Community sure to miss Gil Kingsbury

By Shaun Inguanzo
GILBERT (Gil) Kingsbury, a well-known and highly respected figure in the Dandenong community, died peacefully at the age of 93 on Saturday morning.
He was born and raised in the then market town and had an intimate knowledge of its progress from a rural outpost of Melbourne to its status as the bustling multi-cultural centre and gateway to Gippsland that it is today.
While he moved to the bayside suburb of Chelsea in 1963 with Nan, his wife of 51 years, and their two sons, Brad and Paul, Gil retained a close association with Dandenong and its community, running the family business in Foster Street when he returned from five years of World War II duty in England in 1946.
Gil was dedicated to the place he called his home town and often spoke about its history and that of his family with pride.
Dandenong became a city in the 1950s and one of the biggest moves was the transfer of the cattle market from the current site of the produce market, to yards on the south side of the railway station.
When the proposal was put forward it sparked great debate in the business community and was the catalyst of the formation of the Dandenong Chamber of Commerce in 1948. Gil was a foundation member of the body and was president in 1951.
Gil was also inducted into Rotary in 1948, first with the Dandenong branch and later with Dandenong Central (president 1987-88) with which he had been active for 57 years until it amalgamated with the Endeavour Hills Rotary Club in 2006. He was awarded the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship by the organisation in 2003.
His first community involvement was with the RSL and Gil played a major role in the formation and development of the Dandenong club.
Gil was president of the Dandenong branch in 1952 and then became foundation president for two years when it became a registered club in 1955.
He was instrumental in the purchase of the land in Walker Street where the club is situated today.
Gil, a keen Collingwood supporter, retired in 1982 and spent the rest of his life travelling with Nan and watching over the Kingsbury clan as patriarch until his passing at Beleura Hospital in Mornington after a short illness on the weekend.