MOONLIT Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park has won the Premier’s Sustainability Award for Environmental Protection 2017 for its orange-bellied parrot Breeding for Recovery program. Park director and founder Michael Johnson said he was “thrilled and honoured to win”. He said the sanctuary, in Tyabb-Tooradin Rd, Pearcedale, would continue to breed the parrots “until there is a viable wild population again saved from extinction”. “We have committed to run our program for at least the next 10 years,” he said. The first release of three birds from Moonlit Sanctuary and five from Zoos Victoria was held on Tuesday 24 October and two…
Month: October 2017
UNITED Terminals Pty Ltd has been fined almost $16,000 for two breaches of the Environment Protection Act over a diesel spill at its Barclay Cr, Hastings, site that flowed into nearby Oliver’s Creek. The company notified the EPA of a fuel spill of up to 1000 litres on Monday 31 July, saying that the leak, from a damaged pipeline flange, had been stopped. EPA officers attended and found that a significant volume of lost fuel was captured by interceptor drains and a trap onsite, but a small unknown volume was lost into the creek. The officers saw that a clean-up…
THREE youth forums to be held over the next six months will ask peninsula young people what they think needs to be done to combat issues such as anxiety, depression, bullying, suicide, family violence and body image. The aim is to give young people a say in creating the solutions many think are desperately needed. The forums are being held by not-for-profit group Youth Out Loud, which has been running resilience and leadership programs in schools in Australia, South East Asia and Africa for 25 years. Youth Out Loud founder Steve Brunskill says the best chance of success is to…
ALTHOUGH seriously injured, with abdominal and back injuries and being treated at Royal Melbourne Hospital last week, a Crib Point woman was still able to respond to her critics on social media. Rhiiannon Hewitt, 21, was considered lucky to be alive after being ejected from her car when it struck a Stony Point Rd power pole at about 60kph – snapping it into pieces – 9am, Tuesday 24 October. Her Holden Commodore, which rolled in the collision, looked to be a write off. Countering criticism she should have been wearing a seatbelt, Ms Hewitt replied: “It was a mistake not…
THERE are concerns the proposed Hastings Foreshore Precinct Plan will bring an end to Hastings Yacht Club’s 15-year-old Sailability program and “even threaten the future of the club as a whole”. Secretary Martin Jones said the club had “invested a lot of time and money into making our facility accessible to sailors of all abilities, including our junior program that is open to the Hastings community, and our Sailability program, which is the only one on the eastern side of the Peninsula. “Unlike other Sailability programs in Victoria and around the country, ours is a free service.” Mr Jones said…
DISTRICT HASTINGS is on the verge of winning its first game of the season after a good opening day against Rye in MPCA District. On the back of some ordinary form, Hastings was justifiably sent into bat by Rye after the Demons won the toss. Rob Hearn needed to get his side off to a good start and he obliged with a game-high 61, including eight fours. Ryan McNamara contributed 33 and Sean Hewitt 20 in the middle order to help the Blues to a final score of 177. Unfortunately for the Blues, they lost their final six wickets for…
PENINSULA THE MPCA Peninsula match between Long Island and Somerville will go down to the wire after 13 wickets fell on the opening day of their clash at Ballam Park. Somerville won the toss and elected to bat in the first two-day game of the season, a decision that didn’t work out too well for them. It could have been a lot worse had it not been for the efforts of Bailey White (38) and Brenton Alp (22) after coming to the crease at number seven and eight. At one stage the Eagles were reeling at 5/47. They finished with…
PROVINCIAL MORNINGTON’S Brad McDonald and Brad Wilson have placed their team in a commanding position in MPCA Provincial after both scoring centuries against Pearcedale. Sam Wiese left the middle after making 33 of the first 49 runs, before McDonald joined Wilson at the crease. What took place when the two came together was nothing short of a batting master class. McDonald finished unbeaten on 150 after hitting 15 fours and two sixes, while Wilson was out for 101 when the score was 290. Mornington pulled up stumps with six overs left in the day, declaring at 4/298. Shayne Gillings bowled…
SUB-DISTRICT BALNARRING’S dominant start to the season continued on Saturday against Frankston YCW in MPCA Sub-District. The Saints have continued to march on, batting first and scoring 257 against last season’s grand finalists. The visitors were shaky early, however 95 runs to Mark Walles and then some solid support to follow helped the Saints push 300. Lachlan Barton scored 46 and Ben King 35 batting at seven and eight. The Stonecats faced the final six overs of the day and finished at 1/24. Tootgarook is in the box seat to beat Carrum. The Lions batted first on Saturday and were…
SOCCER MORNINGTON gaffer Adam Jamieson has taken responsibility for missing out on NPL promotion and has vowed that he won’t make the same mistake again. “We had a squad to do a lot better but you’re probably looking at complacency being an issue,” said Jamieson. His side finished runner-up to Langwarrin by a solitary point in the race for the State 1 South-East title and while Lawton Park fans were celebrating there was a lot of soul-searching done at Dallas Brooks Park. “You get ‘Patch’ (Ryan Paczkowski) back, then Scotty Millar then you get Josh Valadon and Aaron Root in…
Compiled by Brodie Cowburn “PLEASE keep on sending us all the cigarettes you can”, was the message received the other day from a commanding officer at the front by the Over-Seas Club Southern Club Tobacco Fund. “I write this on behalf of all the men under my command,” he continued, “and I can safely say that every other would write you the same thing, in the meantime, please accept my sincere thanks for the case of Australian made cigarettes. They are a boon and a blessing.” *** IT has been officially reported through the Red Cross Bureau that Pte Arnold…
The fiercest line up of Aussie rockers will be heading to the peninsula to play the best of AC/DC! Whole Lotta Rosie is going to electrify crowds as they tear up the stage belting out the classic AC/DC hits that spans an almost 45 year career for the iconic Australian rockers. The line-up for Whole Lotta Rosie features musicians from Australia’s most iconic rock bands The Screaming Jets and The Angels including Paul Woseen (The Screaming Jets), James Morley (The Angels), Dave Stevens (Son of Bon Scott), Gregg Aldridge, Kevin Hunt and Rohan Moran (formerly of Back in Black) and…
COMEDIAN Austen Tayshus will perform live at the Rye Hotel as part of his 30th anniversary National Australiana tour, Friday 10 November. The gravelly voiced showman has performed more than 10,000 shows since the release of his 1983 comedy single Australiana written by Billy Birmingham. The iconic release draws its humour from puns using the names of places and animals, such as “… my mate Boomer rang”; “… do you wanna game of Euchre, Lyptus?” and “… how much can a koala bear?” He has also produced films, documentaries and records, mostly dealing with social issues, and performed on TV’s Live and Kicking. In 2012,…
SIX rewards of $1 million will be paid for information leading to convictions in the murders of six women whose bodies were found in Frankston and Tynong North in 1980-81. The rewards are part of Operation Lyndhurst and are the largest ever offered in Victoria. They relate to the disappearance and murder of six women – two from Frankston and four from other suburbs – between May 1980 and October 1981. On 30 May 1980, Allison Rooke, 59, was seen leaving her home in Hannah St, Frankston North, 11am, intending to catch a bus to the shops. Her body was…
A SCHOOL project in which pupils choose a community problem and then decide on an action took Kunyung Primary School’s Nathan Beckley to the beach last week. The grade sixer was on a mission: he enlisted the help of 18 family and friends and set about collecting litter – and boy there was a lot of it. Nathan, 12, got the idea for his project: “Exhibition”, from a story in The News about the good work of a Dromana beach clean-up crew and thought the same could be done at Mothers and Shire Hall beaches, Mornington. Nathan, a Cub at…
A GIANT Australian lily flower in the palm garden at Beleura has been monitored over the past month by aficionados. The gardens surrounding the elegant mansion, built in 1863 with interesting antiques and structural features, are open for tours and events. Like an alien Triffid, the Doryanthus palmeri is related to the better-known Gymea Lily (Doryanthus excelsa), whose torch-like, red flower heads dominate many of Melbourne’s roundabouts. Head gardener Richard Smith said the single flower head “just kept expanding” in size so that, now, several kilos of orange-red flowers are close to drooping on the ground under their own weight.…
IT could cost up to $4 million to prevent further erosion of the cliffs and beach at Mt Martha beach north. If not fixed, the crumbling cliffs will remain a threat to the stability of Esplanade and the beach. Already closed to the public, the beach will remain inaccessible and dangerous. The problems and possible remedies are contained in a report prepared for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning by consultants, Water Technology. The report recommends removing all boat sheds at Mt Martha north unless action is taken to stop further erosion of the cliff and beach. Options…
A REPORT released by the Victorian Ombudsman this month revealed 107 complaints about Mornington Peninsula Shire were made to the watchdog over a 12-month period but council and the Ombudsman’s office will not reveal how many of the complaints were investigated or substantiated. The Ombudsman’s annual report released on Monday 16 October listed the number of complaints about each of Victoria’s 79 councils it received during the 2016-17 financial year. Mornington Peninsula Shire was listed as the 9th most complained about council – up from 22nd in 2015-16 with 62 complaints – to the state watchdog that has the power…
PENINSULA Chamber Musicians will perform their final two concerts for the year at Rosebud and Mornington next month. The first is 2pm Saturday 11 November at All Saints Anglican Church, Rosebud, and the second at their regular venue 2pm Sunday 12 November at Mornington Community Theatre. The subject pieces are Britten’s Simple Symphony, Bernstein’s Waltz from Divertimento for Orchestra, Bartok’s Romanian Dances and Mendelsohn’s Italian Symphony. PCM performs under musical director Andrew Hall (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) and president Anthony Pope (Orchestra Victoria). Formed in 2013, they provide an opportunity for classical musicians to play in a high-quality chamber orchestra, as…
JOHN Schultz knows a thing or two about football jumpers. He’s grabbed plenty as their wearers flashed past on the footy field. But he also knows they were once the best thing to keep you warm in the surf. Young surfers of today wouldn’t know about the footy jumper-in-the-surf trick. They have the luxury of being able to choose wetsuits for summer and winter, or even a spring suit for the in-between seasons. One of the footy jumpers former Footscray ruckman Schultz wore in the surf at Point Leo back in the early 1960s has a history. The tradition of…
JOHN Clarke made a name for himself as a stalker of politicians and hypocrites. He managed to pour scorn with a twinkle in his eye and a half smile, leaving his target little choice but to respond in the same way. Sometimes his barbed comments were so sharp his victim would be impaled before he or she had a chance to realise the space they now occupied. But Clarke, who died Sunday 9 April this year, also enjoyed a sometimes-solitary pastime that also involved a great deal of subterfuge and stalking. The cutting comedian photographed birds. He had a special…
A STAINED glass window by renowned artist David Wright has been installed at St John’s Church, Flinders. The design by Wright, who has a studio and lives at Flinders, incorporates the emblem of St John, the golden eagle, and represents the Bun Wurrung people with indigenous plants. Glass used by Wright in his windows is layered and moulded in the kiln to produce “rich colour and texture”. The window can be viewed by the public in the Kings St, Flinders church on 4 and 5 November during the annual flower festival. Wright, whose past commissions include work for the new…
TWO of the four MPs whose electorates cover Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula voted against the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passed by the Victorian Parliament’s lower house. The upper house is expected to vote on the bill in the next few weeks. Mornington Liberal MP David Morris and Frankston MP, Labor’s Paul Edbrooke, voted for the bill. Mr Morris’s Liberal colleagues, Neale Burgess (Hastings) and Martin Dixon (Nepean) were against. MPs of all parties were allowed a conscience vote for the contentious legislation proposed by the Andrews Labor government, which took four days to debate before it was passed 47…
A Mt MARTHA-based animal rights group has protested to the state government over what it calls “unethical” kangaroo culls at a Cape Schanck property. Australian Wildlife Protection Council secretary Eve Kelly wrote to Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio saying an Authority to Control Wildlife permit to kill kangaroos at a property on Patterson Rd was causing kangaroos to “injure themselves and die horribly fleeing the gunfire [while] trapped in sections of the land”. Ms Kelly included photographs of large holes in fences – said to have been cut by vandals – which allow the kangaroos to access…
Police are currently searching for a fisherman who failed to return home after a trip to Blairgowrie yesterday. Investigators have been told the 78-year-old from Wantirna left to go fishing off rocks at the Blairgowrie back beach about 9am. When he did not return home last night family members raised the alarm and police searched the area around 10pm last night. The man’s car has been found in a car park on Number Sixteen Access Road but the man is yet to be located. The search will continue at first light with assistance from other specialist police and the SES.…
A 52-year-old Crib Point man, Brendan Mcdowall, and a 34-year-old Hastings man, Shane Heiberg, were both charged with murder and faced Melbourne Magistrates’ today. Neither man applied for bail and both were remanded until their next court appearance on 3 November. Homicide Squad detectives charged 36-year-old Natalie Dalton with murder on Thursday. She appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday 27 October today after being charged with murdering 39-year-old Jade Goodwin. She did not apply for bail and was scheduled to reappear for a committal mention on March 23. The latest two have been charged nearly a week after the…
Homicide Squad detectives have charged two men with murder after a male was located deceased in Tyabb on Sunday 22 October. A 52-year-old Crib Point man and a 34-year-old Hastings man have been assisting police with their enquires and were charged this morning. Both men will face the Melbourne Magistrates’ court later today. Homicide Squad detectives charged 36-year-old Natalie Dalton with murder on Thursday. She appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday 27 October today after being charged with murdering 39-year-old Jade Goodwin. She did not apply for bail and was scheduled to reappear for a committal mention on March…
Homicide Squad detectives have charged a 36-year-old woman with murder after a male was located deceased in Tyabb on Sunday 22 October. The woman will face an out of sessions hearing in Melbourne later this evening. Two other men; a 52-year-old man from Crib Point who was arrested this afternoon, a 34-year-old man from Hastings, who was arrested yesterday, are still in custody and are assisting police with their inquiries. The arrests follow the discovery of a body behind a building on the 11.7ha property on Dandenong-Hastings Road in Tyabb about 9pm on Sunday night. The body was buried in…
Three people are currently in custody after the discovery of Jade Goodwin’s body in a shallow grave in Tyabb on Sunday 22 October. The three are a 52-year-old man from Crib Point who was arrested this afternoon, a 34-year-old man from Crib Point, who was arrested yesterday, and a 36-year-old Hastings woman, who was arrested on Tuesday. The arrests follow the discovery of a body behind a building on the 11.7ha property on Dandenong-Hastings Road in Tyabb about 9pm on Sunday night. The body was buried in a shallow grave. Forensics police laid down yellow markers pointing to possible evidence…
Police have identified the victim whose body was located at a property in Tyabb as 39-year-old Jade Goodwin. Investigators believe that Jade was buried at the vacant rural property on Dandenong-Hastings road on Sunday 22 October. It is believed that he was last seen alive on 13 October. Investigators would like to speak to anyone who saw Jade between 13 October and 22 October or anything of interest at the property or around Dandenong-Hastings road. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or file a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au