VICFarming
Dandenong
The creek crossing that became the gateway to Gippsland.
1852Township surveyed
WHAT STARTED IT
Dandenong Creek was bridged in 1840, and the road from Melbourne made the crossing a staging post for travellers heading into Gippsland. A township was surveyed in 1852 amid red gum forest and grazing country.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Timber milling, tanning and brickmaking were joined by a stock market from 1866, and railways into Gippsland and South Gippsland made the town a junction. In the 1950s Heinz, International Harvester and General Motors Holden built factories on the flat land nearby, drawing many migrant workers.
TURNING POINTS
1837Joseph Hawdon takes up a pastoral run on Dandenong Creek.
1852A township is surveyed.
1866A stock market is established.
1877The railway through Dandenong towards Gippsland opens.
1950sHeinz, International Harvester and General Motors Holden open factories.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A major suburban centre and transport hub for Melbourne’s south-east, with a large industrial area and a culturally diverse community.