Phil Price’s large scale, wind-activated kinetic sculpture, The Tree of Life, located near the Peninsula Link Cranbourne Road exit is being dismantled much to the disappointment of people passing by. Three stunning monumental sculptures were installed along the Peninsula Link freeway in Melbourne’s South East on the 14 December 2012, before the official opening of the freeway in January 2013, as part of a unique partnership between Southern Way and McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery. As part of the biennial Southern Way McClelland Commissions, a new sculpture will be commissioned every two years until 2037, alternating between two sites on the Peninsula Link freeway.…
Month: June 2015
A 17-year-old boy has died in hospital after being hit by a car in Dromana earlier this month. It is believed the cyclist was travelling west on Nepean Highway just after midday on 17 June when he was struck by a vehicle turning from Pondorosa Place. The cyclist was thrown from his bike and the vehicle stopped nearby the scene. The 17-year-old cyclist from Mount Martha was airlifted to The Alfred hospital with serious injuries where he remains. Investigators are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or may have seen the bicycle or the white Ford…
CRIB POINT FC – By Jared Newton CRIB Point remain winless at home for 2015, as it suffered its second consecutive heavy defeat against Somerville over the weekend. Last year’s grand finalists are a shadow of themselves this year as they’ve been decimated with injuries and sub-par form as their season drifted away over the last few weeks. The Pies were never in the contest from the start with a six goal blitz from Somerville in the opening term putting the game out of reach early. After quarter time the Magpies toiled away but were hugely undermanned as avenues to goal…
HASTINGS FNC – By Phil Stone, club president ON Saturday, Hastings FNC ventured down to Rosebud FNC to take on a very in-form Rosebud side across all grades. Unfortunately the club had a day it would rather forget. We just have to put it behind us and look forward to this week’s clash against Sorrento FNC. Let’s make sure all our supporters get down to Sorrento and support the club in what will be a massive day. Plus that night is our Comedy Night back at the club featuring some great acts: Des Dowling – Kihne, Brad Oakes – Rove, Mick…
TRAINS will return to the Stony Point rail line today (30 June). Passenger services between Stony Point and Frankston have been suspended since early April due to technical problems which saw boom gates occasionally malfunction and fail to close when trains approached level crossings. Axle counters have been installed along the Stony Point line to ensure boom gates are triggered to close. First published in the Western Port News – 30 June 2015
AN online petition has been launched against proposed retirement village at Somerville even though it has been knocked back by Mornington Peninsula Shire. The proposed development, at 16 Graf Rd and Beaconsfield Court, Somerville, is a 223-unit facility of two and three storeys in 11 separate buildings. The planning knock back was described by petition organisers as a “good result for the Somerville community in general”. But with the possibility that the applicant will appeal, organisers say there is a need to keep the petition going. Organiser Lyn Cleary said more signatures were needed “to back our council if this…
A house fire was attended in George St Mornington by both Mornington and Mt Martha CFA units last night. Four trucks attended, the call came in at 11:40pm on Monday 29th June 2015. An Ambulance was there and one person was taken to hospital.
PENINSULA Aero Club members are flying high with news they have been given $50,000 for a new access road off Stuart Rd. The grant was confirmed in the Mornington Peninsula Shire budget on Wednesday night. Vice-president Jack Vevers said the club would match the grant to build a $100,000 single lane road with a turning circle. “It will offer a safer and more efficient access point to the airfield to refurbish aircraft with water and fuel in emergencies, and assist with patient transfers,” Mr Vevers said. The club will spend another $200,000 building a dual use hangar for use by…
PORT Phillip Heads will have to be widened and deepened with a massive project that will make the controversial 2008-09 dredging pale into insignificance if the state government goes ahead with a 70-year lease of the Port of Melbourne, says peninsula MP Martin Dixon. Mr Dixon was speaking in the Parliament last week as the controversy over the government’s port bill reached fever pitch with the Opposition and Greens vowing to block the bill in the Upper House. The Port of Melbourne Lease Transaction Bill 2015 passed the Lower House last Thursday but the government does not have the numbers…
RAKU firing is a hot topic for a group ceramic artists at Rye. Raku – meaning “enjoyment” – was practiced in Kyoto, Japan, as far back as the 16th century. Vessels produced were used in the Japanese tea ceremony, most often as tea bowls. Artist Sue Sanderson said raku firing was one of the most exciting processes in ceramics. “The smoke, the fire and the excited squeals when we see the end result has made us want to share these wonderful pieces,” Sanderson said. “Pots are placed in the kiln, the firing commenced and anticipation grows for that moment when…
STUDENTS starring in Rosebud Secondary College’s musical production of Footloose had not been born when the original film version came out in 1984, with its timeless themes of teenage angst and rebellion against authority. “Footloose tells the story of Ren McCormack, a teenager who moves from Chicago to small town USA where the local minister, Reverend Shaw, has outlawed dancing and rock music,” performing arts teacher Anthea Mackenzie said. “Ren starts dating the preacher’s rebellious teenage daughter, Ariel, who joins him on his crusade to have the bans lifted so they and their friends can enjoy the pinnacle of the…
NO doubt it will go unremarked on by horses, but a new equestrian centre at Merricks has overcome all odds and won a major architecture award. The winner of Sir Osborn McCutcheon Award in the commercial section of this year’s Victorian Architecture Awards, the equestrian centre is both a training centre and stud. Extensive use of rammed earth and wood is a feature of the curved building designed by Melbourne architects Watson Architecture + Design and Seth Stein Architects, of London. The Australian Institute of Architects’ said “any tendency to complicate the program or the resultant built form has been…
THE insurance savings in the budget have allowed Mornington Peninsula Shire to bring forward the sealing of the unmade car park at Currawong Community Centre in Mornington. The car park is number one on the shire’s list of 250 unmade car parks, revealed in late May when councillors adopted the Unmade car park construction strategy. The multi-building Currawong centre is home to more than 1000 University of the Third Age (U3A) members who use it every weekday. Also using the centre are two church groups, two programs that provide meals for children, and community groups that hire the hall. U3A…
THE word “restaurant” has disappeared from the website of a Red Hill business that may have breached Green Wedge planning regulations. Mornington Peninsula Shire officers last month recommended councillors seek an enforcement order from the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) against the Green Olive of Red Hill for not complying with its operating permit. Environment protection and community safety manager Claire Smith last week no complaints had been received about any other restaurants. The Green Olive is on a 10 hectare block and under the planning regulations no restaurant can operate on land under 40 hectares. In 2008 owners Sue…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors last week agreed to the Skylift gondolas at Arthurs Seat being painted a bright blue. Cr Tim Wood, a retired County Court judge, argued that councillors had “no jurisdiction” to deal with the matter because they had not been provided with the colour and texture schedule as directed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Other councillors at the 22 June meeting said the colour depicted in illustrations that Skylift supplied was not named and that it did not, as VCAT required, “complement the natural landscape”. Councillors favouring the colour said it would blend with or…
MORNINGTON Botanical Rose Gardens’ volunteers can take a bow. Their efforts have been acknowledged by an Award of Garden Excellence from judges at the 17th World Rose Convention in Lyon, France. The 39 members of the World Federation of Rose Societies have confirmed that, while there are many wonderful rose gardens around the world, some are truly exceptional from a historical, educational and/or visual point of view. One of them is at Mornington. From 1995, the World Federation of Rose Societies has recognised the best of these outstanding rose gardens for the award. Of the three recipients in Australia all…
THREE Mornington Peninsula Shire representatives headed to Canberra this month for the National General Assembly hosted by the Australian Local Government Association. Mayor Cr Bev Colomb, deputy mayor Cr Graham Pittock and Cr Hugh Fraser attended the three-day annual conference for council delegates from across the nation on 14-17 June. Cr Colomb described the yearly meeting as “a great opportunity” for council to meet federal government ministers and their staff to highlight challenges faced by the Mornington Peninsula community. “It is also a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of potential funding sources for local government going forward, to…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has saved almost $700,000 by putting its insurance out to tender rather than staying with MAV Insurance, a company associated with the Municipal Association of Victoria, the peak body of local government. The windfall was revealed last Wednesday when councillors approved the budget for 2014-15 with its expected rate increase of 5.9 per cent and no change to the municipal charge of $180, which ratepayer groups claim is a regressive fee as all ratepayers have to pay it whether they own property in Portsea and Flinders or Rosebud and Hastings. The shire had allocated almost $1.5 million…
Venue: Hastings Hub, 22 June 2015. Fine buffet, but spartan for the discerning vegetarian, with carnivores far more generously catered for. A restrained dessert; sugar addicts could fall back on soft drink. A dearth of orange juice. THIS being Cerberus ward’s turn to host what is now its sole annual community meeting, parish news was to the fore. There was a big footpath scheme for Somers, good news on the Stony Point rail line’s level crossings, bad news on hoon motorbikes in Hastings (they’re getting worse) and more good news on the Warringine boardwalk. The popular boardwalk, destroyed in last…
WE are compelled to hold over a number of items of news till our next issue, owing to pressure on our space. *** MR Sheridan received the welcome news on Monday, by cable, from his son Percy, from the front, dated June 24th, that he was quite well. *** WE call special attention to an advertisement in another column in connection with the Recruiting movement. It will be seen that energetic action has been taken since the preliminary public meeting was held in Frankston on Monday evening last. It will be noted also that meetings will be held at…
PENINSULA LEAGUE MT ELIZA has an enormous amount of work to do if it is going to win that elusive Peninsula League premiership in 2015 after a poor showing against Frankston YCW on Saturday. It was billed as the match of the season. Fact is, it was an absolute fizzer. The ball spent more than 70 per cent of the game in the Stonecats’ front half of the ground and 37 scoring shots to 20 was a reasonable tale of the afternoon. The home side had 60 inside 50m entries to the opposition’s 31, while boasting 33 clearances to 17.…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Nepean Football League is about to face its biggest change in the history of the competition. Last Friday night (June 26), Peninsula League clubs supported the Nepean League clubs and issued the MPNFL Board with a ‘Notice of No Confidence’. There were eight of the 10 Peninsula League clubs who supported the vote of no confidence with both Mt Eliza and Frankston YCW not supporting the motion. Between the competitions, 19 of the 22 clubs (Somerville abstained from the vote) have demanded change. They only needed support of 75 per cent of clubs. A Special General Meeting will…
NEPEAN LEAGUE ROSEBUD proved once and for all on Saturday that it is right in the mix for the 2015 Nepean League premiership. In the match of the round, the Buds opened up an early break and despite Hastings getting within ten points late in the clash, the home side was able to put on the afterburners and boot five goals to two in the last to win 17.15 (117) to 11.11 (77). The Buds have now won six matches on the trot, their only losses coming at the hands of Rye in the opening game of the season and…
By Alexandra Dellaportas THE Briars came alive with the sounds of American Pie and I Dreamed a Dream last week as 150 children from across the peninsula celebrated the 31st annual Southern Peninsula Music Camp. The three-day camp drew students from Boneo, Rye, Eastbourne, Tootgarook, Rosebud and Pearcedale primary schools, and Parkdale Secondary. They were assisted by music teachers and secondary school students. On the first day, pupils were given a list of songs to rehearse for a concert at the end of the week. The secondary students then tutored the younger pupils and ensured they had fun while learning. With…
A YOUNG girl who suggested her family help raise money for victims of the Nepalese earthquake is thrilled with the result. Isabelle Stanley, 7, was “overwhelmed” by the $175 earned selling knitted scarves, mittens and beanies at Saturday’s Hastings Community Art and Craft Market. Her mum, Kerry Sorenson, had earlier knitted herself and Isabelle matching scarves when her daughter, who attends Crib Point Primary School, said to her: “Let’s knit some more, sell them, and send the money to Nepal.” The idea escalated and with help from family, friends, and knitters from local churches, about 70 scarves of all colours,…
HASTINGS FNC – By Phil Stone, club president In what was a fantastic day for the Hastings Football/Netball Club, the past players and our premiership heroes of 1975 and 1995 got to see the senior and reserve boys put on a wonderful display of modern day football. The fantastic crowd really emphasised the point that local football is truly up and about when two local rivals go head to head. Our Club just wants to thank our past players for making the effort and supporting the club on the day, it truly did help the boys and didn’t go unnoticed. SENIORS…
CRIB POINT FC – By Jared Newton HASTINGS inflicted Crib Point a 109 point hiding at Hastings in what was Crib’s worst loss in a few years. The game started evenly with a goal for goal opening term with the contest looking poised at quarter time before Crib Point were completely blown out in the remaining three quarters. Hastings piled on goal after goal to kick 18 unanswered goals, before Crib Point salvaged a bit of pride in the dying minutes of the game with two late goals. For the Pies, Brad Arnold was their best through the middle and toiled…
FORMER Frankston MP Geoff Shaw has re-emerged in a job after politics. The ex-politician, who became embroiled in numerous high-profile incidents during his at times controversial four-year term as Frankston’s state member of Parliament, has a new role encouraging cover ups. Mr Shaw is now general manager at Medihair Hair Transplant Clinics in Melbourne. When contacted by The News a relaxed sounding Mr Shaw said he is “off the public scene now” but has “a few things in the pipeline with some quite credible people”. He said he is using business contacts to promote the hair transplant specialist’s operations. When…
CONSUMER Affairs Victoria has urged people to know about common scams used to con the unwary. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission statistics show Victorians last year lost just under $20.5 million to scammers. Fake bank notes, sham refunds and bogus lottery prizes are among the top scams used to tempt unwary targets to part with their cash for no return. A trend in recent months involves the “refund” scam which often involves the con artist offering large sums of money in exchange for an upfront payment. Scammers pretend to be from a bank, organisation or government department, such as the…
HASTINGS MP Neale Burgess is predicting a dark future for Hastings because of the state government’s decision to increasingly use Western Port as a “bulk” port. The scaled-down Port of Hastings Development Authority has swung its focus from preparing for a container port to promoting its use for bulk products, such as LNG (liquefied natural gas), petroleum products and brown coal. Hastings is already used to import and export petroleum and gas products and Mr Burgess accuses the government of having “secret plans” that will lead to Western Port being “a toxic dumping ground”, damaging lifestyles and cutting property values.…