RED Hill South resident Jill McLachlan retired from work just over 12 months ago but, wanting to do something that could make a difference to others, she investigated volunteering opportunities. “I had spent much of my working life supporting staff and mentoring younger women, a lot of who told me I was good at this sort of thing,” she said. “With some free time I thought I should find some volunteering work where I could use my skills to help others and provide me with a sense of fulfilment.” Ms McLachlan is one of about 36,000 residents – of 17.8…
Month: May 2017
EFFORTS being made to cut the road toll on the Mornington Peninsula will be outlined to an international audience in Canada in August. Road safety specialist Bruce Corben will outline the shire’s Towards Zero strategies and objectives to the ninth international conference on urban traffic safety Committee in Banff, Alberta, Canada in August. It is now one year since Mornington Peninsula Shire agreed to instigate road safety programs designed to make it Towards Zero municipality and at the start of this month there had been no deaths recorded on the peninsula’s roads this year. The last recorded death was in…
The Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has determined that the planning permit for the former Pioneer quarry in Boundary Rd, Dromana has expired. Community groups are hailing the decision as a victory over Hillview Quarries although one leading campaigner cautions “we’ve won a battle, but not the war”. “We’re over the moon and I’d love to think that was the end, but I think it will go on,” Dr Mark Fancett, of the Sheepwash Creek Catchment Landcare group said. The decision handed down on 27 April is the second win for the protesters who also four years ago successfully campaigned…
A VARIED range of exhibitions are planned over the next few months at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington. Max & Olive: The photographic life of Olive Cotton and Max Dupain, a travelling exhibition by the National Gallery of Australia, looks at the work of the photographers who shared lives, a studio and professional practice. It focuses on a key period in their careers – 1934-45 – when they made many of their most memorable images. Their work often involved shooting the same subjects, or pursuing subjects and pictorial effects in similar ways. Iconic Australian Houses: An exhibition by Karen…
A Flinders couple missing on their way home from South Australia has been found safe and well. An 81-year-old man and his 74-year-old wife were driving back but but failed to arrive as expected. Searchers found them safe and well, 2.30pm, Monday 1 May, about 15km from their car, which had become bogged in an area called Lake Mundi-Dergholm. The couple’s family has been notified. Police would like to thank the media and the public for their assistance
PUFFING Billy took on 2500 intrepid runners on Sunday in the 36th Great Train Race between Belgrave and Emerald – including four from Tyabb. The 13.5km course was tortuous and hilly, the competitors said. At the start, to even things up, Puffing Billy’s driver Graeme Hind had to start on the road beside the runners and run the length of the train to board his mount and get things under way. Then, at Lakeside station, he had to run to the finish line further along to get Puffing Billy’s official race time. Among the Tyabb contingent, Gemma Maini, who grew…
POPPIES picked on Flanders Fields, France, during WWI have been found in the pages of a book donated to the Victorian Maritime Centre Museum, Crib Point. Honorary member Norman Oates donated the book Seamanship Manual Vol I, 1932, to the museum among a number of items that had been left to him by his father, R J Oates. Mr Oates (senior) picked the poppies at Flanders Fields and pressed them in the book where they have remained ever since. The Victorian Maritime Centre’s Di Maloney said the poppies still showed tinges of red in their petals – even after 100…
WHILE there is no shortage of volunteers wanting to get the Holy Trinity Anglican Church’s opportunity shop back in business, its reopening depends on engineers’ assessing the building’s “structural integrity and safety”. The op shop and adjoining church were gutted in an early morning blaze on Friday 31 March. Police have said they believe the fire was deliberately lit. “We are waiting for forensic investigators and structural engineers to complete their assessments of the structural integrity and safety of the building,” church warden Don Johnston said. “Once those reports are completed, we should know if rebuilding this historic old church…
HASTINGS and Bittern CFA brigades fought a yard fire at a Hastings garden supplies business, corner of Frankston-Flinders Rd and Haddock St, 11pm, Wednesday 26 April. First Lieutenant Alan Millar, of Hastings CFA, said the fire was contained to a pile of scrap metal and rubbish, with no buildings involved. He said an occupant had lit a small fire for warmth but it got into the debris pile and he could not extinguish it himself. Four appliances with 15 fire fighters took a couple of hours to extinguish the blaze and mop up. It is not considered suspicious. First published…
A MAN fishing off the rocks at Cape Schanck on Sunday 30 April was lucky to escape with his life after being swept into the sea seas by a wave, 1pm. Senior Sergeant Phillip Hulley, of Frankston police, said the man, 46, of Kew, was one of seven men swept into the water when a large swell caught them unawares. Six clamoured back but the seventh was in a bad way when he managed to climb back to safety. The Air Ambulance took the man to The Alfred hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries. Senior Sergeant Hulley said…
A STATUE of Bunjil – the wedge-tailed eagle creator and spiritual being – now sits at the entrance to the Willum Warrain Aboriginal gathering place at Hastings. The unveiling of the statue on Friday was also timely in that it marked the recent reopening of the centre which had been closed due to lack of money. “This is a significant day for our mob,” Wullum Wirrain president Peter Aldenhoven said. “We have recently been closed for four and a half months as we temporarily had no funding for staff and operating costs. “This [its temporary closure] caused great dismay to…
TENDERS close in eight days for consultants to prepare “comprehensive business case” for a Cowes to Stony Point car ferry. An economic study produced six years ago put the overall cost of the project at $47 million and predicted it would lead to greater employment on Phillip Island and the Mornington Peninsula during and after construction of two new terminals. The shires of Mornington Peninsula and Bass Coast are now awaiting their call for submission from consultants to prepare a business case. The state government has conributed $250,000 and the shires $25,000 each. There is nothing new about the ferry…
NEPEAN LEAGUE IT may have taken five matches of football to get there but reigning Nepean champions Hastings slipped into top gear on Saturday against Dromana. The Blues found the spark it has been looking for and booted seven goals to one in a blistering first term and by half time had opened up a 68 point lead. The final score was 22.22 (154) to 8.5 (53). Hastings’ form before this match had been ordinary, despite the fact that it won three of its first four matches. Its match against Frankston Bombers last week proved to the defending premiers that…
PENINSULA LEAGUE MPNFL stars Tim Bongetti and Aaron Edwards will be racing against the clock to be right for the Sharks country championships match against Geelong FL at the MCG on May 13. Bongetti limped into the top of the table clash against Frankston YCW on Saturday and left the field midway through the third term. His left thigh was heavily strapped after he copped another hit on it early in the first quarter. Aaron Edwards camped himself at full forward and hardly moved from there, despite willing himself to the contest on a few occasions. Suffering a back injury,…
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie LANGWARRIN has thrown down the gauntlet to other title contenders by signing Scottish striker Liam Baxter from NPL outfit Goulburn Valley Suns. And the State 1 South-East leader will strengthen further with the return of gun central defender Kieron Kenny who went back to England in March following a family bereavement. Kenny is due to arrive in Melbourne tomorrow (Tuesday). Baxter, 24, was on the books of Scottish Premier League outfit Inverness Caledonian Thistle until he was 17 when he decided to leave to get more first team football. He played in the Highland League with…
By Jarrod Potter MELBOURNE Boomers unveiled its Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) centre-piece on Thursday after bringing Liz Cambage home. Cambage, 25, originally from Mt Eliza, will lace up for her first home season in five years in the upcoming 2017/18 WNBL season. The 25-year-old centre won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics with the Australian Opals, has played in the Women’s National Basketball Association for the Tulsa Shock and has also had several other professional achievements throughout China. After a year of soul-searching and contemplation spent away from the court, Cambage returns refreshed and ready to take…
A DEPUTATION from Tyabb waited on Mr H. S. W. Lawson, Minister for Education on Tuesday for the purpose of requesting that the school in the old township be re-opened which had been closed recently. It was suggested that in order to reduce expense women teachers should be placed in charge of this school and the school near Tyabb railway station. Mr. Lawson promised to inquire into the matter. It was mentioned that the cost of the two schools at Tyabb had been £440, and that the present outlay on the school, near the railway station, which is in charge…
When Bob Evans takes the stage at Baha Rye on 1 June, the audience can expect a show that is personal and intimate. One gets the feeling chatting to Kevin Mitchell, whose Bob Evans persona has won him critical acclaim, that he’d be just as happy if the crowd were up on the stage with him. Possibly kicking back on couches. “It will be relaxed and interactive. I’m playing a really broad selection of songs going right back to the first record in 2003, right up to last year’s release. “We’ll play some music. I’ll take some requests. I’ll probably…
After a 13 year hiatus ARIA nominated, Australian metal outfit SUPERHEIST are back and one thing is for sure, they are here to RAISE HELL. The band who have achieved gold record status and previously toured with rap god EMINEM are coming in hot. Superheist have delivered a heavy hitting and uncompromising AAA Side in a brazen display of what is arguably the band’s best work to date. Kicking off with ‘Raise Hell’ a hectic four minutes of in your face, thought provoking nu metal. Followed by ‘Got The Bounce’ an explosive mix of Wu Tang meets Messhuga perfectly walking…
A COMPREHENSIVE environmental study will be carried out to investigate whether rail under road can be built along the Frankston line at Bonbeach and Edithvale as part of the state government’s level crossings removal project. The Level Crossing Removal Authority confirmed this month that state Labor Planning Minister Richard Wynne decided an Environmental Effects Statement (EES) is needed to determine whether the neighbouring Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands will suffer if rail trenches are dug to remove level crossings at Bonbeach and Edithvale. The state government initially announced in February that elevated rail, dubbed sky rail by opponents of raised rail, would not…
STORM damaged wave panels on Mornington pier were removed by a specialist marine contractor last week. P W Johnson Constructions, of Carrum Downs, used a floating barge and hydraulic crane to remove the remaining five 15 tonne wave protection panels. Some of the panels, dislodged in July and October storms, were recovered from the sea bed before winter. In January, the firm removed the first of the loose wave panels, created a safe walking surface on the damaged section of the pier deck, and installed a temporary edging fence to allow the damaged area to be re-opened. Parks Victoria admits…
BATHING boxes on Mornington Peninsula beaches will be checked for asbestos. Councillors have been asked to approve $50,000 in the 2017/18 budget for an audit of the 830 bathing boxes managed by the shire. If any of the asbestos on bathing boxes is seen as a risk to public health the owners will be told to “undertake necessary corrective works”, Mornington Peninsula Shire’s property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods said. “Many of the boatsheds and bathing boxes on the Mornington Peninsula may contain asbestos due to the era in which they were constructed,” she said. “Asbestos-containing material is an important…
A PROJECT to strengthen the nature link between two of the Mornington Peninsula’s largest parks: Greens Bush and Arthurs Seat, was launched on Saturday 29 April. Greens Bush, between Arthurs Seat and Cape Schanck, is the largest remnant of bushland on the peninsula. Surrounded by farmland, the area contains a variety of vegetation types, making it a wildlife haven and excellent place for nature walking. Arthurs Seat State Park is a prominent feature in the landscape at 314 metres. Apart from views of the bay, city skyline, You Yangs and Mt Macedon, the park is home to species including the…
FIVE Mornington Peninsula beaches make the top 10 of cleanest beaches in Port Phillip, according to summer testing by Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA). Water quality recorded by the EPA over summer saw Eastern Beach, Geelong, The Dell, Portarlington and St Leonards tied at the top. Portsea came fifth and Blairgowrie and Sorrento sixth; Dromana and Rosebud were equal 10th. Over summer the EPA provides twice-daily forecasts for 36 beaches of either good, which equates to suitable swimming conditions, fair, meaning beaches may not be suitable, or poor, which advises beaches are not suitable for swimming. Other peninsula beaches ranked…
PUBLIC comment is being sought on plans to build a two-storey ferry terminal at Sorrento. The terminal is part of a $30 million upgrade at Sorrento and Queenscliff by ferry operator Searoad Ferries. “This is important infrastructure and we want to get it right. We want to hear from local people, ferry users, community groups and businesses,” CEO Matt McDonald said. Describing the terminal as a “once-in-a-generation proposal” Mr McDonald said the design would “provide safer access and better amenities for the local community and ferry users”. “If the proposal attracts community and government support it will include significant funding…
A COMEDY being filmed at Seawinds Hub makes fun of the country’s welfare system. Rosebud actor Steve Bastoni is producing the film, called Welfare, whose cast includes funny man Peter Helliar, Laura Jane Emes, Damian Walshe-Howling and Pia Miranda. The web series takes a satirical look at the bureaucracy surrounding our welfare system. It is hoped the series will be picked up by a television network. “We’ve all dealt with government systems and processes at some point and I think most people will relate to the humour,” Bastoni said. Co-producer Emes, who also stars in the comedy, came up with the…
A reversal of “devastating cuts” to funding for community legal centres has been welcomed by federal Isaacs Labor MP Mark Dreyfus. Planned federal government funding cuts that had been planned to take effect on 1 July but federal Liberal Attorney-General George Brandis announced last week the government will provide an extra $55.7 million over the next three years to the legal services sector as part of the 2017-18 budget. About $39 million of that money will go to community legal centres and $16.7 million to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services. The National Association of Community Legal Centres also…
WET weather didn’t dampen community enthusiasm for last week’s Anzac Day commemorations – it may have even enhanced the solemnity of the occasion. Large crowds flocked to dawn services and gunfire breakfasts across the Mornington Peninsula, and marchers of all ages showed their support for veterans and their sacrifices overseas. Mornington saw “possibly the largest crowd we’ve ever had” at the dawn service, gunfire breakfast and march. Venue manager at Mornington RSL, Keith Buddle, said the Virginia St club was “full to overflowing” for breakfast and refreshments with a game of traditional two-up adding to the excitement at lunch. Main…