THE following letter was received by Mrs Meldrum, of Somerville, from her son Edward, on active service in Damascus: I have not had much time for letter writing lately. I don’t think anyone had an idea of what this stunt was going to be like. All thought we would strike some stiff fighting. We started off one night and got within a few miles of the front line, unsaddled for the night and were let into the know of what was going to be done in the morning. We were all awake waiting for the guns to open up, which…
Month: December 2018
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have refused to lift the cost cap on the Rosebud Aquatic Centre. In March, the council capped the centre’s budget at $41.57m, but the latest estimates now put the cost at $46.63m. The net cost to council was put at $36.57m after taking into account $5m from the federal government, $3m less than was sought. In a bid to avoid delaying construction of the centre, councillors last week accepted a design for an eight-lane pool and agreed to seek expressions of interest and then tenders from builders. But they refused to accept the $5m increase and…
ENTHUSIASM, if not waves, won the day when teams of surfers descended on Pines Beach, Shoreham for the second annual DSAMP Champs contest. Dressed “in wild costumes to match the occasion”, the surfers had to be content with beach games in their efforts to compete against one another. Rod Jones, of the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula (DSAMP) said the “offbeat” competition attracted 15 teams. Organised by the Peninsula’s Maladiction Longboarders Club the event raised $2700 for DSAMP’s surfing days at Point Leo, the second Champs event Champs on Sunday 10 November saw surfers dressed as animals, pirates, 1960s rockers,…
THE new Rye boat ramp was officially opened on Friday with the Safety Beach Coast Guard boat being first off the ramp and into the water. The controversial extra ramp was built as part of a major upgrade, with $648,000 from Mornington Peninsula Shire and $588,000 from Transport Victoria. The mayor Cr David Gill predicted the new ramp would cut boat launching and retrieval times “from 51 minutes to 16 minutes” during the busy season. While seeing the Rye works as an “investment”, Cr Gill said an election policy announcement by the incoming Labor government should reduce the $250,000 spent…
THE Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has started its summer water quality tests at Mornington Peninsula and Frankston beaches. The forecasts over the next four months will cover eight peninsula beaches and four at Frankston. EPA chief environmental scientist Dr Andrea Hinwood said last year’s forecasts for peninsula illustrated how conditions could vary from beach to beach. “Last season, good water quality was forecast for Sorrento beach 81 per cent of time – the second highest score [out of 36 beaches in Port Phillip],” she said. “But a few kilometres away, Rye beach had forecasted good water quality 72 per…
POLICE presence at schools in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula will soon increase to issue fines to speeding drivers. A Frankston Council statement said that “due to ongoing complaints and incidents” there would be an increase in police “patrolling local school zones and issuing fines to drivers doing the wrong thing.” Frankston mayor Cr Michael O’Reilly said “keeping kids safe as they get to and from school is everyone’s responsibility.” “Reducing your speed from 60kph to 40kph to travel through a 400 metre school speed zone only adds around twelve seconds to your overall travel time. This reduction in…
By Barry Morris VOLUNTEER drivers are angry and disappointed that a woman who didn’t have cancer used a free transport service to get a lift to a Melbourne hospital for an x-ray. The woman called the Southern Peninsula Cancer Support Group, where some of the drivers are former cancer patients, and asked for a lift to and from hospital. The woman also requested that the service call her on the day of her appointment to wake her up. She then asked for the driver to take her dog to a friend’s home so that it would be looked after. Taking…
THE failed bid in August by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Flinders MP Greg Hunt to be prime minister and deputy Liberal Party leader is being blamed for much of the party’s loss of support on the Mornington Peninsula. The Liberals Nepean candidate Russell Joseph was last Friday reconciled to accept defeat in an election that saw Daniel Andrews’ state Labor swept back to power with nearly twice the number of MPs as the Liberals. “It’s all a bit confusing, but I’m not particularly optimistic,” Mr Joseph said as the Victorian Electoral Commission announced the latest voting figures showing…
Police arrested nine people following antisocial behaviour in Rye last night. Police increased patrols due to the unruly behaviour recently in Rye and a number of specialist units attended including Public Order Response Team, Mounted Branch and Dog Squad. A large number of youths gathered at the foreshore area and officers responded to a number of brawls and drunken behaviour about 11pm. Under the Control of Weapons Act, Victoria Police declared the foreshore and immediate surrounds a designated area for a weapons search. More than 30 people were searched for weapons and no arrests were made. Nine people were arrested…