Dandenong High School - History

History

Dandenong High School was officially opened on 10 March 1919. This was later than a usual school opening date due to the outbreak of pneumonic influenza that was prevalent at the end of the First World War. When the School opened it was in temporary premises with the junior students housed at the Old Fire Station and the senior students at the Temperance Hall and Church of Christ. There were 104 students. The foundation stone of the Administration Building (A Block) was laid on 21 November 1919 and the school was officially opened in late 1920. In 1920 the total student enrolment was 150, of which 60 students came from the Berwick, Pakenham, Garfield, Bunyip, Hallam, Lyndhurst, Cranbourne, Koo-Wee-Rup, Carnegie and Murrumbeena areas. The first Headmaster of Dandenong High School was Mr Percival Charles William Langford. Mr Langford served in the 4th Light Horse Brigade, of the First Australian Imperial Force, and saw action in France and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. He was invalided out of the Army in September 1916 suffering from typhoid. He then undertook recruitment work for the Army. Mr Langford served at the school until 1934 when he transferred to Mildura, then to Frankston in 1937 where he worked until his retirement in 1948.

The colours of the school are those of Mr Langford’s Regiment, the 4th Light Horse, and are red and two shades of blue. The school crest was designed by the art mistress, Miss D. McKinnon. In 1920 there were six houses – Bluegum, Clematis, Orchid, Wattle, Boronia and Waratah though this was soon reduced to four with the loss of Boronia and Waratah. The names and colours of the houses were chosen by Miss Dora Taylor, the senior Mistress. With the regeneration of the school came seven brand new houses - Banksia, Callistemon, Eucalyptus, Hakea, Darwinia, Fern and Grevillea, named after Australian flora. Dandenong High School is the oldest school, public or private, in Melbourne's outer east and now has 1400 students alone, on its Dandenong Site. The historic façade of the Administration building will remain, as it is heritage-listed and is a landmark of Dandenong. In 2009, Dandenong High School celebrated its 90th Anniversary. The Administration Building was renamed the Langford Building in 2010, where a plaque was placed at the entrance to the building in honour of the first Headmaster.