100 years ago
5 February 1925
Brilliant students
Miss Marie Facey, of the Dandenong High School, has obtained a secondary studentship at the Teacher’s College. This entitles her to a course at the University to complete her degree of Arts and Education. It is tenable for three or four years, and during that time she may reside at the college and attend lectures at the University free of cost. A student is paid an allowance during the term of the studentship.
50 years ago
6 February 1975
A male takes over
Cleeland High School has its first male Principal. He is Mr Don Laird who replaces Miss Brenda Fitzpatrick. Miss Fitzpatrick has been transferred as Principal to Wattle Park High after a number of years at Cleeland High School. Mr Laird has the unique distinction of being Cleeland High School’s first male Principal, as the school, in its inception was a girls’ school since going co-ed. The school now caters for boys to Form Three standard. The enrolment is about 650.
20 years ago
7 February 2005
100-year deluge
Flooding in many parts of Greater Dandenong last week was the result of rainfall that has been described as a once in 100-year event. In the 24 hours from 8am last Wednesday, Greater Dandenong and Casey received more than 120 millimetres of rain, the largest since records were kept in 1856. Amazingly, in a single day, the rainfall accounted for 23 percent of Melbourne’s average annual total.
5 years ago
4 February 2020
Doing justice differently
Dandenong Magistrates Court has become the 12th location in Victoria to host an Adult Koori Court, after its official opening in an emotional and uplifting ceremony on Friday 24 January. The launch event incorporated aspects of Aboriginal culture, including a smoking ceremony, and acknowledged the many years of work involved to get Koori Court up and running in Dandenong. Koori Court, which is a division of the Magistrate’s Court, aims to address and reduce the offending behaviour by including the Koori community in the court process. They are less formal than regular Magistrates’ Court sittings, using plain English rather than legal terminology. The parties sit around a table with the magistrate leading a conversation about sentencing that includes input from the accused’s family, a Koori Court officer, and an elder or respected Person who provides cultural advice. To have a matter dealt with in the Koori Court, a person must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, plead guilty and take responsibility for their offending.
Compiled by Dandenong & District Historical Society
