by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A rich trove of history is being unearthed as part of Dandenong Primary School’s milestone 150th birthday celebration.
The school – now rightly labelled a cornerstone of the community – began with a handful of students in a humble “wooden shack” near the railway station in 1874.
Parents soon campaigned for a larger and a safer site away from the rail line and the bustling market of the rural gateway town.
And so the current brick building on the hill overlooking Dandenong’s CBD was opened on 1881.
From those historic classrooms, students reached great heights, including a former Prime Minister Sir John McEwan, Australian of the Year Simon McKeon and Olympic basketballer Mel Dalgleish.
There’s also been tragedies such as three students dying in a diphtheria outbreak in 1888. An honour board at the school also records the names of 53 former students who fought in World War I – 14 of them did not return home.
On Saturday 4 May, the school will stage a grand celebration of its 150 years.
It includes a welcoming ceremony with notable alumni such as McKeon and Bayswater MP Jackson Taylor, as well as the opening of a 1999 time capsule, school tours, history exhibitions, birthday cake and high tea.
A letter from the federal Education Minister and a video from the Governor-General have also been received.
The event’s also a celebration of the present – 400 students from 50 nationalities and speaking 40 languages.
“Diversity is not just celebrated here; it is the common language that unites us and makes us stronger,” principal Daniel Riley says.
“We are proud of our past, rejoice in the learning of today, and prepare for the next 150 years.”
In the lead-up, Riley has interviewed numerous past students and compiled a timeline of significant events, including an alleged spotting of the famous Westall UFO on 6 April 1966.
He says a former student, now in Northern Ireland, made the sighting while walking to school with his mother after a dental visit.
On the same day about 200 staff and students at Westall reported a UFO – which is regarded as one of the largest mass sightings of a UFO in daylight.
The colourful tales have formed a rich history lesson for students, who also explored what classrooms were like pre-electricity, pre-digital, pre-air conditioning, Riley says.
Students have had a try at the old practices of writing chalk-on-slate and with quills-and-ink.
The 150th celebrations begin at the school on 10.30am on Saturday 4 May, with a ceremony at 12pm.
