If ever there was a place that could be the gateway to anywhere, one such is the Peace Memorial Bridge over the Dandenong Creek, at Gippsland's western edge.
It was not called that until 1919, as Australia reeled under the weight of its losses in the Great War. Until then it was referred to just as "the Dandenong bridge", or "the old stone bridge", often with an expletive added, for the bridge had a chequered history.

At first our 'gateways' were the Tambo Valley down to the Gippsland Lakes, then Port Albert and, for a time, Lakes Entrance. The marking out of the Gippsland Track and the herds of stock that were brought west to Dandenong Market gave the bridge a critical significance to all Gippslanders.
There was a timber bridge built of logs over the creek in 1840 or so, when Port Albert was about to be discovered and to rapidly grow into a de facto 'capital' of Gippsland. There is a report from the Port Phillip Patriot of cattle coming up from Manton's station in 1842 and several bullocks and a dray with the drover aboard being washed downstream because the drover "missed the centre of the crossing over the creek at Dandenong". That sounds more like a ford than a bridge. The drover survived but the bullocks did not.
In any case this bridge was washed away after eight or nine years (the Dandenong Creek can rise very, very quickly, even today) and a new timber bridge was built. It lasted until the great flood of 1864 moved it a little way downstream. Long before that it was regarded as more than a little unsafe. Tenders were called for this new bridge in November 1849.
Still, the few coaches for Sale and back crossed over it, along with the occasional cart or dray, but the main traffic was mobs of cattle coming down from Gippsland (and wrecking the rough-cut road as they did so.
Tenders were called for a new stone bridge and on July 28, 1866 the Dandenong District Roads Board accepted the tender of J Nichols of 1466 pounds and 19 shillings. I'm not at all sure how such a precise figure was calculated, but it was.
Nichols went about the job in a fairly casual way with a workforce that was too small and the Roads Board had a few battles with him. Robert Huckson apparently worked for Nichols and was the man who got the whole thing completed. Traffic was diverted down to Hammond Road, through some very swampy terrain. It was not a happy situation for anyone.
The stone bridge, as it came to be called, was built from granite quarried a little way upstream – I'm not sure quite where, but there is plenty of granite up toward and into the Police Paddock area. One report says the source was a quarry at the corner of Power Rd and Wedge St. The stones that had to be more elaborately shaped came from a quarry in Burnley.
Huckson went on to greater things, while Nichols faded from our history. Huckson came from England by way of South Australia in 1849, coming to Melbourne in 1855. Three brothers joined him as building contractors and the Hucksons got the contract to build the Gabo Island lighthouse and then the Treasury building in Melbourne. He came to Dandenong to work, and built Laurel Lodge in Langhorne Street and also the first Royal Hotel.
In a strange coincidence, Laurel Lodge later became the home of R.H. Woodcock, the Shire Engineer who designed the new "Old Stone Bridge", which still forms a large part of the current bridge.
Many people felt the new bridge was not needed, but severe erosion along the Dandenong Creek had brought down several bridges downstream. A trainload of granite boulders was put in place to strengthen the railway bridge, but many of these were then washed away, again.
The new bridge was much stronger, built by Reilley Brothers, of a strong squared design that suggests Woodcock was a no-nonsense type. The opening was a major occasion for Dandenong. The Premier, Harry Lawson, attended. Lawson, of the Nationalist Party was Premier for six years, a very long reign in those days of very 'fluid' politics. The ribbon-cutting was by Mrs Abbott, the wife of the Shire President. The works were under the overall management of the Country Roads Board and William Calder, Chairman of the CRB, was among the VIPs.
A time capsule from the old stone bridge was discovered and was placed in the new bridge with additional material. In 1938, when the bridge was enlarged, the time capsule was recovered again and more material was added before it was placed behind the tablet on the bridge. That tablet reads "In honour of the brave men who gave their lives to save civilisation and to commemorate the declaration of Pace. June 1919".
The idea of the memorial tablet came from Cr Groves, who offered to have one put on the bridge at Mordialloc at his own expense. The council quickly accepted the offer and decided there should be one on the new Dandenong bridge. There are three peace memorial bridges in Victoria, this one. One on the Mordialloc bridge and one at far-distant Omeo. Groves, then an MLA, unveiled the memorial tablet as was only proper.
That tablet can clearly be seen on the southwest side of the bridge, despite the bridge being widened and having various works wreaked upon it. In 1960 the bridge was widened by the addition of two new lanes to carry eastbound traffic. Later the upstream parapets of the bridge were removed and the gap between the two was built over to carry a turning lane. It was also the centre of a group of developments with Great War significance.
The Drill Hall was just to the east, between the north side of the highway and the creek. It was demolished about two decades ago and the City of Greater Dandenong promised the Dandenong RSL that it have some suitable reminder placed there. The RSL is still waiting…
The treed area on the median strip on the Gippsland side of things was first planted in 1921 as an Avenue of Honour. I don't think any of the remaining trees were part of it. The ratepayers had called for this avenue but it was about 1920 or 1921 before the Town Improvement Association made it happen The Avenue of Honour was opened at a huge ceremony on August 22, 1921, with 80 trees, one each for the 79 men who enlisted from Dandenong and one for nurse from Dandenong. At the same time a captured German field artillery piece was given to the Drill Hall's main tenant, the 48th Battalion.
Sic transit gloria mundia – but the Peace Memorial Bridge is still there.