Everything about Dandenong Victoria totally explained
» See also Mount Dandenong, Victoria for the mountain and a different suburb with similar name.
See also Dandenong Ranges and Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Dandenong is a
suburb of
Melbourne,
Victoria,
Australia located southeast of the
Melbourne CBD. Its Local Government Area is the
City of Greater Dandenong.
Once an independent city, it was absorbed by
metropolitan Melbourne as its
urban sprawl extended south east along the railway and freeway corridors during the late 1960s, while it maintains a distinctive identity and character. The city is situated on Dandenong Creek in the flat land at the foothills of
Mount Dandenong and is a major manufacturing and commercial area, and the Dandenong
CBD is one of the largest activity centres outside of central Melbourne.
Dandenong is a highly multicultural city, with approximately 55.5% of residents born overseas from 156 different birthplaces and 51% from non-English speaking backgrounds. Significant ethnic groups include immigrants from the
Indian subcontinent and
southeastern Europe. A third version has the name Dandenong coming from 'a burning' and 'the past' reflecting bushfires on the Dandenongs.
Joseph Hawdon established a
pastoral run on
Dandenong Creek in 1837, bringing cattle from
Sydney by land. Soon a few timber cutters and a police camp were also located there. By 1850, the whole area had been taken up for grazing. Dandenong Creek was first bridged in 1840. A road was made from Melbourne, making Dandenong, by the late 1850s, an important staging post for travellers into
Gippsland. It became known as the 'gateway to Gippsland'. A township was surveyed in 1852. Milling of the
red gum timber became an important industry, and charcoal burning, tanning, quarrying and brick making also flourished. A livestock market was established in 1866.
The
Western Port Aboriginal Protectorate Station was located north-east of Dandenong from 1840 to 1844. This area had been an important meeting and ceremonial site for Aboriginal tribes. The
Native Police Corps established its headquarters there until its disbandment in 1852. The
Police Paddocks were then used for breeding and resting police horses.
By 1861, there were 40 houses in the township housing 193 people. Dandenong Shire was proclaimed in 1873. The Australian Handbook records the progress of the town by 1875.
The Dandenong Town Hall, Lonsdale Street, was built in Free Classical style in 1890 as the combined Shire Hall, Courthouse and Mechanics Institute, at a cost of about 12,000 pounds. The architects were Beswicke and Hutchins and the contractor McCullogh and McApline. The two storey, stucco rendered brick building, on a bluestone base course, features a lofty, Mansard-roofed, corner clock tower and projecting end wings with serlian motif windows and capped by pedimented niches.
The post-war industrial boom brought an influx of European migrants, particularly from
Italy and
Greece. This caused the creation of several suburbs of Dandenong including the
public housing estate of Doveton.
The city was eventually absorbed by Melbourne as it sprawled south east during the 1960s.
The Dandenong CBD area is currently under
urban renewal as part of the
Melbourne 2030 planning policy.
Redevelopment
Development in Dandenong had
stagnated since the opening of the
Dandenong Plaza shopping centre which resulted in the closure of many shops in the central business district. Under the
Melbourne 2030 policy, Dandenong was classified as a major
activity centre due to its central location with regard to its access to transport. These projects can be considered to be
transit-oriented development, where
population density is intended to be higher compared to other areas with poorer access to transport.
The Greater Dandenong city council has started a programme called
Revitalising Central Dandenong, with $290 million proposed to be spent on various projects such as
infrastructure upgrades, improved street frontages and
public art in order to improve the general amenity of the Dandenong CBD. In the longer term, the council wishes to transform Dandenong into a more pedestrian oriented and
mixed-use centre. This contrasts with the current situation where the CBD area is primarily occupied by offices and carparking, with a small amount of retail.
Dandenong's redevelopment is being overseen by the
City of Greater Dandenong council and
VicUrban, a
Victorian Government agency responsible for urban planning. The project is a long-term project, expected to continue for 15 to 20 years.
Metro 3175
Metro 3175 is a major development located on the site of the former Dandenong Livestock Market. Established in 1866, the market was closed in 1998 and relocated to
Gippsland because Dandenong had for many years been incorporated as a part of the
Greater Melbourne area as a result of
urban sprawl. This left a large unused site situated across the railway lines from the CBD. In November 2005,
VicUrban launched a project to develop the land into a mixed-use development consisting of 1100 residences as well as
cafes and
restaurants, known as
Metro 3175, with 3175 signifying Dandenong's
postcode.
Because the site is isolated from the rest of the central Dandenong area, a bridge across the railway lines is being constructed to improve access between the precincts. The bridge will provide access for cars, pedestrians and cyclists and will improve connections to
bus services in the area. Additionally,
Cheltenham Road, a major east-west arterial is being realigned in order to remove traffic from nearby streets and encourage pedestrian use.
When completed, the Metro 3175 project is expected to have a total population of about 3000.
Drum Theatre
Designed by
Williams Ross Architects, the Drum Theatre is a redevelopment of the Dandenong Town Hall, built in 1880. The town hall was redeveloped into a
performing arts centre with a 525 seat
proscenium theatre. At the cost of $13 million, the project commenced construction in 2004 and was opened by Victorian Premier
Steve Bracks on
11 February 2006.
The redevelopment involved renovating the existing town hall building and the construction of a modern drum-shaped building. Its striking red colour is prominently visible from nearby streets in the CBD.
Dandenong Stadium
The Dandenong stadium is the home of the
Dandenong Rangers and Victoria's state volleyball competition.
Transport
Dandenong is primarily a private vehicle dependent community due to poorer public transport compared to more inner suburbs. It is served by the
Monash Freeway as well as several other major arterial roads.
Eastlink, when completed, will also pass near the suburb.
Dandenong Railway Station is situated adjacent to the CBD and is an interchange station for the
Pakenham and
Cranbourne lines as well as regional trains on the
Gippsland railway line. The state government has proposed triplication of the railway line to support a higher volume of trains for the growing population in and around Dandenong as well as other suburbs and towns along the line.
The station also serves as a transport hub for the
bus network, with almost all bus routes in the area passing through Dandenong station and an interchange on Thomas Street in the CBD. Most buses in the area are operated by
Grenda's Bus Services whose depot is located near the railway station.
Cycling is facilitated via the
Dandenong Creek Trail, part of the off-road cycling network which connects the city trails to nearby
Jells Park.
Education
Three state high schools – Lyndale Secondary College and two campuses of
Dandenong High School (Dandenong and Cleeland) – and one Catholic high school (
St John's Regional College), as well as numerous state and two Catholic primary schools, are located within the suburb's boundaries. Dandenong also contains Emerson School, a specialist school for those with mild intellectual disabilities from a catchment area extending as far north as
Rowville.
Notable Residents
Sister cities
Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China 1996 (External Link
)Further Information
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