Month: March 2019

A shoplifter with a penchant for baby formula is being sought by detectives. The man, pictured, entered the Woolworths supermarket at Bentons Square, Dunns Road, Mornington 5pm, Saturday 9 March, and stole $498 of baby formula. Detectives said he made several attempts to steal formula at the store as well as from other Woolworth’s stores in the area. Police have released CCTV images of the man described as Indian in appearance, late 20s, 175cm tall and with a thin build. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at…

THE real estate agent’s waiver said it all: “Please note this is a working fire station at the moment. Inspections may be cancelled at short notice.” And so, forewarned, potential buyers of the old Crib Point fire station in Disney Street, pictured, are making their inspections before it goes to auction for the first time in 50 years on Saturday 13 April. Harcourts Jason Dowler said the 770 square metre residential zone block offered a “multitude of options”. It has shedding for up to five vehicles, a main building and smaller shed, kitchen and meeting room and bathroom facilities, and…

PENINSULA BADEN Powell are champions of the Peninsula division of MPCA cricket after defeating Main Ridge at Pearcedale Rec Reserve last weekend. On day one Main Ridge chose to bat first, and would have done very poorly if not for some brilliant individual performances from two batsmen. A spectacular innings of 94 runs from Daniel Polson was vital for his side. Another well taken 62 from Shaun Foster also looked as if it would be a huge help. Main Ridge ended up at 9/204 at the end of play on day one. Play restarted on Sunday for day two and…

SOCCER FRANKSTON council re-turfed Monterey Reserve on Friday and the work was so extensive that Southern United was forced to call-off five matches scheduled for the venue on Saturday. The local women’s club plays at the elite level of the sport in Victoria and president Shannon Palmer was furious that no-one from council contacted her to tell her what was planned. “It’s a complete and utter debacle for us,” Palmer said on Sunday. “I don’t know why they didn’t contact us and tell us what they’d planned. “They contacted (co-tenant) Frankston Pines but they didn’t say what day they were…

MORNINGTON’S Shelley Heath made her debut for Melbourne Football Club’s AFLW team on 9 March. The 18-year-old, who finished school last year after attending Mornington Secondary College, was drafted by Melbourne in October. “We were surprised and thrilled that Shelley was drafted,” said mum Gill Heath. That was the beginning of a lot of hard work and training that culminated in the start against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. Shelley’s winning spirit has followed her through life. An Australian Taekwondo champion at age eight, she grabbed the opportunity to play Australian Rules Football with both hands. Rising through the…

MORNINGTON-based trainers made the Mornington Cup day their own on Saturday 23 March, claiming both of the day’s feature races, the Mornington Cup and the Hareeba Stakes, as well as winning four of the nine races on the day. The David Brideoake-trained stayer and talented jumper, Self Sense, continued his exceptional form on the flat with a victory in the day’s highlight, the $350,000 Mornington Cup, just six days after landing the Yarra Valley Cup. Self Sense ($12) settled midfield and moved into the race boldly under jockey Luke Nolen approaching the home turn before fending off the persistent challenge…

IT was February 1986; Tyson was the heavyweight champ, Reagan was president, but the real action was at Kooyong…the night Tom Petty supported Bob Dylan. Re-live that incredible line up at The Bob Dylan and Tom Petty Show, and rock out to Running Down a Dream, American Girl, Don’t Come Around Here No More, The Waiting, Refugee, Like a Rolling Stone, All Along the Watchtower, Hard Rain, Tombstone Blues, House of the Rising Sun and many other classic Dylan-Petty hits. “32 years on, and people still refer to the True Confessions Tour as one of the most remarkable gigs they’ve…

MR Henry Scarborough, who died at the residence of his son, Cranbourne Road, Frankston, on Tuesday last, had attained the ripe old age of 81 years. He was born in 1838 near what is now Market Street, Melbourne, 3 years after the Yarra district became a white settlement. Mr. J. Fleming, a member of the Brunswick shire council, who is still living, was Mr Scarborough’s senior by a few months, and is believed to be the oldest Victorian native. Mr Scarborough’s father was the first poundkeeper of Melbourne, the pound being situate in Elizabeth Street opposite the present site of…

JO Cooper is a woman with a firm grasp on history. The Peninsula Grange resident who celebrated her 102nd birthday on Saturday 9 March with family and friends, lays claim to being born in Sorrento as the great-great-granddaughter of the first white baby born in the area, Jane Watts, in 1803. Daughter Joyce Curry, who says “it’s an education listening to her stories”, confirmed her mum’s great-grandparents owned Watts Cottage next to the Nepean Historical Society building at the back beach end of Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento. Ms Cooper can recall delivering milk and butter to her great-grandmother after school…

Human rights advocate and lawyer Nyadol Nyuon spoke of her family’s difficulties of adjusting to a new society after being brought to Australia from a refugee camp in Kenya. Ms Nyuon, who was born in the refugee camp in Itang, Ethiopia, said the difficulties were faced mainly by her mother, who spoke with “limited English” and had a longing for the place and friends of her birth. Since her family settled in Ballarat, Ms Nyuon has completed a Bachelor Arts from Victoria University and a Juris Doctor from University of Melbourne and currently practises in commercial litigation and as community…

CONCERNS about erosion and the impact of silt on Tanti Creek have been allayed by a fish survey which found that none of the previously recorded species has been lost. The survey, organised by Tanti Creek Friends and conducted by Streamline Research, followed fears that fish numbers and diversity had decreased “significantly” over the past two years. The survey was conducted 5-6 March with samples taken during a dry period after several weeks without rain. It covered the entire length of Tanti Creek and involved setting bait traps and electrofishing, water quality data reviews, assessing the impacts of erosion…

Hundreds of blue and yellow rash vests were the most eye-catching fashion item for the second time in two months at Point Leo beach on Saturday 16 March. Hundreds of blue and yellow vests were visible along the beach as the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula organisation ran a surf day. Groups of people wearing blue vests – supervised by a lesser number of people wearing green or red vests – were either forming two parallel lines in the surf of huddled in groups on the sand before carrying surfboards and their occupants into the water. DSAMP president John Bowers…

THE billy cart derby organised by Point Nepean Men’s Shed went off without a hitch, Saturday 16 March. “We could not have asked for a better day,” organiser Terry Phippen said. “We had all 20 carts in action over the afternoon, plus a few extras, and a design by shed president John Stevenson became instantly popular with competitors of all ages.” Charities to benefit from the $1200 raised were Rye Community House, “Buy a Bale” and Gippsland Farmers’ Relief. “The kids all took to the idea of racing the carts,” Mr Phippen said. “Some were a bit nervous at first,…

Repairs are being made to the sandbag seawall installed to stop erosion at Portsea front beach in 2010. “The seawall was first installed in 2010 and since then has helped protect the foreshore against storm surge, waves, tides and wind,” the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s Port Phillip regional director, Kelly Crosthwaite, said. “The outer layer of the of the wall is in poor condition, with wear and tear resulting in damage to several areas. Because of the way the sandbag seawall is constructed, the repairs required are extensive and involve replacing most of the existing wall.” Ms…

BURGLARS forced a rear window at a Rosebud rental property and stole jewellery, between 1-9 March. Taken from the Eighth Avenue property was a chain, two rings, costume jewellery and a jewellery box, valued at $650. A security door, flywire door and a dishwasher were stolen from a house under construction in Bittern, overnight Friday 8 March. A $4800 yellow kayak was stolen from a Mt Martha house that had earlier been gutted by fire. Detectives said burglars forced a garage door at the Spencer Street house that had been unoccupied for several weeks. Offenders unsuccessfully used a jemmy bar…

A MAN was punched, kicked and threatened with a hammer by five men who then stole his phone in Mornington, 4.45am, Sunday 17 March. Detectives said the man was waiting for a cab just off Mornington-Tyabb Road when a white VT Commodore with flashing red and blue lights with five men aboard pulled up. They threatened the victim and, when he refused to hand over his phone and attempted to run away, he was chased down and assaulted. The phone is valued at $500. One of the men is described as a tall Caucasian, two others are described as Aboriginal…

A MORNINGTON milk bar owner chased two men on bikes after they attempted to steal from her shop, 2.45pm, Friday 15 March. Detectives said the men wearing scarves as face coverings entered the Wandella Road shop with a hammer and a knife and attempted to raid the till. Detective Senior Sergeant Miro Majstorovic, of Somerville CIU, said the woman shopkeeper refused and hit out as she tried to defend herself. The men ran out of the shop but not before swinging the hammer and smashing a display case. The victim drove after the men but lost them. Anyone who recognises…

THE upsurge in on-line movie streaming has claimed possibly the last of the neighbourhood video-hire stores on the Mornington Peninsula. Rosebud’s Video Ezy was getting ready to close its doors over the weekend after 10 years in operation. Manager John Conti, who has been at the helm since 2010, said he had stopped hiring out movies on Thursday 21 March and was planning to shut the doors for the last time on Sunday. “I think we are the last video store standing on the peninsula, although there is a Civic Video at Frankston South,” said Mr Conti, who revealed he’d…

The federal government may get involved in safety and accessibility issues at The Pillars cliff jumping site if Labor wins the May election. The party’s candidate for Flinders, Joshua Sinclair says the 400 metre long “temporary” fence erected along the Esplanade at Mt Martha by Mornington Peninsula Shire should be replaced by a boardwalk. Mr Sinclair says that if elected he will work closely with the shire “to ensure an environmentally appropriate, safe, and accessible boardwalk is built”. He says he has told “those living off the esplanade” that he wants to see a permanent solution to this issue and…

COMMUNITY meetings will be held at Mornington, Rosebud and Hastings next month to discuss Mornington Peninsula Shire’s role in supporting older residents following announcement of the federal government’s proposed aged care reforms. The mayor Cr David Gill said Flinders MP Greg Hunt called him on Friday concerned that a news release issued by the shire was misleading. “He [Mr Hunt] said that there would ne no reduction to government funding [for aged care] and that it was already in the budget,” Cr Gill told The News. Cr Gill said three public meetings would help the shire respond to the reforms…

Nepean MP Chris Brayne has suggested Senator Fraser Anning be sent to Indonesia “where, hopefully he might learn some compassion, empathy and, just maybe, come back less ignorant”. Mr Brayne was speaking in state parliament last week after the New Zealand terrorist attacks in which 50 Muslims praying at two Christchurch mosques were shot dead and dozens wounded, Friday 15 March. Senator Anning, a former One Nation and Katter Australia Party MP, later linked the shootings to immigration and called for a ban on Muslim immigration. He was controversially “egged” by a 17-year-old student when making his comments and a…

A FIFTH candidate has now entered the race to win the seat of Flinders at the May federal election. Susie Beveridge, a former Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor, announced last week that she would stand as an independent for the seat held for the Liberals by Greg Hunt since 2001. As well as Mr Hunt, Ms Beveridge will be opposing former Liberal Julia Banks (currently MP for Chisholm) who is also standing as an independent, Labor’s Joshua Sinclair and Nathan Lesslie of the Australian Greens. Although not backing any one candidate, the left-wing lobby group GetUp! Last week announced it would…

A PUSH to rid the Mornington Peninsula of plastic straws is gaining traction. The Peninsula’s Last Straw community group promoting the use of less harmful paper straws asked cafes in Dromana to replace their plastic straws with paper ones – for free – to reduce plastic pollution. This followed the success of the Peninsula’s Last Straw project which won a Keep Victoria Beautiful Gift Fund award of $1000 last year. Afterwards the project was launched in Rye and is now included in the shire’s Best Bites food award program. Mornington Peninsula Citizen of the Year 2019 Josie Jones said the…

Mt Martha Primary School plays host to LEGO exhibits from Brickvention’s Master Builders as part of the School’s Carnivale this Saturday 10am to 3pm. Around 15 LEGO exhibits will be on free public display including the Phantom as pictured by Trevor Clark and Sue Ann Barber from MUGS (Melbourne LEGO User Group). Martin Page, Principal at Mt Martha Primary says ‘we are delighted to have teamed up with MUGS this year and be able to offer a unique and interactive LEGO experience for our school and community. Visitors can try their hand at the speed LEGO building competition and even help…

Wildlife carers say the deaths of hundreds of possums earlier this month could have been avoided if suburban gardens were made more wildlife friendly. The aftermath of successive days of high temperatures will see young orphan possums needing care for months to come. Wildlife carers and educators Janet Wheeler and Paula Rivera, from Living with Wildlife, say gardens can be easily modified to provide wildlife with food, water, shelter and “pathways to find a mate”. Their organisation Living with Wildlife will hold a free Gardening for Wildlife workshop 10am-midday this Saturday (23 March) at Karingal Place Neighbourhood Centre, 103 Ashleigh…

LIKE the fabled Mouse That Roared, Main Ridge Bowls Club is standing tall and winning pennants. Last Tuesday 12 March the club won the Division 5 pennant premiership. Playing at Karingal, the Ridge came from behind to beat old foes Mt Martha by four shots – a feat they also achieved last year. Not content with that, Main Ridge last Saturday (16 March) beat West Rosebud by 16 points at Belvedere to win the Division 3 pennant premiership. The same eight players represented the club in both premierships. One, Cesare Bonacini, is a regular bowler at Main Ridge. “He is…

MEMBERS of the Somerville Community House and several community groups and the Sage family met on Saturday 23 February to share insight into the late Annie Sage. They watched on as a copy of her portrait, originally painted by Nora Heyson, the first woman to win the Archibald Prize, was unveiled by her great nephew Alan Sage. The print was bought from the Australian War Museum in Canberra with money raised by the Somerville Family Day Committee. Annie Moriah Sage was born in 1895, schooled at Somerville and worked in the local grocer’s shop. Encouraged by her grandparents, she moved…

PENINSULA BADEN POWELL have put themselves in pole position for a grand final spot with a good day one performance against Moorooduc at Overport Park. Three batsmen made scores of over 40 runs, with Rhys Elmi passing his half century off 130 deliveries. Although slow scoring at times, Baden Powell will be happy to finish the day at 6/200 off their 80 overs. The semi final between Main Ridge and Red Hill looks set to go down to the wire, with Red Hill batsman Simon Dart holding the fate of the match in his hands. Main RIdge opened the batting,…

SOCCER THE quest for glory among local State League teams begins in earnest this weekend when the 2019 season kicks off. Frankston Pines is keen to open proceedings on Friday night under the new Monterey Reserve floodlights but its State 3 clash with Monash Uni was awaiting Football Victoria approval as we went to press. Monash was drawn as the home team in this round one fixture but a ground availability problem encouraged Pines to apply to have the fixture reversed and held as its home game. Pines has been on a roller-coaster ride throughout the off-season twice having to…

HORSE racing undeniably runs in young Campbell Rawiller’s blood. Growing up in a family steeped in racing history, the aspiring 17-year-old horseman is following the path which his father Nash (champion Australian and international jockey), uncle Brad (23-time Group One winning jockey), and mother Sarah have all trodden. And the youngster took his next major step to making his dream come true, with an induction into Racing Victoria’s Apprentice Jockey Training Program on Thursday 14 March. Campbell will join six female and three other male riders in the program which seeks to unveil the next stars of the saddle. Campbell…