100 years ago
13 September 1923
A Despicable Act
Petty thieving
Some days ago, undesirable visitors forced an entrance at the Dandenong golfers’ club house, and 1½ dozen golf balls were stolen. Petty thieving has become far too prevalent here, lately. At the monthly meeting of the Dandenong Mechanic’s Institute on Tuesday evening, the secretary reported that two electric light globes had been removed from rooms in the Institute, also that newspapers and periodicals had been taken from the public reading room. The matter has been reported to the local police authorities. In future newspapers will not therefore be available during the absence of the Librarian.
On Sunday last persons were noticed to get out of a motor car near the soldiers’ honor avenue, Dandenong and pick off some of the tops of the young gum trees planted there. One can hardly realise anyone being so thoughtless and callous to the objects of a soldiers’ honor avenue as to pick the young, growing branches of the trees.
50 years ago
11 September 1973
Fire Brigade Take-Over bid attacked
Dandenong and Springvale Councils are violently opposed to a Melbourne fire brigade move to take over the duties of the Country Fire Authority. The councils claim thy would be up for a “fortune” if the proposal was carried out. Councillor Maurie Jarvis of Dandenong Council said the Dandenong brigade gave the City great service “and it would be a disaster if we were to lose it”. He added: “the cost of MMFB service could be $120,000 per year in Dandenong which ratepayers would have to find”.
20 years ago
8 September 2003
Anthony makes the right career choice, at last
Anthony Giummaria is a 27-year-old writer from North Dandenong who finally decided to try his hand in literature after exhausting long and tortuous career options and part-time jobs. Originally a pianist, Anthony graduated from Nazareth College in 1993 and moved on to Deakin University, where he studied music for several years. He taught piano for three years and also delivered pizzas, pumped petrol, flipped burgers, sold stereos, cleaned houses, and poured beers – all the time becoming increasingly frustrated with the scattered nature of his existence. Having long been a keen reader of fiction, he enrolled in RMIT’s professional writing and editing diploma in 2001. Anthony is the winner of the local writers’ award in the Greater Dandenong Writing Awards 2003 with his story ‘Falling the safe way’. The awards are supported by The Journal.
5 years ago
10 September 2018
Barren Promise
Residents of a Keysborough housing estate waited for years for their long-promised and overdue local park. Twelve months after opening, the site at the corner of Stanley Road and Westwood Boulevard is still far from finished. Built by Greater Dandenong Council the park’s lawns are blighted by vast dunes of grey sand: its grasses are still to take hold. As a result, the soccer pitch is just “full of weeds and sand” says resident Zaneta Biskup. “It’s terrible – you can’t imagine kids playing soccer and footy there.”
Compiled by Dandenong & District Historical Society
