The City of Greater Dandenong ANZAC Memorial Trail

City of Greater DandenongPO Box 200, DandenongVictoria Australia 3175PH: +61 3 8571 1000

Welcome to the City of Greater Dandenong ANZAC Memorial Trail.

The trail includes Springvale, Noble Park and Dandenong.

There are nine historic locations and stories, which commemorate the contribution made by the people of Dandenong to the Great War effort.

Each location is marked with a unique interpretive marker – most of which are designed as an abstraction of the infamous ANZAC slouch hat.

The ANZAC Memorial Trail is part of the ANZAC Centenary which is a milestone of special significance to all Australians. The Centenary not only remebers the original ANZACs who served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, but commemorates more than a century of service by Australian servicemen and women.

Dandenong Drill Hall − 168-170 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong

Dandenong Drill HallThe Drill Hall was built by June 1916. The 45th Infantry Battalion (citizen force) senior cadets set up their headquarters at the Hall and it continued to be used for training Great War and for during the next war.

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Corner Buckingham and Balmoral Avenues, Springvale.

Springvale Mechanics InstituteThe building was located on the corner of Balmoral and Buckingham Avenues and opened on 10 March 1915; it housed a library, reading room and hall. By August 1919 two Welcome Home functions had been hold at the Institute.

2Springvale Library − 411 Springvale Road, Springvale. Opposite the Springvale Town Hall Springvale Red CrossIn August 1914, 23 Dandenong women formed the Dandenong branch of the Red Cross Society, with members from Keysborough, Dingley, Chelsea and Springvale. The Dandenong Red Cross Carnival in July 1917 raised £983.

3 Noble Park RSL − 1128 Heatherton Road Noble Park. RSL Memorial Garden.

Noble Park Soldiers SettlementThe Closer Settlement Board bought 165 acres in Noble Park. The property was carved into 12 allotments, varying from 10 to 18 acres, a size suitable for market gardening and poultry, for the settlement of returning soldiers.

4Dandenong High School − 92-106 Princes Highway Dandenong. Right side of the front entrance gate Dandenong High School

Dandenong Shire purchased the School site in 1918. The first 104 pupils began on 10 March 1919, four months after the Armistice. The first Head Master was Gallipoli veteran Percy Langford.

5Dandenong RSL − 44-50 Clow Street, Dandenong. RSL Memorial Garden

Dandenong SoldiersWithin a month of the declaration of War 11 men from Dandenong were recruited and joined the 8th Battalion. By the end of the war about 600 men had left to fight, 70 never returned.

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Dandenong Primary School −174-182 Foster Street, Dandenong. Right side of the front entrance.

Dandenong Primary SchoolVictorian children contribute to the Great War effort with vigour. The 400 children attending Dandenong Primary School joined the League of Young Gardeners and the Young Workers’ Patriotic Guild.

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Lonsdale Street (Princes Highway), near Webster Street, Dandenong.

Peace Memorial Bridge

The bridge is one of the few surviving engineering works constructed during the Great War. It was completed in April 1919, and is an enduring monument to those lives lost.

8Dandenong Drill Hall − 168-170 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong. Opposite the children’s playground.

Drill HallThe Drill Hall was built by June 1916. The 45th Infantry Battalion (citizen force) senior cadets set up their headquarters at the Hall. Training continued here throughout the great war and during the next war.

9The Drum − Corner Lonsdale and Walker Street, Dandenong. Opposite the Dandenong Honour Board

Old Town Hall (Drum Theatre) Potential recruits signed up at the Town Hall, 250 men had volunteered by July 1915. Further recruiting meetings and welcome home celebrations occurred at the Town Hall during the war. The honour board was unveiled July 1918.