the decades transforming it from the smaller building you see here to the larger building that was demolished in 1971, almost 100 years.

In 1877 the building was sold, by Thomas Rosling and Co. for £630, Mr. James Greaves being the purchaser. Hence forth it was known as Greaves Building. July 2nd 1946 saw the official opening of The Wessex in this building by Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Mills, hosting Receptions, Dances, Function and the such. being formally known as The Wessex Hotel at some point.

An ever popular venue for dances, weddings, parties, etc, for some years Mrs. I. Mills, proprietress at the time in 1954 wanted to convert the premises to let as offices. She already had two of the rooms let to suitable clients, She still maintained her own private residence upstairs Around this time the Main building (and possibly neighbouring ones) became known as the Wessex Buildings..

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Laurel Lodge, 51 Langhorne Street, Dandenong, in 1910.

Back when the tree's were still small.

Laurel Lodge is one of the few physical reminders of Dandenong in the nineteenth century. Built around 1869, it is one of the region's oldest buildings.

Laurel Lodge derives considerable local and regional significance from its association with its past owners, who were prominent citizens of the district, and have made important public contributions. These include: Early Dandenong pioneer Mrs Janet Bowman, Colonial architect Robert Huckson, District doctor Henry Ogle Moore, Flamboyant stock and station agent and auctioneer Joseph Clarke and Robert Woodcock the Secretary and Engineer of Dandenong Shire.

Laurel Lodge was also the site of an elite ladies private school between 1869 and 1884. Headed by Miss Matilda Shaw it was "one of the leading boarding schools in the colony", She later moved her school up the road to what became Merlin Private Hospital.

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Scout Hall, Princes Hwy, Dandenong, Undated.

Built in 1930, The Armytage Own Scout Hall (Now known as The Castle) was on Princes Highway, Near Hemmings Park. The hill th hall sits upon sloping into Dandenong was known as Prospect Hill.

The first scout group in the Dandenong area was formed by 1909, Ted Swords, the first scout master formed the Armytage Own 1st Dandenong scout group in March 1928. On January 1935 the unveiling of the foundation stone occurred coinciding with the World Jamboree.

Up until 2004 the scouts continued to occupy the hall and use it for prop storage and set production, In 2005 the city of Greater Dandenong re-developed the hall into a venue with focus on music and youth.

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The Journal, 1 Scott Street, Dandenong, Undated

The Journals office at number 1 Scott Street, No date was provided, 1 Scott Street is now part of the Nu Hotel complex.

The following is from an article written by Narelle Coulter in the Dandenong Journal.

"The Dandenong Journal is one of the oldest and proudest community newspapers in Australia.
Founded as the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in 1865, it has been a reliable record of life in Dandenong and surrounding districts for close to 150 years.
When its Irish founder Harvey Roulston arrived in Victoria in 1853, Dandenong was a thriving settlement on the banks of the Dandenong Creek.
Roulston got ink under his fingernails learning the newspaper trade as a compositor at the iconic Argus.
He later struck out on his own, opening an office and printing works in Bridge Street, Richmond, where The Journal was first produced.
In 1875, Roulston relocated his business to Dandenong. Competition had sprung up in the form of the Dandenong Advertiser and he was determined that his paper would be the journal of record for the district.
To achieve that that he knew he needed to put himself and the paper at the centre of community life.
Roulston became an important and generous member of the community – setting a precedent of community involvement for Journal editors and proprietors throughout the next 100 years.
Such was the esteem in which Harvey Roulston was held that when he died in 1896, most businesses in town put up their shutters as a mark of respect.
Bill Roulston carried on his father’s legacy of passionate but fair community journalism, devoting 50 years of his life to running the newspaper.
Greg Dickson became editor and publisher when he bought The Journal on 1 August 1939. Dickson was a young reporter from Ouyen who learnt the newspaper business from his mother, one of the few female editors in Australia at the time.
He gave a teenage Marg Stork her first assignment, nurturing a career that has spanned more than 70 years. Now 90, Marg still writes for The Journal. See A Moment with Marg page 10.
Marg recalls customers patiently standing in line with threepence in their hands outside The Journal’s Scott Street office ready to purchase the paper.
Dickson modernised The Journal, building it up to 16 pages, scrapping the front page advertisements and introducing news headlines."

The complete article can be found here:
http://dandenong.starcommunity.com.au/journal/2013-09-09/voice-of-our-community-lives-on/
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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, Undated

During the Palm Tree years a Ford branded service station operated from the corner of McCrae and Lonsdale streets, The exact year is unknown You can see the Albion up the right still with it's Veranda, The air of country life is evident in the lack of pedestrian care for where the traffic flows, A book club was operating a few doors up from the Ford Station.

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Eiffel Tower Motors, Corner Lonsdale and McCrae Street, Dandenong.. Late 1960's/1970's

Eiffel Tower Motors, Corner Lonsdale and McCrae Street, Dandenong.. Late 1960's/1970's

Image supplied by:  Brad Farrell‎

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Funeral Procession, Lonsdale Street, Dandenong

 In this undated photo you can see a funeral procession being led by one the the Garnars/Garners, they were well known for leading the processions as they wound their way through the streets.

Garnars, later W.J. Garmar $ Son, was owned and operated by James William Garner (1851-1913) the mortuary for Garnars was originaly located off Crump Lane, later the premises moved to 44 Walker St (There are also newspaper listings for 10 Walker street, near town hall, going by early 1900's numbering), the rear lane at this property (spelled Garner Lane, using original name spelling) provided access to the mortuary located on the rear of the property.

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Garnars Undertakers, Walker St, Dandenong

Garnars, later W.J. Garmar $ Son, was owned and operated by James William Garner (1851-1913) the mortuary for Garnars was originaly located off Crump Lane, later the premises moved to 44 Walker St (There are also newspaper listings for 10 Walker street, near town hall, going by early 1900's numbering), the rear lane at this property (spelled Garner Lane, using original name spelling) provided access to the mortuary located on the rear of the property.

James William Garnar owned several businesses in Dandenong at the turn of the 20th century, including Garnars Undertakers, a business that involved all of his family. After James’ death in 1913, the business was run by his wife, Margaret, and was eventually run by James’ and Margaret’s eldest son, who along with his own son, changed the name of the business to W.J. Garnar & Son, who were well known for leading funeral processions down Lonsdale Street.

Mr. James Garnar was killed in the evening of Easter Sunday,March 1913, through a ferocious attack by a bull, from the particulars to hand it seems that the animal "broke out," as the saying goes and rushed, knocked down, and finally accounted for his death. The funeral took placeon the 26th March, when the remains were interred in the Dandenong cemetery.

In the 1930s, a severe flood hit the streets of Dandenong – and when Garnar opened his flood effected mortuary he discovered that two coffins, one empty and one occupied, had been swept away. They were later recovered from the creek in Mordialloc.

Although the family name was spelled ‘Garner’, James altered it to ‘Garnar’ in order to distinguish himself from other people associated with the ‘Garner’ spelling. The W.J. Garnar & Son business was sold to Le Pine Funerals in 1950. Garnar Lane in Dandenong is named after the family

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Promotional aerial view of central Dandenong in 1964.

So much has changed, Can you see the old location of the Showgrounds behind the market, the Dandenong Show was held here from 1907 until relocating to Greaves Reserve in 1967. This site would later be used for Council Offices and the local Library until their move the the present Lonsdale Street location.

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Southern Aurora Hotel, Next to Dandenong Railway Station, in 1991.

Southern Aurora Hotel Motel (‘K’s Dandenong Hotel P/L.) The owners were Mr and Mrs Karnhauser. Built on railway property the hotel adopted a name, which was synonymous with the railways (Southern Aurora express). It was believed to be the first privately owned licensed premises with residential accommodation to be built on railway property, in fact next to the Dandenong Station





Original Lounge and Function rooms had the names Observation Lounge, Pullman Grill, Club Car Lounge, Tunnel Room and Express Bar.





Nearby Kayes Lane is name after the former owners of Southern Aurora. It was demolished during the 1990's, The space is now part of the bus interchange and car parking adjacent.

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The Dandenong Creek sometime between 1920 and 1960.

Before they concreted most of it and realigned the rest within the town, Once Dandenong did have a real creek, But dubious council progress and time would turn it into nothing more than a channel for storm water.

Excerpt From "Reminiscences Of Old Dandenong":
“Well, the reader may imagine himself standing on Prospect Hill (say, about the site of the Scouts’ Hall), which was then virgin country, looking towards the rise upon which the churches now stand. There was then nothing but an expanse of green to be seen. On the left hand were the giant gums, interspersed with sheoaks, light woods, etc, in Walker’s paddock (more recently known as the Grange Estate).
In the valley at my feet was a pleasant park-like expanse covered with heavy timber, and, as one looked eastwards, to the slope, where now Langhorne, McCrae and other streets run, it was also heavily timbered with redgum, the minor trees consisting of sheoak, lightwood, wild cherry, honeysuckle and peppermint, the undergrowth being mostly 'bracken, with excellent kangaroo grass and dwarf scrub.
“Sloping toward the creek the peppermints became scarce, and the bracken, intermingled with heath, gave place to reeds and rushes, and, although here was not the rugged beauty that held me on the hillside, not the least being the abundance of maiden-hair fern with which the banks of the creek were clothed, compensation was made by the wealth of lovely smaller bushes, such as wild raspberries, wild black currants, native laurels, myrtles, silver wattles, and other pretty shrubs.
The raspberries and currants were found only on the creek’s banks, as were mostly the laurels and myrtles, but the latter were sometimes growing a short distance from the water, but not far. I doubt very much if raspberries or black currants could now be found anywhere in or near the park, even by the most careful searching.
As mentioned before, the creek side of the hill was not clothed with such heavy timber as was the other side, but it was a very pretty spot, nevertheless. At my back, and to the right, in the direction of the (now) railway station, “Prospect Hill" was similarly clothed as “Church Hill,” vistas of beautiful trees opening up in whichever direction the eye ranged.
It was all very lovely, and I can with truth say, Dandenong, as it was then, was as pretty a spot as could be found on this island continent of ours.

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