Dandenong High School, Princes Hwy, Dandenong. Photo taken in 1971.

Dandenong High School has a very long and proud history from its very beginnings in 1919 to present. Originally the junior students were housed in the Dandenong fire station, while the seniors took classes in the Temperance Hall and Church of Christ as the first building was too small. The first headmaster was P. C. W. Langford who had served in the 4th Light Horse during the War.

In 1920, the new building on Princes Highway was opened, with the foundation stone laid by the Hon. W. Hutchinson, Minister of Public Instruction in 1919. The school was built on a 7. 5 acre site called Bushy Park Estate, which was purchased with a £1000 grant from the Dandenong Shire Council.

By the early to mid 1960s the Dandenong Sports Ground had been acquired and a house on High Street had become a caretakers residence. It was in the early 1960s that Dandenong High School finally achieved having equal numbers of both male and female students after an extensive period of female students outnumbering males.

Dandenong High School today has approximately 2000 students currently enrolled after the amalgamation of Cleeland Secondary College (former Dandenong Girls High School), the Doveton School and the Dandenong High School now forming two campuses spread over both the Dandenong High School and former Cleeland Secondary College sites.

Photo kindly shared to page by Anna Veldman
https://www.facebook.com/anneke.pereboomveldman

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Lonsdale Street, between Walker and Scott Streets. Photo dated 1912.

At this time Dandenong was still a small country town with a population of around 2000 residents. In the previous year Dandenong House had been built near the train station, boasting some 40 rooms, a dining room, ground floor tea rooms and an underground kitchen.

The Dandy Bacon Factory had also opened in 1911 bringing more business to Dandenong. Dandenong by this time had also had its own telephone exchange since 1908 with numerous local subscribers. Around this time the Mechanics Institute and local library were on the second floor of the Town Hall.

The Dandenong Market was also at this time still on the main street. The Albion at this time still had its majestic verandahs, The Bridge Hotel (the Jim Dandy), was at the opposite end of Lonsdale Street near Foster Street. The Turn Pike by this time was in place allowing the steam engines to either be turned around to return to Melbourne or be stored overnight.

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Shell (Subway Service Station), Cheltenham Road, Dandenong. Photo taken around 1947

The old Shell service station of W. Schoon and Son, known as the Subway Service Station, located on the left-hand side, heading towards the railway underpass, opposite Foster street, as you head towards the old Stock Market, on Cheltenham road. Formerly the underpass was the Hammond road underpass.

The Dandenong shell of Schoon, had one of the early wash mobile services, a relic of the early days of carwash services offered in the local area. Behind the Service Station was the old Sawmill (timber yard), which stood strong for many years, under various owners. Shell now operates at a site opposite the Dandenong Station on Cheltenham road.

The Sawmills (timber yards) have all moved from the CBD to larger premises on the outskirts of Dandenong, and in some cases have completely left. With public safety regulations being enforced, petrol stations were continually moved further away from residential and commercial premises, meaning an end to small proprietors who couldn't afford to move.

Photo supplied by Lyn Schoon‎

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Minster [Westminster Carpets] Carpets Fire, corner Princes Highway and Gladstone Road, Dandenong, March 1987.

Englishman Jack Dewes established Westminster Carpets at Dandenong, Victoria in 1948-49. The company initially produced low priced rubber bonded carpet for the floors of motor cars, but quickly adopted for use in homes and offices.

The manufacturing process produced carpet directly from carded wool, eliminating the spinning and weaving processes. Its 'Westminster' brand was a haircord floor covering initially made from 80% goat hair and 20% highland wool on a rubberised hessian backing, and produced in a large range of single colours. In 1954 the factory also released carpet tiles, 10 inches (25cm) square, in a similar colour range.

By 1965, Westminster carpets were being produced in 26 different single colours on 40 inch wide rolls, and were being made from a combination of goats hair and man-made fibers like nylon and Evlan.

In the late 1970s the company was renamed Minster, removing the West from its street facing signage.

The site is now occupied by a Bunnings store stands. By pure coincidence, Bunnings sells a Minster carpet brand.

Photo supplied by: Wayne Bishop‎

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Dandenong Bowling Club, Princes Hwy, Dandenong.about late 1990s/early 2000s.

Established in 1882, the local Bowling Green was the collaboration of a few local gentlemen after a meeting had been held in the Mechanics' Institute in March of the same year to discuss the forming of a Bowling Club. They erected their first clubhouse at the creek end of the lawns in the shade of an Algerian Oak (still standing) in Dandenong Park. In the 1950s, the Dandenong Recreation Club put before the committee of enthusiasts, plans to establish a Bowling Green at its Herbert Street site.

The Dandenong Bowling Green was not originally expected to last for more than a season, with some even scorning the very idea of having it. However, some 132 years later when closure was finally looming, the Bowling Club continued to maintain the lawns with the same high care as the gentlemen of the day who had given of their own.

For a long part of the clubs' history, a Croquet Club stood alongside the Bowling Club. In recent times to meet public demands for local space near Dandenong CBD, the future design of Dandenong Park meant the closure of both clubs, the Stan Prior Sound Stage may also yet face removal.

Before its closure, Dandenong Bowling Club was most probably the oldest surviving sports club in the Greater Dandenong area, having celebrated their Centenary in 1992.


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Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, Late 1960s

Taken from the McEwans side of the Walker street intersection, showing the old National Bank on the corner, with Woolworths and Coles still in their original locations and the old Bank of Australasia on the corner of Scott street. Vanity Court had been built replacing the old building used by the Tharle Brothers for many years as a butchers.

The Tharle family and the Journal have been intertwined throughout their time in Dandenong. Both arrived 150 years ago and Dandenong and District Historical Society member Rodney Edwin Tharle remains a regular reader today. His great grandfather, Barton Barnaby Tharle and his wife Louisa Jane Bradley migrated to Australia shortly after they wed on the Isle of White in 1863.

They settled on land on Dandenong-Frankston Road, Dandenong, in early 1864 and later moved to McCrae Street. They had nine children, including Barton Barnaby junior, who became a farmer and auctioneer. He in turn had seven children with wife Emily Jane Hunt and ran slaughter yards in Power Road, Doveton, and a butcher’s business in Dandenong.

In 1919 they brought their home in Macpherson Street from Jeffrey Macpherson. It had housed the private Dandenong Grammar School, which Mr Macpherson ran. Their eldest child, Barton, known as Bart, married Alva Sayers who played with the Dandenong Croquet Club for 40 years.

Bart started in the meat trade at the age of 14 and with brothers Frank and Victor (Vic), ran a butchery business in Foster Street after their father and uncles sold their butcher’s business in Lonsdale Street. When Frank and Vic decided to leave the business, Bart carried on and at one stage operated four shops.

Photo supplied by: David Smith‎

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Damon Bros Market Garden, Noble Park. 1962.

Fred Damon was the second son of Ted and Florrie Damon who, together with their children, ran a successful 15 acre market garden on Waverly Road for many years. His siblings were Albert, Harold, Allan, Alma and Keith. All the Damon siblings attended Mt Waverly State School.

In 1928, with a team of 14 horses, the family had moved a weatherboard house to their property from near Jordanville Station, giving them the honor at that time of being known to deliverymen as "the fourth house on the left from Warrigal Road".

By 1956 most of the Waverly Road property had been sold and the property in Noble Park had been purchased and he and his brothers had entered into a partnership in 1955. In 1963 their father Ted passed away at the age of 64 years old.

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McQuade’s Garage and Stables and Walker’s Bakehouse, 18-20, 22-24 Scott Street, Dandenong

Most recently, before demolition, being occupied by Raux & Sons and known as the Tin Shed. It was owned by two well-known Dandenong identities, E. P Walker and P. V. McQuade. A ratebook search has revealed that between 1917 and 1925 allotment 18/20 was owned by P. McQuade (Licensed victualler) when there was a garage and stables on a 66 feet frontage.

Max Oldmeadow speculated that this may have been where McQuade, who was licensee of the Albion Hotel round the corner on Lonsdale Street, provided accommodation for hotel guest’s horses and cars. McQuade left his mark with the naming of McQuade Lane, running off Scott Street, which almost meets the back of the Albion Hotel.

Blocks 22-24 were owned by E. P. Walker. The land had a house, bakehouse and outbuildings on a 100 ft frontage. He had various tenants, usually women, and apparently never lived there himself. Edward Percy Walker was born at Echuca and with his father owned a chain of stores at Tooradin, Lang Lang and Dandenong.

In February 1910, he paid £22 per foot for his property at the corner of Scott and Lonsdale Streets where he established a well-known corrugated iron grain store. He ran his hay and corn business for many years and gave the site the name by which it is still known, ‘the Old Tin Shed’.

In 1931, the ratebooks become vague about the site and Scott Street was rated as belonging to the Electricity Commission who had 8.5 acres. In 1925, the Electricity Commission had number 16 as a house for a linesman. In 1957, 18-20 and 22-24 were occupied by and used as a garage belonging to Central Motors.

By more recent times, before demolition, being occupied by Raux & Sons, these two gabled single storey buildings had timber frames, horizontally fixed corrugated iron wall cladding (some red Lysaght Orb), some weatherboard cladding to the front gables of both and corrugated iron roofing.

A red brick wing appears to have been added in front of the western building (22-24), sometime in the inter-war period. The interior was still partly unlined; there were timber ledge & braced doors across the eastern building’s entry (18-20); and some early brick flooring (possibly the stable area?).


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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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