Here’s how you know you’re from Melbourne’s most multicultural and ever-changing suburb
You’ve trawled the market stalls, grabbed a late-night feed at the old Macca’s on Lonsdale St or made mischief at the plaza after school – you’re a Dandenong native. And here’s a few more places and faces you’ll love to remember.
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Melbourne’s most multicultural suburb boasts thriving food hubs and colourful attractions to lure visitors.
People from more than 160 countries call Dandenong home, with foodies travelling from all corners of Melbourne to visit its popular Afghan and Indian precincts.
Dandenong continues to reinvent itself, offering popular events, entertainment and activities for the whole family.
Here’s how you know you’re from Dandenong:
You’ve spotted the Dandy Pig
You can spot the finely dressed neon ‘Dandy Pig’ cheerfully tipping his top hat to passers-by as the mascot of the Dandenong Market.
The Dandy Pig neon sign was first erected in the 1950s and was one of the first animated advertising signs in the region.
Between 2005 and 2010, the market underwent a $26 million redevelopment and the illuminated sign was taken down and safely placed in storage.
In 2013, the council officially celebrated the pig’s reinstatement as an acknowledgment of its social, cultural and historical significance in the city.
You’ve shopped at the market
Dandenong Market — an institution for locals with roots dating back to the 1800s – is known as the city’s most thriving multicultural food hub.
It attracts thousands of visitors each week and offers fresh food and veggies, seafood, Middle-Eastern delicacies and fashion.
You’ve eaten a Dandee Donut
It’s been the market’s most popular treat for decades – a mouth-watering jam-filled Dandee Donut. The sweet treat draws people from all over Melbourne. The business has been managed by the Bell family for more than 50 years.
You ate at McDonald’s on Lonsdale St
Before Noble Park Macca’s became the place for a midnight feed, Lonsdale St was the place to go.
It opened in the late ’80s and closed mid-2000s. It had a very similar layout to its former Swanston St restaurant.
The woodgrain tiles, style of window frames and doors give it away as an old late-1980s McDonald’s.
You remember the Capital Centre
A renovation to the former Myer store in 1995 saw the store reduced to three levels, with Target occupying the ground level, moving from its position in Lonsdale St.
This is when Dandenong Plaza shopping centre emerged from the smaller Capital Centre and grew to attract an impressive line-up of retailers including the major supermarkets and popular national and international brand stores.
You went to the Dandy Plaza after school
If you went to Lyndale Secondary College or Dandenong High School, then after school in the ’90s and early 2000s would be spent grabbing a bite from the Dandy Plaza food court and playing air hockey at Timezone.
You could also buy a cheap movie ticket on a Tuesday and watch a film at Village Cinemas, before it shut in 2008. Who could forget the iconic list of movie previews playing on the small TV screens outside the cinema?
You had your first kiss at the drive-in
The Lunar Dandenong opened on May 4, 1956 as the Dandenong Panoramic Drive-in Theatre with a single wooden screen and spaces for 650 cars.
It was a place where many would remember going on their first date and sharing their kiss.
It shut down in the ’80s but made a successful comeback in 2002.
It is still operating and now known as the Lunar Drive-In.
You’ve eaten at the Dandenong Pavilion
It opened its doors in 2006 and since then has become a hotspot for foodies and won several awards for its modern cuisine.
Three years ago the business expanded its burger offerings and opened Burger Stop for the hungry hordes who fancy a late-night feed.
You ate a short stack at the Pancake Parlour
It was a local landmark for more than three decades, but sadly shut up shop three years ago. The freestanding restaurant was created with an Art Deco theme in a large 1930s building, with a replica of the Art Deco totem of the Chrysler Building in New York.
You’ve raced your mates at Le Mans
The rush of racing around a track, feeling the burst of acceleration and the tightness of a corner is only something you could feel at Le Mans Go Karts in Dandenong South.
The venue has been popular for years, offering a families and groups a fun day out.
You know its sporting greats
Legendary footballer Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller played for Dandenong in the old VFA.
He joined the VFA club Dandenong in 1967 and soon became a valuable member of the team as a full forward. He kicked 106 goals in 1969.
He was a member of Dandenong’s 1971 premiership team, remembered for a controversial free kick that he received before the opening siren of the grand final.
You remember its famous faces
Legendary Australian singer John Farnham migrated to Australia from England in 1959 and attended Yarraman Oaks Primary School and Lyndale Secondary College.
Farnham’s real step towards a musical career was when he and two school friends formed a band called The Mavericks.
The group regularly played at school concerts and at the Dandenong Town Hall, with Farnham becoming an international success.
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