MAIN Ridge Bowls and Pétanque Club aims to turn up the heat up on fighting fires – high-tech heat. Members of the club, in a rural setting behind Arthurs Seat and near Red Hill, are now more than ever aware of the ravages of bushfire. So, with the help from football, cricket, tennis and Lions and Rotary clubs, they are holding a gala day to raise money for Main Ridge CFA to buy a thermal imaging camera. The 10am-4pm, Sunday 19 January event is at the club at 455 Main Creek Road, Main Ridge. It will include pétanque and barefoot…
Month: January 2020
THE offer of a prime role in the Young Australian Broadway Chorus production of Cats is a dream come true for Nathan Derix-Brown, of Somers. The former Padua College student, 18, plays the naughty Macavity in the National Theatre Melbourne production running for 10 shows, 17-25 January. The new interpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical is set in a crumbling English Music Hall during the Great Depression. It honours the era when T S Eliot wrote the original poems for his children in the 1930s. Derix-Brown, who has trained with the Peninsula Ballet Ensemble, Somerville, under Sharyn Peters, for four…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s Australia Day celebrations will include live music, entertainment, children’s activities, fireworks and lots of delicious food. Events will be held at Mornington Park, Dromana, Hastings and Rye foreshores, Mount Eliza and Rosebud villages greens, Sorrento Bowls Club and Sorrento-Portsea RSL, each with its own flavour and attractions. The shire-run event at Mornington Park will feature Kate Ceberano live on stage, while the kids will enjoy Nickelodeon’s PAW Patrol, featuring appearances by Marshall, Chase, Skye and Rubble. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said Australia Day was a time to reflect on what it meant to be Australian and…
SEVEN high achievers have been chosen as Australia Day ambassadors for the Mornington Peninsula. The honour reflects their “significant contributions to the community” in areas as diverse as computer programming, community volunteering, army veterans and media and entertainment. The ambassadors are volunteer health awareness campaigner Roy Francis, of Mornington; mathematics and computer science pioneer Alison Harcourt AO; entertainment industry veteran Lisa Edwards; food company managing director Joseph Cannatelli; interpreter and community volunteer Sabihe McDonald; former RSL state president Major General David McLachlan AO; and television presenter George Donikian. They will join official proceedings and celebrations across the peninsula giving members…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire staff and relief agencies have continued their support for Mallacoota bushfire evacuees. They were again on hand mid-last week when HMAS Choules arrived with another 274 people and 40 pets from Mallacoota. The previous weekend they had welcomed 1060 arrivals aboard both MV Sycamore and HMAS Choules in the initial large-scale first evacuation, Saturday 4 January. The ship docked at HMAS Cerberus at 6.30pm, Wednesday 8 January, where it was met by shire staff and other agencies at the Emergency Relief Centre. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said: “We worked in collaboration with state and emergency services…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire officers are “reviewing decisions” made over the past seven years involving three companies at the centre of investigations by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). However, the review involving hundreds of files will be extended back decades, if necessary, according to the mayor Cr Sam Hearn. “We want to look at everything, not just back to an arbitrary date,” he said. “Three decades is quite a lot to look into and we want enough external involvement so it doesn’t just appear to be council looking at itself.” Cr Hearn said council “intends to make [the review findings]…
MORNINGTON Peninsula councillor and Frankston policewoman Julia Morris and her swimming partner Daniel Burton have so far raised $5055 of a $10,000 goal to assist in treating police PTSD and mental health disorders. The pair swam the 10 kilometres from Mornington to Frankston, Wednesday 8 January – three-times the length of their longest swim to date. Sergeant Burton and Senior Constable Morris are both keen triathletes, and have been swimming together for three years, sharing a passion for the Frankston and Mornington coastline. Their swim was inspired by Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton’s Head to Head walk. Anybody wanting to donate…
JET skiers are under fire for flouting water safety rules off The Pillars, Mt Martha and putting themselves and swimmers at risk. Safety Beach Coast Guard Commander Mark Brookes said many of the 70-80 jet skiers off the popular swimming spot on Thursday 9 January were behaving like hoons by speeding close to shore and driving erratically. After asking Coast Guard crews to “take a run up and slow them down a bit” he said the jet skiers had sped off before his officers could approach them. The Coast Guard also received calls from Rye beachgoers saying jet skiers…
ORQUESTA Bombon and Ventana Fiesta present Postcards of Tango, a musical and cultural voyage at the Frankston Arts Centre. Be transported back in time to the ports of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, where thousands of migrants arrived accompanied by their own unique rhythms and sounds. Through this musical, dance and visual arts journey from 1840 to 2020, you will witness how costumes and customs converged and harmonised to create the modern tango. A cast of 12 musicians, six dancers and two visual artists will powerfully bring the story of tango from South America to life for the first time in…
MANY of the leading business people of Melbourne attended the funeral on Tuesday of Mr. Philip Roff Nunn, who was fatally injured in the aeroplane accident at Mornington on Friday. Canon H. T. Langley of St. Mary’s Church of England, Caulfield, conducted the burial service. The funeral left the residence of Mr. P. W. Nunn, Elizabeth Street, Elsternwick, shortly after 11am, for the Melbourne General Cemetery. Several mourning coaches and a large number of motor cars followed the hearse, which was covered with beautiful wreaths. Flowers also covered the silver mounted coffin, and immediately in rear of the mourning coaches…
SOCCER LUCAS Portelli signed with NPL heavyweight Oakleigh Cannons last weekend while Fraser Maclaren could return to former club Beaumaris. Ex-Melbourne City teenager Portelli agreed terms in October for a second season with Langy but attracted the interest of Cannons and played against Melbourne Victory in a practice match on Saturday. Oakleigh won 4-0 and Portelli had a 30-minute hitout. “He’s come under my radar quite a while ago and I wanted to know what the boy was like so we had a meeting with him and his dad and invited him down to a training session,” Cannons boss Chris…
PENINSULA PINES have fallen to a first day defeat in their two day clash against Somerville. Pines were sent in to bat first and struggled from the outset. None of their top order batsmen managed to reach double digit figures, and they were rolled for a disappointing total of 94. Star bowler Jayde Herrick was in fine from once again for Somerville, posting figures of 5/28 in their first innings. Somerville made quick work of their target, and finished the day at 3/103 from 35 overs. At Ballam Park, Red Hill are on the verge of securing victory in their…
THE support, comfort and offers of accommodation to more than 1000 Mallacoota bushfire evacuees over the weekend came together through the efforts of more than 200 staff and volunteers from Mornington Peninsula Shire, state government emergency agencies and community organisations. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said shire staff had joined members of the Red Cross, CFA, VCC chaplains, St John Ambulance, police and RSPCA to assist the 60 arrivals aboard MV Sycamore when it docked at Hastings followed by about 1000 more – many with pets – who arrived later aboard HMAS Choules. “Today’s efforts ensured this evacuation ran smoothly…
An emergency recovery centre is being set up at Somerville Recreation Centre to help tourists being evacuated by sea from bushfire besieged Mallacoota, in East Gippsland. While thousands of holidaymakers are cutting short their stays in the region, the navy is bringing evacuees to the Port of Hastings tomorrow (Saturday) aboard the MV Sycamore, capable of carrying 60 people, and HMAS Choules (903 people). The Somerville centre is being established by the Shire of Mornington Peninsula to provide food and water; medical, psychosocial and pharmacy support; help with access to insurance providers and the Department of Health and Human Services;…