Committee for Dandenong chairman and Castricum Food Service managing director
I AM very pleased to hear that the Journal is back in the hands of a local, independent, family-owned news group.
The Castricum family has been a part of Dandenong for a long time, starting with our first butcher shop on Hemming Street, Dandenong West, in 1953 to today at Hammond Road, Dandenong South.
During that time, we have operated stores on Thomas, Walker, Langhorne and Lonsdale streets as well as the Capitol Centre (later renamed the Plaza).
We have operated butcher shops and meat processing businesses in Dandenong continuously for 60 years.
It was home to my grandparents and parents who were newly-arrived migrants from Holland in the early 1950s.
The wider Castricum family lived in Dandenong for many years – very active in the local communities of St Gerard’s in North Dandenong and St Mary’s in central Dandenong.
I was born in the Dandenong Hospital, went to primary and secondary school in Dandenong and was married in Dandenong.
I have very fond memories of the Dandenong Journal as the lifeblood for news about the local community – from reporting on local football results to news about what was happening in our vibrant city of Dandenong.
Of course, in those days I lived in Dandenong and received a copy home-delivered.
The Dandenong Journal stood out as an icon of the city and was very much entwined in the local community. The Journal was always there attending and reporting on community and city events.
As chairman of the Committee for Dandenong, I believe the Dandenong Journal can again play an active role promoting the many features of the City of Greater Dandenong.
As home to generations of migrants, Dandenong is a major employer and has become home to a vast array of communities. I implore the Journal to work with us to counter the often negative portrayal of Dandenong in the wider media.
Greater Dandenong is a great city and home to many people over the years.
The Committee for Dandenong’s vision is for the city to reclaim its position as a vibrant retail hub and commercial centre for the people and businesses in Melbourne’s south east.
