MT ELIZA Soccer Club is keen to ride on a wave of popularity in girls’ soccer. The club’s Stephen Bonfield said it was looking to expand the girls’ game and develop a girls’ soccer academy. “We currently have 40 girls playing over three teams: Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12 competing in leagues in and around the peninsula,” he said. “This summer we will be running a girls-only soccer clinic run by ex-professional player and coach Stuart Munro.” New change rooms and toilets for boys and girls are being built with help from Mornington Peninsula Shire. “The council have…
Day: September 16, 2019
By Patricia MacLeod ENVIRONMENTAL group BERG MM is urging residents to look out for blue-tongue lizards taking advantage of the warming weather. The indigenous reptiles are being drawn out of their dormant phase to soak up the sunshine – making them vulnerable to being inadvertently killed. BERG MM member Hansi Wegner said the cold-blooded animals must sunbathe each morning to produce enough energy to live but that “this can be to their detriment if they choose to do it on the road”. Mr Wegner said motorists seeing a lizard on the road should “avoid them, but only if safe to…
CYCLISTS should have a think about what they wear on their next ride. Brighter colours, such as yellow or white, will make them stand out and allow motorists to see them more easily. That’s the word from traffic police who say many cyclists passing their checkpoint at the bottom of Oliver’s Hill near the car park exit on Saturday morning (where there have been many car-versus-cyclist collisions), had not factored in that being easily seen makes them safer. Their tops were a mixture of fluoro yellow, red, blue, white and black, with leggings predominantly black. “Most of the car/cyclist collisions…
A CRIB Point teenager has been arrested and charged over a series of raids on chemist shops at Somerville, Hastings and Balnarring, overnight Friday 6 September. Detective Senior Constable Rohan Brock, of Somerville CIU, said the 19-year-old was tackled by a “Good Samaritan” as he left one of the shops early Saturday morning. During what was termed an “altercation” his keys were thrown into a bush and he was intercepted by police before he could find them and drive off. The man has been charged with four counts of burglary and remanded in custody. As he was on bail for…
IT took only a minute for two offenders to force their way into the Australia Post shop at Mornington and force open self-serve machines before fleeing with a “large amount of cash”, early Wednesday 11 September. CCTV images show the men parking a dark coloured late model Land Cruiser or similar outside the shop in Main Street at 3am before breaking open the glass front door. The robbery is similar to a raid on self-service registers at the Woolworths supermarket, also in Main Street, 1.50am, Wednesday 4 September. In that raid three offenders stole two whole self-serve machines containing large…
VOLUNTEER fishers working as citizen scientists to tag, release and report the capture of King George whiting in Port Phillip and Western Port bays is helping improve our knowledge of their behaviour. The fishers, working on a three-year Monash University research project funded by recreational fishing licence fees, are helping track the fish’s movement patterns. “We know whiting enter our bays when they’re only a few months old and leave again at about four years of age to mature and begin spawning offshore,” Victorian Fisheries Authority CEO Travis Dowling said. “What we don’t know is how juveniles move within and…
FORMER Dunkley MP Chris Crewther has come up short in his bid to be elected to the senate. Mr Crewther was eliminated in the first round of voting. Sarah Henderson was instead chosen by Liberal colleagues to fill the vacancy left by Mitch Fifield. He told followers on social media “unfortunately I didn’t get across the line, but it was an honour to stand and I thank all the delegates and members of the Liberal Party who I was able to meet, speak with and who supported me over this journey from across Victoria.” “Particular acknowledgement goes to my wife…
THE 2019 Roy Ward Leadership Prizes for secondary students were presented at the Order of Australia Association, Mornington Peninsula Regional Groups annual luncheon held at the Safety Beach Yacht Club and Community Centre on Friday 23August. The Roy Ward Leadership Prizes have been recognised by secondary schools and students in our region, since its inception in 2000, as prestigious, with the process providing “real life” post-secondary education experiences. Twenty-one secondary schools within the zone were invited to forward submissions. Fifteen nominations were received, and these were evaluated by a selection panel of the Group’s members. Six submissions were short listed…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has praised residents for their “vigilance” in detecting and reporting illegal foreshore works on the beachside of a Portsea property owned by trucking magnate Lindsay Fox. The mayor Cr David Gill said the residents “assisted in bringing this matter to our attention [and] demonstrated our community’s desire to protect the peninsula’s unique environment”. This led to a company associated with Mr Fox being fined $10,000 in Dromana Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay the council $10,000 in costs over illegal works on a 4600 square metre parcel at Point King beach. (“Fox fined over beach land”…
MORNINGTON Peninsula farmers and animal producers may soon be protected from animal activists trespassing on their properties and shutting down their livelihood. The issue was highlighted earlier this year when animal activists occupied a Tyabb chicken farm. The Crimes Amendment (Trespass) Bill 2019, introduced into the state Legislative Council by Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party MP Jeff Bourman last week aims to “enhance protections offered to industries pertaining to animal enterprise and animal recreational activities” once it is passed. After several incidents involving animal activists entering businesses and farms, the issue was referred to a house committee to inquire into…
THE war on waste, the future health of our natural resources, bushfire preparedness and endangered species were topics of discussion at the Kids Teaching Kids environmental conference at Point Nepean National Park last week. The Point Nepean event, now in its eighth year, is one of the highlights of the conference which involved 370 students from 14 Mornington Peninsula schools, Thursday 12 September. Director and founder Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne Arron Wood said: “Our Point Nepean organisers do an amazing job putting on a program that schools look forward to every year. “The students have been working hard on…
SOUNDS of chanting and drumming coming from Rosebud shopping centre last week were orchestrated by one of the many pro-environment groups making up Extinction Rebellion Victoria. Organiser Kate Wilkins said the local response to the Thursday afternoon disruption was interesting: “We were mostly cheered, congratulated and thanked by onlookers – surprisingly by a lot of the elderly shoppers,” she said. The retailers’ response was mixed: “Woolworths ran us out quick smart, while Aldi was hospitable and quite unconcerned.” Ms Wilkins agreed it “probably seems like there are so many environment stories and so much climate-related news” these days. “This will…
A SAFETY Beach girl who embodies the values of the Mornington Peninsula’s healthy outdoor lifestyle is the new face of our international tourism efforts. Miss Tourism Australia winner Charli Wookey, 19, is getting ready to head to Malaysia to compete in this year’s International Miss Tourism Final in November. Charli, who attended Rosebud Secondary College, will compete against entrants from 40 countries in the lead up to the coronation ceremony at Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa, Kuala Lumpur. Her role as Miss Tourism Australia promotes Australia as a tourist destination which should suit Charli’s lifestyle: the outdoors girl is a…
MEMBERS of the community are invited to share their thoughts on Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s draft Smoke Free Environment Policy. Community consultation on the draft Policy is open until Monday 7 October. The initiative stems from the council’s public health and wellbeing plan and the Frankston Mornington Peninsula smoke free charter. The charter encourages the shire, other public land owners, businesses and community groups to provide smoke free public areas and implement programs to reduce smoking rates in the community. Many local businesses have joined the charter by providing smoke-free areas, such as at Bentons Square and Mornington Central shopping…
NEITHER the EPA nor Melbourne Water has been able to trace the source of a diesel leak in foreshore drains at Safety Beach and Dromana. Despite a four-month investigation in which booms were laid at the mouth of a large drain at Safety Beach and odours traced as far upstream as Rainier Avenue, Dromana, the contamination continues. Residents say diesel fumes and sheen is evident in water from a drain near the intersection of Marine Parade and Point Nepean Road, opposite a service station. A kilometre south at Dromana diesel odours are still noticeable in a smaller drain opposite another…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is bracing for a “substantial administrative and enforcement obligation” when tough state government pool and spa regulations come into force early next year. The shire estimates it has about 10 per cent of the state’s private swimming pools and spas – the most of any local government area. About 17,000 are “known” to exist although the actual number could be as high as 25,000 – or one-in-four properties. The dates they were built are uncertain for all but 18 per cent – or 3040 – of the known 17,000. Officers estimate that up to 80 per…
Cr Oates said he noticed in the “Standard” that his action to prevent the Football Association charging 1s instead of 6d and 1d tax to football matches had been resented in some quarters. The Association, without notice, had increased the charge, and quite a lot of people resented their action, and although he had taken steps to have it blocked in the match between Frankston and Somerville, he had not been successful. He considered 6d a sufficient charge, and he moved the Association be informed that the maximum charge allowed would be 6d and 1d tax in forthcoming matches held…
DIVISION ONE DROMANA have made history by winning the MPNFL Division One and Division Two premierships in consecutive years. The Tigers travelled to Frankston Park on Sunday to take on powerhouse club Sorrento in a much anticipated Grand Final showdown. Dromana came into the clash looking to go back to back after their second division triumph last year, and Sorrento were looking for retribution after falling just short in last year’s big dance. Both sides had to battle through tough conditions throughout the afternoon. Dromana came out narrow leaders after a tense first quarter, and took a one point lead…
SOCCER SOUTHERN United’s remarkable youngsters stunned odds-on favourite and league champion South Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday to claim a place in this weekend’s under-16 NPLW Grand Final. Southern finished the league season 27 points behind South Melbourne who had a superior goal difference of 57. But this Southern group has been one of the NPLW’s success stories having won the title and the Grand Final in 2017 at under-13 level and doubling up on championship success last year but losing 2-1 to Calder United in the under-14 showpiece event. On Saturday South Melbourne went ahead in the 55th…
HORSE RACING BALNARRING-based trainer Kerry Edwards landed her first Stakes race with stable star, Rox The Castle, at Flemington on Saturday 14 September. Despite drawing an outside barrier, the former New Zealand galloper was too tough in the Listed $140,000 The Sofitel (1400m) stakes after sitting outside the lead and holding on for a narrow victory. The gutsy win topped off a Mornington-trained trifecta with the Rachel Frost-trained Travimyfriend finishing half-of-a-length away in second and the Grahame Begg-trained Romancer finishing a further length behind in third. Trainer Kerry Edwards was understandably ecstatic following the gallant victory. “He is unbelievable,” she…