DISTRICT MAIN RIDGE has thrown down the challenge and is making its move in MPCA District cricket. Going into the third last match of the home and away season, the Ridge are currently in fifth place on 62 points, along with Baden Powell and Heatherhill. Rosebud and Delacombe Park are four points clear on 66 points and Mt Martha is a game ahead in second place on 74 points. Red Hill is on top. The Ridge can shake off Baden Powell if they can get the job done in this game against the Braves and keep the heat on the…
Month: February 2017
PROVINCIAL MORNINGTON made its intentions well and truly known on Saturday that it is looking for an outright victory against Long Island at Alexandra Park. In a very tight 2016-17 season, every point and every ounce of percentage is going to come into play at the conclusion of the final home and away match of the season. The Dogs are outside the top bracket by just four points (behind Mt Eliza) and a game behind Langwarrin and POB. An outright win in this match would get them inside the four. In a game of cat and mouse, Long Island won…
SUB-DISTRICT AN amazing 18 wickets fell in the MPCA Sub District match between Tootgarook and Tyabb on the opening day on Saturday. After 80 overs of play, there isn’t a clear-cut favourite to win the match. Tootgarook are 30 runs ahead with two wickets in hand. The Yabbies will be looking for quick wickets on day two, then looking to score quick runs to give themselves a chance to bowl out the home side to record a reverse outright win. The Frogs are in the box seat though after bowling out the Yabbies for 51. Stephen Brain was superb with…
COUNTRY WEEK THE Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association Sharks failed to make the Country Week final despite winning three of its four matches last week. The new-looking MPCA, boasting nine new faces, were robbed of a final’s berth after a controversial result between Ballarat and Warnambool went against the Sharks on the final day. Neck and neck with Geelong and Warnambool going into the final day, wickets and runs meant everything. The Sharks weren’t able to get the job done against Geelong, the eventual winner, going down by just 21-runs. However, what happened at Shepley Oval between Ballarat and Warnambool had…
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie THE match of the day in the opening round of the local league season between Rosebud Heart and Baxter has been transferred to Baxter Park. Originally scheduled as a Heart home game the unavailability of Truemans Road Reserve due to cricket and council work has forced the switch of the Saturday 25 March showdown. Heart has the better derby record having won three of the four clashes highlighted by a thumping 7-1 demolition of its arch rival in 2015 with hat-tricks to Dave Greening and Simon O’Donnell. Baxter’s one win came in the same season, a…
UP to the 20th of this month Miss Theodora Carter, A.T.C.L., of 6 Pine Grove, Malvern, offers 12 months’ free tuition for pianoforte scholarship to be awarded to the a most promising candidate, not necessarily the best player. *** THE monthly meeting of the Somerville Fruitgrowers’ and Horticultural Association will be held on Monday evening next. February 12, at 8pm, in the Mechanics’ Hall, when the business will be – Notice of motion re an executive to conduct all further business for this year; Soft Fruit Pool, etc. *** MESSRS Catani and Kermode paid a visit to Frankston on Wednesday…
Mt Martha will be playing the blues again on February 25th. What could be better than sunshine, the beautiful setting of The Briars homestead, the very best local food and drink, plus awesome fun stuff for the kids for a family day out? World class blues music– that’s what! Back for a fantastic fifth year, Blues At The Briars in Mount Martha on Saturday February 25 will be the biggest and best to date with a jaw-dropping, toe-tapping line-up. Watch out for Owen Campbell who captured the nation’s heart with his run on Australia’s Got Talent and Gail Page who…
Australia’s foremost jazz vocalist, Vince Jones, is heading to the peninsula on March 9, leading a celebration of one of rock’s greatest music performers, Van Morrison. With his reputation as a remarkable interpreter of jazz songs, Jones will lead the specially formed seven-piece Astral Orchestra, spearheaded by musical director, Matt McMahon, as they bring to life two of Van’s most cherished albums, Astral Weeks and Moondance. “The first of Van Morrison’s albums I had access to was Astral Weeks when I was 17, and it intrigued me that he used jazz guys for that album,” said Jones. “I thought he…
EARLY childhood teacher Lyn Knight has retired after 22 years at St Marks Uniting Church in Mornington – a playgroup that she started. During that time she was said to have influenced hundreds of children and their families. “Lyn is such a special person and warrants recognition,” said Katherine La Nauze, a mum who attended the playgroup for four years. “The magic of Lyn Knight will dance with us for the rest of our lives. “She provided a unique warmth and educational experience for children and their families at her playgroup.” Ms Knight said she started the playgroup because “there…
NEVER one to miss an opportunity to make fun (and make a point) of those he sees as benefitting from the public purse, Seaford artist Tony Sowersby has chosen Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as the subject of his entry in this year’s Bald Archy Prize. Billed as “the art that laughs at art’s lighter side” the Bald Archy Prize “provides artists of all styles and standards with a genuine opportunity, ranging from the hilarious to the bizarrely vulgar, to create portrait paintings of humour, dark satire, light comedy or caricature”. Sowersby, who regularly wryly comments on public affairs through his…
A DIAGNOSIS of terminal cancer was the last thing Mt Eliza father of two Geoff Nyssen was expecting three weeks after turning 40. Life was on track in 2014 for the corporate high-flyer who lived a “normal” life, focussing on success and “getting ahead”. That was until a diagnosis of terminal blood cancer turned his life upside down. Inspirational in so many ways, Mr Nyssen has met the challenge head on and is re-directing his energies into raising money for Myeloma Australia to support the carers and families of multiple myeloma patients. In between working part time as an environmental…
MT ELIZA Anglican Church on Nepean Highway, Mt Eliza, will hold its annual fete, 9.30am-1.30pm, Saturday 25 February. On offer will be homemade treats, trash and treasure, barbecue and café, plants, jewellery, gifts and pony rides at the church on the corner of Koetong Parade. Last October the St James The Less congregation celebrated 150 years since the laying of the cornerstone of the small white church. The site was given by a Captain Edward Lintott. A committee was formed, money raised, and an architect appointed. Clay for the bricks came from the site of Peninsula School. The original building…
IT could be a scenario from Alice in Wonderland. One of those scenes where nothing lines up; there are plenty of angles but nothing is quite vertical or horizontal. Some of the beach boxes at Mt Martha beach north defy gravity, they lean at odd angles, their feet (stumps) sit above the sand with concrete pads looking like ill-fitting shoes. Other sheds are being undermined, threatening to topple onto the sand or into the back walls of other beach boxes. At high tide walkers squeeze between the bathing boxes and a crumbling cliff, ignoring a warning sign out of necessity…
WILDLIFE carer Brenda Marmion wants property owners to use the “three-level” system when leaving water out for wildlife, to ensure easy access for all animals. Ms Marmion, of Crystal Ocean Wildlife Shelter, Rye, has rescued, cared for, rehabilitated and released thousands of animals on the Mornington Peninsula for about 24 years, and has seen the devastating effects of extreme heat on wildlife. She said people could relieve the suffering of animals on hot days by ensuring there was accessible water in appropriate containers. “Sometimes wildlife can’t get to the water because it’s in containers they can’t access, or in worse…
A RISE in the number of flying fox deaths and injuries has prompted a plea for residents to use smaller aperture wildlife-safe netting to protect fruit trees. Flying foxes play an important ecological role by pollinating native trees. “Delayed eucalypt flowering this season may mean fruit bats and birds are more likely to seek food and nectar from fruit trees, leading them to become entrapped,” Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning manager Suriya Vij said. “Deaths and injuries caused by fruit netting can easily be prevented through the use of the right net type which has five millimetre by…
RESIDENTS and visitors to the Mornington Peninsula are being asked to help native wildlife affected by high temperatures. Prolonged heat can makes animals appear lethargic, disorientated or unresponsive, so it’s important to take care when helping them. Tree-dwelling and nocturnal animals, such as possums and koalas, which are suffering from heat stress, may be seen on the ground during the day searching for water. Birds will often pant and stretch their wings to cool down. To help, place bowls of water around shady areas and spray mist into trees and shrubs from a garden hose. Place small animals which appear…
ROSEBUD and Mornington libraries are holding weekly baby time sessions. The sessions at the four peninsula libraries are designed to help a baby’s mind grow by learning new words, singing songs and developing language and concentration. The 30-minute baby time sessions are for children aged up to 12 months. Baby time will be held at 2pm on Thursdays at Hastings; 11am Mondays at Rosebud; 11am Fridays, Mornington; and 2pm on the first Thursday of the month at Somerville. Sessions are free and no bookings are required, details ourlibrary.mornpen.vic.gov.au First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 7 February 2017
A SHOREHAM dog has survived a bite from a deadly tick species that was thought not to exist on the Mornington Peninsula. The bite from the Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) – which frequents the east coast of Australia, including Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale – had paralysed the Hungarian Vizsla, named Piper, causing body weakness and a changed bark. Realising her 14-month-old pet was gravely ill – and suspecting a tick bite – owner Heather Geschke rushed it to Hastings veterinary clinic and found the engorged parasite under her dog’s collar while they sat in the waiting room. “It was…
THERE’S Magic in the Air. That’s the name of an upcoming concert to showcase the talents of peninsula children and teens, and, in the long run, inspiring them to dream and achieve. In the lead-up to the concert, 10-19 year olds who can dance, sing, play an instrument, juggle or MC, are invited to apply to audition on stage before their schools and families at Mornington radio station RPP FM, 1-5pm, Sunday 19 February. A maximum 20 places are available and bookings are essential. The audition will lead on to the Can Do Kids family event at the Peninsula Community…
A BID to waive the need for planning permits in certain circumstances at properties on the “inland” side of Point Nepean Rd from Mt Eliza to Portsea has been temporarily waved down by concerned councillors. A report to last week’s public council meeting by Mornington Peninsula Shire senior planner Oscar Orellana proposed changes to the Environmental Significance Overlay of the Mornington Peninsula Planning Scheme. The proposal was aimed at “streamlining planning processes” for properties that do “not directly join the Port Phillip foreshore and coastal area”. “Minor forms of development” such as the erection of a fence, outbuildings or “a…
THERE’LL be a lot of familiar faces at Dromana Secondary College this term. Among the 325 students in its 13 Year 7 classes are 11 sets of twins. Fresh from primary school the twins had their first day of secondary studies on Tuesday. Head of junior school Brooke Mollenkopf said 11 sets of twins was the most ever at that year level. Three sets of twins are identical. But whether the twins sit side by side in class is up to their parents. “The parents know them the best so we go by what they say,” Ms Mollenkopf said. “Often…