100 years ago
2 October 1924
Dandenong Improvement Society
The Dandenong Improvement Society is to be congratulated on its activities in many in the ways in the interests of residents, not only of Dandenong, but the surrounding districts. The latest act of the Association which deserves special commendation is the stocking of the Dandenong Creek with trout. As a disciple of Isaac Walton, the writer trusts the Association will continue its good work, especially in this direction.
50 years ago
1 October 1974
BUS ‘DEPOT’ IN CITY CENTRE
Dandenong will soon have a bus “terminal” – on both sides of Thomas St. between Walker and Scott Sts. The majority of the kerbside space will be available only for buses in and out of the city’s business zone. Approval for the project was given by the council last week following requests from bus operators and the Transport Regulation Board. The city engineers said that seven bus shelters would be placed in Thomas Street after discussion with the business firms in the area “so the aesthetic value of the buildings will not be lost.” Against the location, councillor Powell said that a better location would be closer to the station in Mason or Robinson Streets. “The car-parking spaces would be lost in Thomas St and this would be unfair on some people who had built their businesses up on the availability of parking.”
20 years ago
4 October 2004
Denial on toxic waste
A group campaigning against hazardous waste at Lyndhurst landfill was denied a request to make a presentation at a Greater Dandenong Council meeting last Monday. Residents Against Toxic Waste in the Southeast (RATWISE) wanted to highlight its concerns about continued dumping of mercury, arsenic and asbestos at the Taylors Road landfill with a 15-minute presentation. After a half-hour debate, councillors voted against the presentation. RATWISE had previously failed to respond to an invitation to address them at a closed briefing session, wanting instead to do it in a public forum. The council maintains the landfill was operating within EPA guidelines, and it was up to the environmental watchdog to handle any breaches. RATWISE claims the tip is a serious environmental hazard – claims rejected by the operator SITA and the EPA.
5 years ago
1 October 2019
Dandenong Trains are late
The State Government has defended its contract with Metro trains after “frustrating” performance figures for the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. Both lines have failed to meet on-time performance targets for each month of 2019. In August, the Cranbourne line was the worst in metro Melbourne with 83.4 per cent of services on-time. Added to that were 214 unscheduled train cancellations and “no shows” for Cranbourne and 245 for Pakenham in August alone. Opposition public transport spokesperson David Davis said performance had “plummeted” even since the government had spent $2 billion on level crossing removals on the line. Metro Trains was ordered to compensate passengers for its August failings. A Government spokesperson said the results “aren’t good enough, they’re frustrating for people and Metro needs to do better.”
Compiled by Dandenong & District Historical Society
