The pages of the Dandenong Journal have chronicled enormous change across the region over the past 157 years.
The settlements of Dandenong, Springvale, Noble Park and Keysborough have grown and changed beyond the recognition of their founders to become thriving suburbs, each with their own unique history and identity.
Next week the Dandenong Journal is publishing a special gloss edition commemorating the region’s history.
Greater Dandenong Then and Now takes a look back at the past and celebrates the vibrant, multi-cultural city of today.
Perhaps no site has changed more in the last 170 years than the corner of Walker and Lonsdale streets in the heart of Dandenong.
Dunbar’s Hotel was the first business to occupy the site in the 1850s.
As one of the few establishments in the fledgling village, the first court sessions and church services were held there, it served as the early post office and rested teams of Cobb and Co horses in its stables.
By 1877 Mr Dunbar had built another hotel next door and converted the original hotel into a bank and shop.
They were demolished nine years later by new owners to make way for the Royal Hotel, which would serve the township for the next 80 years.
In the 1960s The Royal was demolished to make way for a four-storey office building occupied by AMP.
In 2014 the completion of yet another transformation was marked when the City of Greater Dandenong opened its new $65 million municipal building including a state-of-the-art library and public square.
For more on Greater Dandenong’s fascinating history don’t miss next week’s Dandenong Journal, out Monday 16 October.
For an interactive sneak peek at how Dandenong has changed over the years visit dandenong.starcommunity.com.au.
