Month: November 2019

THE brutal – but as yet unsolved – murder of a girl at Mt Martha 66 years ago drew a team of Swinburne Online forensics-criminology students to the peninsula last week in a search of clues as to her killer. The purpose of their investigation – chosen at random from other cold cases – was to move closer to identifying the man responsible and uncovering more leads to prompt the police to reconsider the case. Shirley May Collins was a 14-year-old Reservoir girl driven to Mt Martha on the night of 12 September 1953 and bludgeoned to death in the…

THE all-too frequent vandalising of bus shelters along the 788 bus route from Frankston to Portsea has so irked Lindy Clarke that she called The News to complain. “They are always getting smashed,” she said. “I saw one vandalised near Tanti Park, also at Blairgowrie and four on Pt Nepean Road from Tootgarook to Rosebud. They were 500 metres apart. “In one case a steel bollard had been thrown through the bus shelter window. I even got glass splinters in my sandals. “In one damaged shelter there was an older lady with kids trying to find shelter from the wind.”…

A WELCOME about-face by the state government has thrown a lifeline to the Mt Martha North beach renourishment project. Beachgoers and members of the Mount Martha North Beach Group were jubilant last week when the government moved towards accepting Commonwealth funds to replenish sand eroded by winter storms and, possibly, erect a rock groyne to help hold the sand in place. This comes after a crowded August meeting at Mt Martha Life Saving Club at which the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) confirmed it had accepted a recommendation to take no action to “save” the beach and…

A MAN, pictured, alleged to have stolen four, six and 10 packs of spirits valued at $260 from peninsula liquor outlets “on multiple occasions” has a taste for bourbon and rum. The raids occurred on 31 August, 8 September, and 3 and 25 October. Police said on some occasions the man has stolen liquor twice in the one day after changing his clothes. Anyone with information on the thefts or the identity of the man is urged to contact Senior Constable Leanne Marshall at Rosebud Police Station 5986 0444 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report…

SOUTHERN Metro Division 4 had a “fairly quiet” Melbourne Cup weekend, according to Somerville Highway Patrol Sergeant David Collins. “There was no road trauma over the five-day period, which is a very good primary outcome,” he said. “Of the 4483 drivers breath-tested – up from 2400 last year – only 21 were processed for drink or drug-driving offences, down from 30 last year.” The tests were conducted as part of Operation Furlong, which took in Melbourne Cup activities as well as the Peninsula Cup day at Mornington Racecourse, Sunday 3 November. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 12…

A DROMANA man has been charged with 11 offences, including burglary and theft, after allegedly stealing nine cars at Doncaster, Thursday 24 October. Manningham detectives arrested the man at Rhode Island, Patterson Lakes, Thursday 31 October. They allegedly recovered four of the stolen Subarus but five vehicles are still missing. The 41-year-old appeared at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court, Friday 1 November, and was further remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in January. Meanwhile, a 43-year-old Dandenong man has been charged with theft and bailed to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 11 December after being found in one of the…

A SOMERS Primary School student has been a busy bee gathering more than 100 signatures on his petition to save the bees. Rupert, 6, made a formal presentation at Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s Tuesday 8 October meeting pleading for the council to guard against the poisoning of local bees. He was backed up by 120 signatures from peninsula school children and residents confirming they support his stand. Concerns about the safety of bees have been raised over fears Department of Health officers will begin widespread “fogging” of the peninsula’s bushland areas in the fight against the Buruli virus. It is…

RYE Primary School’s production of Be the Change was reportedly a huge success for all involved. Inspired by a quote from Ghandi: ‘Be the Change you want to see in the world’, the play evolved from a range of ideas contributed by students, parents and teachers. The bi-annual event featured students from Prep-Grade 6 who showcased their talents in the visual and performing arts. It featured lead actors, Drumbeat students, senior and 3/4 choirs, a rockin’ school band and dancers. Every year level had its own scene and theme to portray. The play centred around five kids who climb a…

A MULTICULTURAL event at the Rosebud Shire offices, Wednesday 30 October, celebrated the successes of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s migrant population. About 50 guests and family members, from 13 countries, acknowledged and highlighted the contribution migrants have made to the social, cultural and economic development of the peninsula. The mayor Cr David Gill said immigrants had expanded our culture and introduced new ideas and traditions into their adopted country. “The resourcefulness, hard work and determination of people who came from so many other countries helped make the Mornington Peninsula an exceptional place to live,” he said. “We are a more connected…

RED Hill Fire Brigade was a big winner at the Bendigo Bank’s grants and sponsorship evening, Tuesday 29 October. It received the largest donation: $25,000, which will allow it to provide room for a new type of tanker. On the night about 60 community groups received more than $250,000 between them from the Rye, Rosebud and Dromana Community bank branches. This second of the twice yearly grants and sponsorship evenings follows the first in May when $227,000 was shared among 50 groups. Grants and sponsorships were delivered to a diverse range of community groups, including sports, arts, environment and health…

ADVOCACY, community connection and financial prudency were cited as features of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s 2018-19 annual report released last week. The mayor Cr David Gill said a major council initiative over the past year had been the creation of an innovation and advocacy unit to help it “advocate effectively on behalf of the community”. He said this had enabled the shire and community to work successfully with Flinders MP Greg Hunt to help secure about $170 million in election-related funding, budget commitments and election promises. “Other major advocacy initiatives include the Better Buses campaign, jet ski reform, more jobs…

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate Mornington man Tim McKinnon. The 36-year-old is wanted on warrants in relation to handling stolen goods, drug and traffic offences. He is described as 170cm tall, short brown hair, usually has a beard and moustache and has two piercings in his left ear. Investigators have released an image of McKinnon in the hope that someone may have information on his current whereabouts. Anyone who sights McKinnon or has information about his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

MORNINGTON Cricket Club players are thrilled with their new nets and multi-use facility at Alexandra Park. This comes after the club was awarded $193,825 in the state government’s Pick My Project grants. It became one of 237 projects from across the state to share in more than $30 million. “Having started the whole process over 12 months ago, and with building starting back in July, we are now fortunate to have a new cricket net/multi use facility for the whole community to enjoy,” Mornington Cricket Club president Lee “Alfie”Garnet said. The club welcomes all players and members of the public…

YMCA Camp Buxton: Cyril Young Memorial Chapel Association Annual General Meeting – Shoreham Hall, 2.00pm, Saturday November 16. The Cyril Young Memorial Chapel is the open-air chapel located at the site of the former YMCA Camp Buxton in Buxton Woodland Reserve, Shoreham. Historically, for many city boys attending the camp, the camp service at the chapel was their first experience of the sacredness of the natural environment, the chapel being set in a grove of swamp gums adjacent a wetland alive with fauna, mammals, birds and insect life. Archival records from the late 1940s demonstrate how the YMCA’s Shoreham Camp…

CHILDREN on the Mornington Peninsula are invited to help find our missing frogs during FrogID Week, 8-17 November. The citizen-science project being run by the Australian Museum aims to collect audio of frog calls to monitor their populations and help save threatened frog species. So far, FrogID has identified more than 116,000 frog calls and identified 187 of the known 240 Australian frog species. Last year, more than nearly 7000 frogs from 95 species were recorded. The second annual FrogID Week aims to build on the critical data gathered from last year and find frog species missing from the museum’s…

MARK your diaries and make space on Sunday 8 December for a special new event coming to Mandalaye Park on French Island. Picnic in the Park promises to be a magnificent day of food, wine, gardens and music, so prepare your picnic blanket for an afternoon of alfresco dining in the grounds of this beautiful country property. The picnic will be set in and around Mandalaye Park Homestead & Gardens from 10am – 4.30pm. Western Port Ferries will be transporting guests to and from Stony Point on the Mornington Peninsula and Cowes, Phillip Island to experience a taste of life…

A DIGNITY Vending Machine at Hastings Community Hub will offer “dignity” to women in need. The machines, known as Pinkboxes, dispense period packs allowing girls and women access to free sanitary products to manage their period. Organiser Share the Dignity formed a partnership in March with Woolworths to help women who experience what’s described a “period poverty” each month – meaning they are unable to afford necessary sanitary products. Since then, Woolworths has donated five cents from every pack sold, including pads, tampons, liners or period briefs, across its stores nationally. Funds donated will buy 30 new Pinkbox Dignity Vending…

WESTERN Port Secondary College won a prestigious award at the Victorian Education Excellence Awards at the Plaza Ballroom, Friday 25 October. It comes after the school’s leadership team implemented ambitious education improvements over the past few years driven by a vision of delivering learning growth for every student. Principal Chris Quinn said the college had embarked on a targeted program of whole-school professional learning, beginning with the development of an instructional framework grounded in the Department’s Pedagogical Model. The performance and development process was also revised, with teachers working collaboratively to collect and analyse a variety of student learning data…

WESTERN Port Men’s Shed can’t take a trick. The club is reeling for the second time in months after another callous robbery at their clubhouse in Frankston-Flinders Road. This time burglars stole the $6000 in tools generously donated to replace the last lot stolen. Shed president Colin Proud said this latest robbery, overnight Sunday 27 October, came at an especially bad time as members had several community projects in the pipeline. “It’s a real kick in the guts,” he said. “I got a hell of a shock when I got here yesterday and saw they’d knocked off another load of…

KINGS Creek Hotel Hastings is fighting back against graffiti vandals by offering a $1000 cash reward to find the perpetrators. The hotel’s marketing manager Jet Nye said: “We have recently had a massive surge in graffiti here and are reaching out to the Hastings community to help us identify the vandal who has tagged our property.” Mr Nye said seven or eight graffiti incidents had been carried out possibly by more than one vandal. CCTV had failed to establish their identities. “We are waiting on the police now to identify whether a tip off for the culprit is accurate,” he…

HORSE RACING THE Japanese-bred thoroughbreds continued their dominance of this year’s Spring Racing Carnival with a narrow victory in the 2019 Peninsula Cup at Mornington on Sunday 3 November. Formerly trained in Japan and now under the care of Mornington-based trainer, Anthony Freedman, Danon Roman relished a hot speed to land the days $60,000 feature race and score his first win in Australia in a tight photo finish. The Kevin Corstens-trained Surreal Image went straight to his customary role of leading at a good gallop for young Mornington-based apprentice jockey, Campbell Rawiller, before the swoopers took over the running turning…

SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines is on the verge of the biggest off-field restructure in the club’s history as it closes in on a partnership agreement with the Victorian Multicultural Sports Association. The VMSA is a Fijian community group and hopes to base itself at Monterey Reserve and hold tournaments and functions there on a regular basis. Last week members of the VMSA executive met with Nick Hatzoglou, Football Victoria’s Head of Community Projects and the state federation has given the green light for the partnership to go ahead. “The CEO of Football Victoria (Peter Filopoulos) is aware of our plans and…

THE original intention of the authorities was to include the line to Frankston among the first railways to be electrified. That was before the commencement of the war. During the last five years the scheme naturally hung fire, and no one wondered very much, believing that with the cessation of hostilities the long-delayed work would be proceeded with on the plans already formulated. It will come as a rude surprise to many to learn that it is now suggested to hang up the electrification of the Frankston line in favour of what is described as the outer suburban system. The…

SATURDAY is Family Day where there’s something on offer for everyone, young and old at the Rosebud Foreshore Rockfest. Cars, bands, shows, competitions, food trucks, stalls and more is on offer throughout the day and night at the festival, held from 14-17 November. Thousands of visitors are expected to join in the great variety of events and activities, all thoughtfully created to appeal to all visitors, car enthusiasts and Rock ‘n Rollers alike. From 9.30am to 3pm Rosebud’s main strip rocks on with free Main Street family entertainment including internationally acclaimed Elvis Tribute Performer Mike Cole who will be All…

TWO different Mornington Peninsula gardens will open their gates to the public for one weekend next month. L’Oceane at Rye contrasts with Moats Corner, garden inland from Dromana that has evolved over the past 70 years. Open Gardens Victoria chair Liz Fazio describes Moat’s Corner as “a real treat … a six-acre country styled garden with a modern twist”. “The original garden features winding paths leading to an ornamental lake and various garden rooms, including more than 400 roses,” Ms Fazio said. “The newly built award-winning residence floats above a contemporary succulent and cacti garden created by Colin Hyett.” Named…

AN essay by Hastings author and polio survivor Fran Henke will be included in a new anthology Growing up Disabled in Australia. Due to be published in June next year by Black Inc, this will be the fifth title in the Growing Up series. “We are still struggling to have polio and its late effects recognised by health professionals, even family members”, Henke said. The acceptance of her essay was timely as October has been declared World Polio Month with Victorian survivors gathering at Warrnambool last week to celebrate Polio Day. The day is traditionally held near the birthdate of…

THE Legislative Assembly’s Environment and Planning Committee will meet at Mornington this week to look into community initiatives to tackle climate change. The public hearing at the Council Chambers, 2 Queen Street, 12.30-3.30pm, Thursday 7 November, is one of a series being held in regional Victoria during November. The committee will hear from the Port Phillip Eco Centre, Bayside Climate Action Group, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and South East Councils Climate Change Alliance. “We’re interested in finding out what’s happening at the local level to tackle climate change and what the Victorian Government can do to support communities take action,”…

RED Hill resident Paul Whitaker remembers as a small boy being taken to the original Rosebud cinema – the first cinema on the Mornington Peninsula. It had been acquired by his father Frank in 1928 with the proceeds of the first screening being donated to the widows of local fishermen who died in a storm at that time. The Broadway Theatre was an enthralling place for an imaginative youngster, steeped in the glamour of the Hollywood film industry, with colourful posters outside advertising that night’s screenings. Mr Whitaker was speaking in the lead-up to the auction of the old Broadway…

WHEN’S a dog not just a dog? When it’s a story dog helping children learn to read, of course. Story Dogs is a nationwide charity in which volunteers take their dogs into schools to listen to children read and help improve their literacy. Victorian sponsorship development officer Kim Croft said when children read to a dog the outcomes are amazing. “When they are in a non-judgmental setting, the children’s focus improves, their literacy skills increase and their confidence soars,” she said. “The accepting, loving nature of dogs gives this program its magic and helps children relax, open up, try harder…

THE Peninsula Studio Trail Exhibition attracted a good crowd of art lovers to Southern Buoy Studios last month. Organiser John Trebilco said: “The sales were good, with many small-to-medium-sized works sold, so we were pretty happy. “We now have the Open Studio Weekends coming up on 16-17 and 23-24 November when the 20 artists in the group will have their personal studios and display areas open to the public. Peninsula Studio Trail has been running this annual event for 11 years. Members of the public are invited to visit the various studios over the two weekends to speak to the…