Docklands is just great for Dally

Docklands is just great for Dally

Docklands is just great for Dally

Dally Messenger III thinks that Yarra’s Edge is the perfect place to live.

“I think it’s the most wonderful place to live. I don’t ever want to move anywhere else,” Dally said.

Dally, 73, has been living in an apartment at Yarra’s Edge, with his wife Remy, since late 2003.

In that time he has seen Docklands grow and develop. “When we moved here the building next door hadn’t been built yet, there was no ANZ or Myer building, it was all rubble and I’ve seen it progress,” he said.

Dally is the grandson of rugby league great Dally Messenger.

Being the grandson of a rugby pioneer certainly has its perks. The week that Docklands News spoke to Dally he was to attend the Dally M. Medal ceremony, a prestigious rugby league award named after his grandfather.

Dally Messenger III has also had an interesting career. He has worked as a teacher and was the foundation publisher and editor of Dance Australia. Dally was declared a civil celebrant in 1974. He was the first secretary of the association of Civil Marriage Celebrants of Australia, the president of the original Funeral Celebrants Association of Australia and was a founding member of the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants.

Dally has also written several books, spanning a variety of topics, including the history of early rugby league in Australia, advice for children of divorced parents, pre-war and post-war Melbourne radio and understanding and planning rites of passage.

Working as a celebrant, Dally has performed a few weddings in Docklands.

The most memorable of these was the marriage of an 85-year-old man to an 82-year-old woman, which took place under some trees by the river.

“They were very much in love and both in good health. Their children were there and they both thought it was the most wonderful experience they’d ever had,” Dally said.

These days Dally doesn’t work as a celebrant much. He is semi-retired and is the principal of the International College of Celebrancy, overseeing the education of people training to be celebrants.

With a bit more free time on his hands, Dally has the opportunity to enjoy all that Docklands has to offer.

Dally loves the view of the city skyline and the river from his apartment. Despite being so close to the CBD, he also says it is very quiet and that he gets a feeling of spaciousness in Yarra’s Edge.

The art in Docklands is another positive for Dally. “Take the Webb Bridge for example,” he said. “Someone has put a bit of time into making the place look interesting.”

The convenience of the area is another drawcard. “It’s so central and it’s so easy to get anywhere I need to go,” Dally said.

Likewise, Dally said that there are plenty of cafes and restaurants around, which provided great places to eat and the opportunity to meet other locals.

“Some people say that there’s no community in Docklands but that’s not right,” Dally said.

He said his apartment block held two neighbourhood parties each year so that people could get to know each other. He also said that there were lots of different groups which had social activities in the area.

“If you want to join the community you can,” Dally said. “You’ve just got to make a bit of an effort to relate to other people.”

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