Your Journal is a voice for us all

WELCOME to this special 150th edition of the Dandenong Journal.
Turn through the pages of this commemorative edition and you will see the modern face of Greater Dandenong.
The Journal asked 150 people the simple question: ‘What do you love about Greater Dandenong?’
Their answers were illuminating, surprising, affectionate and thoughtful, but above all they were full of enthusiasm for this vibrant, growing, multi-cultural city.
These impressions of our modern, hi-tech city echo the voices from the past who knew and loved a very different city.
This special commemorative edition revisits those voices as it charts the history of Dandenong and the Journal since its first incarnation as the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in 1865 through the stories of those who worked at the paper, those who have appeared in its pages, and the valuable advertisers who have supported it for so long.
This special sesquicentenary celebration doesn’t finish with this paper.
There is also a window display to enjoy at the new Dandenong Library and a short film which features Dandenong identities sharing their thoughts and memories of the Journal.
The film will be shown throughout August on the big screen in Harmony Square and can be viewed on the Journal website.
A huge thank you to all those involved with this project.
The editorial, advertising and creative teams at Star News Group have created a newspaper that, I believe, does justice to this historic milestone.
Thank you to all the contributors who have shared the story of their connection to the Journal.
And thank you lastly to Chris Keys and the team at the Dandenong and District Historical Society. Most of the historic photographs in this edition have come from the society’s archives and their historical research has been invaluable.
A journey along the “inky way” is how former owner and editor Greg Dickson described his long tenure at the paper.
This special commemorative edition continues that journey and I hope readers keep dipping into it for weeks, months and years to come.
– Narelle Coulter, Editor.