Obituary: Greater Dandenong living treasure Ian McDonald dies at age 81

Ian McDonald is being remembered for his mighty contribution to the Greater Dandenong community.

Ian McDonald in 2020, after being held up as a “living treasure’’ of Greater Dandenong.

In the days after his death, everyone said it about Ian McDonald: he was a great Dandenong man, and he contributed so much to the city in so many areas.

Sport and the arts were his particular passions.

But his work encompassed all facets of the community, especially when he was mayor of the old City of Dandenong.

The list of organisations and groups with which he was involved was as long as the Princes Hwy, from the board of the Dandenong Hospital to the municipal band.

McDonald – “Macca’’ to most – died on May 7, aged 81, after a bout of poor health.

Two strokes last year had slowed him up and necessitated his move to a care place in McRae St.

He and his wife, Pat, who died in 2018, lived in Sabine Ave, North Dandenong for many years, raising their four children, Cheryl, Andrew, Paul and Fiona.

Later they moved to Pultney St, which suited “Macca’’ perfectly: he could drop in to Shepley Oval on Saturdays and watch the cricket, a sport he played and administered with skill and enthusiasm.

He got involved in the game when he was growing up in Catani in Gippsland.

After moving to Melbourne at the age of 16, he pursued it fleetingly at District club Collingwood and lastingly in the Dandenong District Cricket Association.

He did a lot of things in cricket, playing or coaching at Dandenong West, North Dandenong and St Mary’s. But he was proud of his role in bringing District cricket to the town with the merger of the Dandenong and Waverley clubs 31 years ago.

A correct opener and cussed competitor, he had played for Dandenong at Sub-District level, and was a life member of the club. The DDCA gave him a similar honour, and he also received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.

“Are you playing a straight bat?’’ he’d say to people he bumped into. Few conversations passed without him using one sporting term or another.

Ian and Pat McDonald ahead of their 50th wedding anniversary in 2012.

He was a big football follower too, supporting South Melbourne until it relocated to Sydney, then switching to Hawthorn, Pat’s team.

“Go The ‘Mighty’ Hawks,’’ he would text friends when they had a win. He had a habit of giving everyday words capital letters or quotation marks.

And he had a penchant for carrying folders containing newspaper clippings relating to local cricket or the achievements of his children.

Words and numbers were often highlighted in green or orange texta. There were stories behind them, and “Macca’’ was a naturally witty storyteller. He told a few in print in too, in his column in the Dandenong News and then the Dandenong Examiner.

Those were the days when he used to spin around in a white Jaguar. He was a bit of a man about town, and seemed to know and get on with everyone.

McDonald had worked in accounts as International Harvester and then General Motors Holden before enjoying a long career as an insurance agent. Later he had roles as a bequest manager for Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, Australian Red Cross, Anglicare and the Hawthorn Football Club.

“Macca’’ after opening a time capsule buried by City of Dandenong councillors in 1973.

He was on Dandenong Council for 11 years and twice served as mayor.

Aside from sport, he was an ardent supporter of the local arts scene, receiving life membership of the Dandenong Festival of Music and Art for Youth and the City of Greater Dandenong Band.

He hosted Dandenong Carols by Candlelight for 24 years, was the master of ceremonies for 42 concerts for Dandenong Choral Society and was chairman of Community Arts at the “Old Fire Station” in Dandenong for 10 years.

There was more: chairman of the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal and the Odyssey House Appeal, the Dandenong Australia Day Committee and the St James Church annual fair committee.

He also hosted more than 40 dinner auctions for community, arts, sporting and charity organisations.

Last year he was made a “Living Treasure’’ of the City of Greater Dandenong in recognition of his community work. He was “bowled over’’ when he learned of the award.

When a local paper interviewed him about it over coffee at Dandenong Plaza, he pulled out a copy of an article about his 50-year wedding anniversary.

And he repeated the story of how he and Pat met at the Dandenong town hall and how he managed to wangle the last dance of the night with her despite having two black eyes, sustained playing football.

Ian McDonald with another former Dandy mayor, Frank Holohan.

They married in 1962, at St James Anglican Church in Dandenong, and his love for Pat endured; he gave her great care when she became ill with dementia.

A funeral service for Ian McDonald was held last Friday at St James, where he worshipped for many years (and ran the football tipping competition).

His daughter Cheryl MacDonald, a noted opera singer, performed two songs, grandson Jordan Dalgleish delivered a eulogy, and friends Sue Cotton, Colin Tannahill and Grissel Walmaggia offered tributes.

Mourners included former Greater Dandenong mayor John Kelly, former Dandenong Cricket Club president Michael Findlay and DDCA secretary John Brooks.

A private burial followed at Bunurong Memorial Park and a wake was held at the Albion Hotel, where “Macca’’ was known to take a drink or two in his more youthful days.