What’s In a Name delves into the fascinating stories and personalities behind some of the city’s best-known street names. This week the Journal looks at Swords Street in central Dandenong, named in honour of the Swords family.
Journalist James Walter Swords and his wife Mary moved to Australia from England as newlyweds in 1839.
With Thomas Wilkinson, James started Victoria’s first provincial newspaper, the Portland Guardian, in August 1842.
He left the Guardian for Melbourne’s Argus, made it big and went bust in land and building speculating, farmed on the Werribee River, started the Wahgunyah Watchman in Rutherglen, and established the Bacchus Marsh Guardian at Ballan.
“Acting on the advice of an old friend, Mr Swords loaded his cases of type and printing press onto a wagon and headed for Dandenong at the end of 1873,” grandson James ‘Jim’ Walter Swords penned in a family history.
“Early in 1874 the first issue of the Dandenong Advertiser was printed … at the corner of Lonsdale and Walker streets.”
James later bought a large block at the corner of Walker and Thomas streets and erected a printing plant.
Mary and James were living in Frankston when he died in 1879.
She returned to Dandenong and bought a 67-acre property she named Bushy Park at Princes Highway and Gladstone and Heatherton roads.
She later bought a brick villa in Hutton Street where she lived until her death at age 93 in 1914.
Their son Fred – one of 13 children – did most of the reporting after James’ death and “used to spend many long hours in the saddle to attend shire council meetings”.
He married Joan, and their eldest son Jim joined the Advertiser staff at age 16 to learn the trade.
At age 19 he went to Morwell to help produce the Morwell Gazette.
He returned to the Advertiser after serving in WWI – and was a Dandenong RSL foundation member – and became the editor in 1923 when his father died, a position he held until the paper ceased to operate in 1959.
He died in 1973, the last of a long line of Swords journalists dating back over a century.
Fred’s brother Henry was “a keen swimmer and saved many lives from the local creek” and was heavily involved in the paper.
Edwin ‘Ted’ was mainly responsible for creating the Scout Hall on the Princes Highway, known today as The Castle.
He worked at the Advertiser and with Henry took over the Advertiser Printery.
It was mainly through the efforts of James and Mary’s youngest son Robert that the Dandenong and District Hospital was established.
The Swords were at various times involved with the Dandenong Football Club, local horse racing, Dandenong Agricultural Society, Dandenong Bowls Club, Rotary Club of Dandenong and several other organisations.
Want to know the history behind a street name in Greater Dandenong? Let us know and we’ll find out! Email casey.neill@starnewsgroup.com.au.
