Month: November 2015

A PIECE of Hastings history left town when The Pride, a six metre couta boat, was placed on the back of a truck and taken to Sorrento. However, owner Tim Mirabella hopes the boat’s future will include many more years on the water. Built in 1932, The Pride was indeed the pride and joy of Mr Mirabella’s grandfather, who was also named Tim. One of six brothers, to Mr Mirabella’s ownership of such a boat “established him as his own fishing entity”, his grandson says. But The Pride was also more than just another fishing boat, changes incorporated in its…

If you love Bruce Springsteen then you don’t want to miss Thunder Road ‘The songs of Bruce Springsteen’ at The Grand Hotel on November 20. Without a doubt Australia’s number one Bruce Springsteen tribute band, Thunder Road capture the magic of a true live Bruce Springsteen show in all its rocking glory. Thunder Road take their audiences on a musical journey through Bruce’s entire career. Playing all of Bruce’s classic hits from ‘Born to Run’ and ‘Born in the USA’ through to his current day releases. Talented Mornington musician, Gavin Leadbetter from Nepean Music heads up a full seven piece…

WELLBEING workshops, “empowering” guest speakers and live music are all being brought together for a family fun day. As well as providing a family day out, this month’s Mindfulness Festival is aimed at raising money for the Wellness Pavilion at Rosebud Secondary College. The Wellness Pavilion will offer meditation sessions, counselling support and innovative programs for college students and youth and families within the wider community. Music at the festival will be played by The Warrains, SugaTree, Drew Bowden, Lady and the Tramps and The Daddios. Guest speakers will join yoga, meditation  and nutrition practitioners as they demonstrate child and…

ALL creatures furry, rough skinned and feathered will be at the free annual Peninsula Pet Expo on the Village Green in Rosebud 9am-3pm on Sunday 29 November, which is hosted by Mornington Peninsula Shire. One highlight will be NSW dog trainer and qualified behaviourist “Farmer Dave” Graham with his “Muttley Crew”, a troupe of dogs dumped at animal shelters – because their owners couldn’t cope with their bad behaviour – which he has transformed into acclaimed performers. Graham first came to attention as a competitor on TV reality show Big Brother and used his profile to open the Farmer Dave…

SUB-DISTRICT ONE of the new glamour teams of MPCA Sub District cricket looked far from that on Saturday when Rosebud and Dromana went head to head at Dromana Reserve. With a number of big name recruits between them in the off season, the Hoppers and the Buds were expected to put on a real show on Saturday. However, Rosebud was a let down. Dromana dominated them with the ball and then put them to the sword with the bat later in the day. Rosebud won the toss and batted first but were rolled for just 127 in the 47th over.…

DISTRICT SEAFORD has a lot of work to do in the field on day two of its match against Baden Powell, the side dominating MPCA District cricket. Seaford won the toss and batted first on Saturday at Seaford Reserve and got away to a flying start, getting 50 on the board without loss. However, the home side lost four wickets inside 22 runs and were in some trouble at 4/77 with Ryan McQueen (29), Paul Hartle (23), Faisal Payenda and Damien Lawrence all back in the sheds. Nick Simpendorfer offered some resistance in the middle order with a hard fought…

PROVINCIAL SORRENTO looks to be staring down the barrel of a significant loss to Somerville in MPCA Provincial cricket. The Sorras seemed to give themselves every opportunity to pick up the four points after rolling the home side inside 50 overs. However, the Eagles scored at almost four runs an over and were able to set the visitors a more than reasonable target of 197 to chase down. Jack Barbour was the chief scorer for the Eagles with 44 while Brad Rossborough hit 26 and Craig Black 23. Rob Parslow was the pick of the Sorrento bowlers with 4/33 from…

The picnic basket just got tastier! We are excited to welcome the incredibly talented multi ARIA Award winner Missy Higgins, bringing with her a catalogue of sweet hits for picnickers in 2016. Joining this year’s menu of music, with his blues and roots flavour will be sonic virtuoso Kim Churchill, Powderfinger guitarist extraordinaire Darren Middleton giving the Peninsula a taste of his solo offerings, rising Adelaide folk star Timberwolf and Shoreham local singer songwriter Ruby Whiting. Roll out your picnic rug, and relax to the sweet sounds of some of Australia’s finest acts, while taking your taste buds on a…

THE monthly meeting of the Somerville Fruitgrowers Association will be held on Monday evening next, when Mr T M Burke will deliver an address on cooperation. *** WORD has been received that Private F. A. Murray, of Somerville, has been wounded in the forehead while at the front at Anzac. It is not known whether the wound is serious or not. *** A welcome home social will be tendered to Private E. A. Berry at the Langwarrin Hall this evening, and at the same time a farewell and presentation will be given to Gunner Wm. Evans. A good programme is…

PROFESSORS, politicians, presenters, Olympians, comedians, footballers and one of the nation’s top “spies” were among 38 people inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame of the Peninsula School on Saturday last week. The hall of fame has been created by the alumni association of the school in Mt Eliza, The Old Peninsula School Association, TOPSA. More than 120 people packed the H A Macdonald Pavilion at the school in Wooralla Drive to celebrate. They included three of the four principals who have led the school since it opened in 1961 – Harry Macdonald, Ray Hille and Stuart Johnston. Founding principal…

FOUR schools and two individuals have won recognition at the Mornington Peninsula Shire 2015 Mayoral Sustainability Awards. Now in their 10th year, the awards acknowledge the achievements of students, teachers, student groups and school communities in working toward a sustainable future. They were presented by Cr Graham Pittock, who said four outstanding schools were recognised in the student group category, which recognised groups that demonstrated leadership in sustainability practices. Student group award winners were: Mt Eliza Secondary College – years 7 and 8: Students with an interest in environmental sustainability spent one day a week working on sustainable practices on…

MT Eliza’s peak environmental group has resigned from a committee formed to deal with the clearing of land at Mt Eliza Secondary College for soccer pitches. The destruction of about 0.8 hectares (two acres) of grassy woodland fronting Mt Eliza Way in May 2013 triggered widespread community dismay as well as investigations by Mornington Peninsula Shire and Victoria’s education and environment departments, none of which censured the school or the contractor who bulldozed the site and burnt manna gums, tea tree, grasses, sedges and precious greenhood orchids. The Department of Environment and Primary Industries investigated if the clearing was illegal…

THE mayor and deputy mayor swapped roles in the election for new leadership at Mornington Peninsula Shire last week, ensuring continuity until elections on 22 October next year. Cr Bev Colomb handed the gold mayoral chain to her deputy, Cr Graham Pittock, who received eight votes to defeat the other candidate, Cr Andrew Dixon. Cr Colomb was then voted in as deputy to Cr Pittock for the next 11 months. Cr Pittock presented Cr Dixon with a bottle of wine given to him for his achievement in winning the mayoralty, to mark Cr Dixon’s contesting the position. Cr Dixon, a…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire council could remove up to 161 trees and shrubs from either side of Mt Eliza Way as part of a widening and resurfacing project. It has applied to chop down 47 trees that will be “directly impacted” by the “Mt Eliza Way road widening project” but if tree root protection zones cannot be achieved, all 161 plants could go, according to an arborist working for the shire’s outdoor contractor Transfield (which changed its name to Broadspectrum in late October). Arborist Jarrad Miller, in a report to the shire, said 99 of the 161 trees and shrubs had…

By Barry Morris* THEY might have cute little faces and tails and are protected by the Victorian Wildlife Act, but the abundance of ringtail possums in Mt Eliza and Mt Martha are being blamed for a massive loss of gum trees. Ecologist Jeff Yugovic says the tree loss is linked to dense understoreys in which possums can hide from their major remaining predator, the fox. He says the role of the introduced fox has replaced locally extinct native predators which would once have kept the possum population under control. Dr Yugovic’s solution to the possum problem is to remove their…

A PHOTOGRAPHER by profession, Fran Bainbridge these days finds herself more often wielding paint brushes and metalworking tools than operating a camera. “In a world where everything is so readily accessible online, I considers it a pleasure to be designing and creating unique pieces in silver and gold,” she says. Her paintings are inspired by life on the Mornington Peninsula. She describes “Shoreham sands” as “a painting executed in a free flowing loose abstract style that has captured the interest of many who love to wander along our pristine beaches”. Bainbridge, previously of Gallery One in Mornington, is having an…

MORNINGTON Peninsula farmers are gearing up to oppose any cut to the farm rate “discount” for agricultural land. They now pay 35 per cent of the general residential rate. A message originating from Dromana farmer Cr David Gibb appears to have begun the rural mobilisation. It was prompted by Mornington Peninsula Shire’s planned review of its rating structure. Cr Gibb emailed on 4 November: “The Farm rate for rural properties, many of whom are Landcare members, is under threat.” The message went to the Dunns Creek Landcare Group, with which Cr Gibb is associated, which sent it to its membership…

IT took gamblers just one year to lose more than $79 million on the Mornington Peninsula’s 858 poker machines at 17 venues. Figures for the past financial year released by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation in its 2014-15 annual report, tabled in state Parliament last Tuesday show Victorians gambled away $5.8 billion, 7.7 per cent up from the previous year, including almost $2.6 billion on pokies. The state government pocketed $1.6 billion from gambling revenue in 2014-15, $400 million more than predicted by gambling opponents two years ago. Victorians lost more money on every form of gambling…

WHEN the Sayle family’s long-loved pet went missing 18 months ago Amy Sayle believed blue tongue lizard ‘Aussie’ would never be seen again, but a chance conversation with a neighbour has led to a family reunion. Mrs Sayle said 45 centimetre long Aussie had been part of the family for 14 years before he went missing from his Balnarring home. “We obviously thought he’d been eaten by something or died somehow,” she said. On Sunday evening the mother-of-four was talking to a neighbour who mentioned they had found a lizard last year that “was really sick and had been attacked…

This Is Christmas at The Palms Double pass giveaway Tickets valid for Thursday 10th December, 7.30pm performance at The Palms, Crown Melbourne Terms and Conditions These terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) govern the relationship between you, the entrant (“you”, “yours”) and the promoter, Mornington Peninsula News Group (“Mornington Peninsula News Group”, “Promoter”, “we”, “our”, “us”) 2/1 Tyabb Road, Mornington Eligibility The Competition is open to Australian residents aged 18 years or over. 2. The following are not eligible to enter the Competition: (i) employees and independent contractors of the Promoter and/or its related party entities (i.e. parent companies and subsidiaries);…

THE sun was out, volunteers were smiling and the participants were pumped and ready to go at the Arthurs Seat Challenge 2015 on Sunday. More than 1500 participants took to the 6.7 kilometre climb from the sea at Rosebud to the summit of Arthurs Seat, raising community awareness and money to support Fit2Drive, a road safety program for young people. The challenge was taken out by Nathan Barry, a regular at the event, in 26 minutes and 34 seconds. In the women’s, Kiah Fry was first over the line in 31 minutes and 17 seconds. Junior champions were brother and…

THE three winning fish in this year’s Snapper Point Angling Club Tea Tree competition were caught in Western Port. Although based at Mornington, the competition ranges over both Port Phillip and Western Port, which also yielded the most fish: 947 out of a total bag of 1360. However, the number of competitors, 1537 (including 159 juniors) outnumbered the fish. John Close, of Boronia, was the overall winner with a 12.07 kilogram fish, making him the new Victorian snapper champion. Theo Hatzis, Pakenham, came second with a 10.23kg fish and Norman Kemp, Cranbourne North, was third with a 10.11kg fish. Held…

SOME of the peninsula’s longest-serving community volunteers have been recognised with Flinders Seniors Awards. The awards were started six years ago by Flinders MP Greg Hunt who told a gathering at Rosebud RSL late last month that his awards recognised “the significant contribution our older residents make in the community”. “In my electorate I am privileged to have many older residents who dedicate an inordinate amount of their own time to assisting others in the community,” he said. “These volunteers are the backbone of our community, unsung heroes who dedicate countless hours to helping others without expecting anything in return.”…

MCCRAE Homestead has reopened after a short hiatus following the resignation in August of part-time manager Sharon Bowen and nine of its 10 volunteers. The National Trust property in Beverley Rd, McCrae, will be run by members of the trust’s peninsula branch until the Australia Day long weekend when it is hoped sufficient volunteers will have been recruited. The resignations were triggered by a change in management style following the appointment earlier this year of a Mornington Peninsula regional manager, Cara-Ann Simpson. In October, then branch president Judy Walsh said the trust was “doing things differently nowadays with more attention…

TO the casual observer at Dromana it may have looked like a group of people was having an enjoyable day at the beach. There were some tricky balancing acts on stand-up paddleboards and quickly arranged photos. There was enjoyment and the need for balance, but it was also the arranged announcement of the involvement of “citizen scientists” in monitoring water quality. Flinders MP and Environment Minister Greg Hunt jumped aboard a SUP to show how water samples could be collected offshore and then, with John Gemmill of the Clean Ocean Foundation measured the water’s PH level. Mr Hunt, a long-time…

SOUTHERN Peninsula Food for All is appealing for support for its Christmas appeal. The group has raised $4810, well below its $65,000 target. Last year, Food for All provided 516 Christmas hampers to the needy as well as toys to 600 children. This year it again plans to distribute hampers and toys to those “doing it tough”. Collection bins for non-perishable goods are at Woolworths Rosebud, Rosebud West and Rye, Coles Rosebud and Ritchie’s Dromana. All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible and can be sent to Food for All, PO box 440, Rosebud, 3939. Details: Diane Falconer…

SKYLIFT head Simon McKeon has called on the shire council to develop a better process to deal with changes made during the building of the ride and its associated infrastructure including top and bottom stations. His call follows the council late last month knocking back an application by Skylift to alter the type of retaining wall to be built at the bottom station. Last December, the state planning tribunal VCAT confirmed the council’s mid-2014 approval of the project and stated the shire could deal with the 71 conditions of the application, which cover elements such as heritage protection, tree removal,…

MAIN Ridge and Boneo will be the stage for a pre-summer CFA training exercise on Sunday 22 November. Joining CFA crews will be staff from the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning and Parks, and a water bombing helicopter. CFA brigades from across the Mornington Peninsula, along with those from as far afield as Casey and Cardinia, will converge on Arthurs Seat to test pre-planning and management to combat a major fire on the peninsula. “The exercise will simulate a rapidly developing fire starting on the southern side of Arthurs Seat and running south toward, and into, the Mornington…

BUSKERS by the score will be on the streets of Rosebud this Saturday. Musicians and other entertainers have been invited onto the streets and outside Rosebud Plaza for the annual Buskfest. Spots were limited to 35, but organisers say more than double that number applied for Saturday’s gig, perhaps attracted by the $1000 cash prize. The competition includes performances by solo vocalists, duos, bands, pianists, harpist, African drummers, dancers, jugglers, comedians and quick draw artists. The shows starts at 10am and ends at 1pm. A panel of judges will be out and about among the audiences to see who takes…

DISTRICT PEARCEDALE remains in equal top spot on the MPCA District ladder after getting out of jail against Seaford Tigers. The Panthers were defending an ordinary total of 128, however, did have the Tigers on the back foot early, resuming at 1/7. The Tigers started extremely well with opener Jon Plakourakis scoring 25 and Aaron Mountney contributing 18. The visitors were cruising at 1/42. However, within a blink of an eye, that score line dropped to 8/66. The Tigers were bowled out for 81 in 43.5 overs. Kain Smith and Shayne Gillings were superb for the Panthers with 4/7 and…