The Little Indian Cultural Precinct, centered on Foster and Mason Streets in Dandenong, is Melbourne's longest standing and most authentic cluster of Indian and subcontinental culture and commerce.
Greater Dandenong is home to a large number of Indian businesses, with 62 shops in central Dandenong, including 33 businesses clustered in the Little India Cultural Precinct. These specialists shop include eateries, groceries, general retail and most famously, fashion and traditional wear.
The City of Greater Dandenong has approximately 12,000 Indian born residents and is surrounded by a large and growing regional population of 50,000 people from Indian and sub-continent backgrounds. (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021)
In 2015, the Hon Robin Scott Minister for Multicultural Affairs announced that Dandenong is the home to Victoria’s first ever Indian Cultural Precinct with a funding commitment of $500,000.
The funding is being administered by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship under its Community Infrastructure and Cultural Precincts Program.
In 2016 an Indian Cultural Precinct Taskforce was established to inform the precinct's direction and prepare a community vision.
The taskforce includes representatives from the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship), Development Victoria, City of Greater Dandenong and ten community leaders with culturally specific perspectives on business, faith, community, festivals and youth interests.
Indian Cultural Precinct Framework
