100 years ago
15 January 1925
Smart Streets
The principal streets of Dandenong are being trimmed up, smoothed down and treated with large doses of hot tar, under orders from the Shire council. When this work is finished, the said streets should be in apple pie order, with Lonsdale Street a short second addition of St. Kilda Road, Melbourne. Something might then be done to have the traffic regulations strictly obeyed.
50 years ago
16 January 1975
Don’t marry if you want work
A Government scheme to introduce maternity and paternity leave in all public Victorian employing authorities will wipe out employment of married women according to Springvale Council. Under the scheme, if a woman becomes pregnant, an employer must give her 12 weeks leave with full pay and her husband must also get one weeks leave with pay. At its meeting last week, the council said the scheme must be crushed at the start. Councillor Neil said that it was high time a stop was put to the amount of “free gifts” being handed out by the Federal Government to employees. The scheme would go before the Municipal Association “with a view to having it eliminated at the start.” He added, “It will definitely affect the employment of married women.”
20 years ago
14 January 2005
Not all rapture for sculpture
A new-age sculpture complete with laser lights is set to get people talking when it is sited in central Dandenong. ‘Reverie’, which will resemble something from a science-fiction movie, will stand 10 metres and will attract attention, particularly when illuminated at night. It will be placed near the corner of Lonsdale and Walker Streets, diagonally opposite the Dandenong Town Hall. The piece is being funded by the council and the Dandenong Development Board at a cost of $90,000.
5 years ago
14 January 2020
Recipe for Justice
“They are going to be held to account. We will get justice.” Those are the determined words of business owner Ian Cook – who is fighting a David-and-Goliath battle against Dandenong Council and the State Government. Mr Cook, who is the Star-Journal’s 2019 Person of the Year has led a loud and determined campaign to clear his name. All too late for Mr Cook’s 41 staff who lost their livelihoods. “The charges and health inspection were “a set-up from day one” he says. Greater Dandenong Council has been clearly unnerved by the campaign. Recently it stated that I Cook Foods was using media to “beat up its claims”. “If, as it frequently says to media outlets, it has evidence of some wrongdoing, it should make the evidence available to council,” the council told A Current Affair.
Compiled by Dandenong & District Historical Society
