Amanda Bevan, marketing manager, at the busy, four-days-a-week Dandenong Market is a talented, friendly “people person”, well suited to her responsible role.
She treats stallholders and a diverse range of customers from local shoppers to overseas visitors and tourists from not only Victoria, but interstate, with warmth and friendliness.
“Our first Dandenong market day was in 1866, making our market one of Victoria’s oldest,” she said with justifiable pride.
Ms Bevan spoke of the recent opening of the market for Sunday trading from 10am to 3pm, in addition to the time honoured Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7am to 4pm.
She said the market completed a $26 million development in 2011 and it now offered a fine selection of fresh produce, quality butcher items from a delicatessen and seafood, as well as a vast array of fruit and vegetables, plants, baked goods, jewellery, homewares, toys and clothing.
In referring to the market’s “Past, Present, and Future” she said Dandenong Market had formed part of the rich heritage of Dandenong since 1866.
On market days, the open-sided sheds take on new life with hundreds of shoppers bustling through the great variety of fresh produce and assorted wares.
Today, in a world when seemingly sterile, air conditioned shopping centres have become the norm, the Dandenong Market provides a refreshing and traditional shopping experience for all ages.
Historical research indicates that following the first European settlement of the Dandenong district in the late 1840s, the importance of the area as a meeting and trading centre soon became apparent.
When the proposed settlement of Dandenong was first surveyed in the 1850s, two acres of land was set aside as cattle yards. The idea at that stage was to develop Dandenong as a market town.
In November 1863, ratepayers petitioned for the establishment of a market, and in 1864 the Colonial Government officially granted approval for the development of the Dandenong Market.
Soon after, a site in Dandenong for a public market was secured on the intersection of Lonsdale and McCrae streets. In October 1866, the market was officially open for business.
In 1926, the market was relocated to its existing site on the corner of Clow and Cleeland streets, and in 1958 the livestock section of the market moved to the area on Cheltenham Road, behind the Dandenong railway yards.
Although the market is still in the same spot, the buildings and structure of the market have changed over the years.
In 1996, the market underwent a complete overhaul, with extensions to the fruit and vegetable areas, development of a multi-level carpark, implementation of internal and external “themed” market signage, painting of the entire market, coloured striped awnings as well as a new market logo.
With funding secured for the market redevelopment, 2005 saw the addition of Aldi supermarket. Subsequent redevelopment included the construction of a new general merchandise hall (completed in October 2009), the addition of a new produce hall (completed in August 2010) and the completion of a new meat, fish and deli hall (completed in June 2011).
The sprawling new Dandenong Market was officially opened by the CEO John Bennie on Saturday 4 June, 2011. The day saw a celebration of the unique diversity and multicultural nature of the area, with performances from people from all corners of the globe. The Dandenong Market site is owned by the City of Greater Dandenong and managed by Dandenong Market Pty Ltd.
