Month: April 2020

THE Quarantine Station at Point Nepean played a vital role in keeping early Victorians well away from those carrying disease, with a period of intense activity to shield the colony from the Spanish Flu in 1919. Twelve timber “influenza huts” were built to quarantine overseas arrivals in what remains – even during the scourge of COVID-19 – the world’s most deadly pandemic. Topical as that scenario is today, there are no current plans to use it as an isolation station. A visit to the Quarantine Station (when it reopens) will once again offer those interested in history an opportunity to…

A FREE online service has been launched to help individuals, businesses and community organisations to easily identify and access government funding, as well as philanthropic grant programs. Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Funding Finder website includes a page dedicated to gathering the many COVID-19 funding opportunities into one place. This one-stop-shop approach aims to save time and effort on research. Users can create favourites lists, receive direct email alerts from their areas of interest and keep abreast of all funding opportunities and deadlines. The website also offers advice and tips for finding and applying for grants to maximise the chances of success.…

LIKE galleries and museums across the country, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery is closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, content from its exhibitions can be viewed online, including a free publication of A Collection of Stranger Things. In this showing artist and collector Patrick Pound drew out works from the MPRG collection and displayed them alongside his own collection of photographs and objects. In a podcast, Pound explains his collection methodology and how the collection became the medium. An online publication of With a Little Help from our Friends showcases works acquired by the Friends of MPRG since 1996.…

A MORNINGTON man said he was just trying to get to Western Australia to see his sister who was sick with coronavirus when picked up by members of Somerville Highway Patrol over Easter. The 63-year-old’s white Daewoo Lanos had some “slight safety issues” police said, pointing to the replacement door made of board held on by sticky tape, 10.30am, Monday 13 April. The man was issued with a defect notice and his vehicle grounded. The incident was part of state-wide road policing Operation Nexus which ran Thursday 9-Monday 13 April. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 21 April…

THREE men have been charged following an alleged home invasion in Moorhead Avenue, Mornington, 3am, Friday 10 April. Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Reidy, of Somerville CIU, said the residents were awoken and confronted by the offenders, one of whom was allegedly armed with a firearm. The house was ransacked before the offenders fled in a car which was later found crashed and abandoned at Merricks North. Police searching the area arrested and charged a Rosebud man, 18, and a Safety Beach man, 24, with aggravated burglary. Both were remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court at a later date.…

THE 53rd Flinders Art Show in June has been cancelled due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. This is the first time the event has missed its Queen’s Birthday showing since its inception in 1967. The event gives artists the opportunity to market their work. Last year 350 works were exhibited. “In keeping with the current regulations, and after careful consideration of COVID-19 by the committee, and the uncertainty surrounding future months, this very popular community event has been cancelled,” Flinders Art Show vice-president Barbara Higgins said. Proceeds usually go to the CFA, Flinders Cricket Club, Flinders Pre-School, Southern Peninsula Community…

LIFE in the time of COVID-19 is, for many, a time of prayer. But congregating in a church during the coronavirus pandemic is not possible because of government social distancing rules St Marks Anglican Church, Dromana has had to abandon its regular services because of the dangers of transmitting COVID-19, but the offer to the public for its members to say prayers on request has not been withdrawn. The Rev Paul Woodcock said prayer requests usually “trickle in” at a rate of three or four a month. The requests are left in a small steel letterbox – the prayer box…

HUNDREDS of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders and their families have being vaccinated against the flu and tested for COVID-19 at car park clinics in Frankston and Hastings. Those attending the clinics are met by medical staff wearing masks and, in some cases, gowns bought online from food industry suppliers. The clinics are run by First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing, whose CEO Karinda Taylor says the peninsula needs a health service controlled by the Aboriginal community “if we are ever going to make headway on closing the health gap in the area”. Thomastown-based First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing was earlier…

PEOPLE are taking a tipple more frequently as a result of COVID-19. The Alcohol and Drug Foundation is urging restraint as new national data shows 20 per cent of households report buying more alcohol than usual. The YouGov Galaxy poll for the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education shows that in these households 70 per cent said they were drinking more than usual while 34 per cent said they were now drinking every day. A third were “concerned” with how much alcohol they were drinking, or someone else in their household was drinking, and 28 per cent said they were…

POLICE have given assurances they will take no action against residents legitimately dumping rubbish at Mornington Peninsula Shire’s transfer station in Watt Road after identifying it an “essential service”. Some prospective tippers last week said they were concerned police were waiting to nab them – even though the transfer station appeared to be doing business as usual. A call to the shire’s head office received the same warning: They had heard reports that some domestic tippers had received on-the-spot fines of $1600 as it was “not one of the four legitimate reasons for being out”. The shire says transfer stations…

SOCCER FRANKSTON council looks certain to approve a $1.43 million makeover of Monterey Reserve in next financial year’s budget. This was one of the major capital works projects announced last week in a proposed annual budget posted on the council’s website and inviting community feedback. It’s no secret that Monterey Reserve tenant Frankston Pines and council had been at loggerheads for some time over long-standing plans for a major makeover with the club strongly opposed to important aspects of the project. For reasons the club could never understand the original plans had public toilets at the entrance to the new…

HORSE RACING MORNINGTON-based racehorse trainer Tony Noonan has landed a blowout result at Caulfield on Saturday 18 April as his tough filly Florent took out The VOBIS Sires Guineas on the three-day back-up. Having finished fifth over 1400m at Geelong on Wednesday 15 April, the three-year-old daughter of Fiorente stepped out once again over the mile in the Guineas at the odds of $51 before executing Noonan’s long-range plan to perfection. The tough filly had been luckless at her first two starts this prep before landing the dream run in transit on Saturday with the aid of a nice barrier…

THE Peninsula Motor Garage Frankston, was the centre of attraction last Saturday afternoon, the object of interest being a wrecked motor car which bore the appearance of having experienced a hot time on the battlefields of France. It turned out that the car had met with misfortune near the Mile Bridge. It was one of the fleet of motors supplied by the Volunteer Motor Corps, conveying invalid soldiers and nurses to Somerville. When approaching a spot near the Mile Bridge Mr McFarlane, the driver, appears to have lost control, and the car left the road and tore through the ti-tree.…

Six youths were arrested following a pursuit on the Mornington Peninsula early this morning. Police on patrol spotted a Holden Captiva displaying false number plates on the Nepean Highway, Mount Martha about 1.20am The vehicle was observed driving erratically and police continued to monitor the car until a pursuit was initiated on Peninsula Link. Police disabled the car using stop sticks and the six occupants, aged between 14 and 16-years-old, were arrested when their vehicle came to a stop on the freeway near Derril Road, Moorooduc. Two 16-year-old Narre Warren boys, a 15-year-old boy of no fixed address and a…

THE state government has told Mornington Peninsula Shire it can take an extra two months to adopt its 2020/21 budget. If the shire decides to accept the offer, the budget will now need to be adopted by 31 August instead of 30 June and the annual report by 30 November, instead of 30 September. Last week’s announcement of extended times for adopting budgets by Local Government Minister Adam Somyurek appears to have caught the shire and other municipalities by surprise. The new budget deadline came after the shire had released its draft budget for pubic comment by 23 April, with…

AN “iconic” Mornington couple who have contributed to their community over the past 50 years will celebrate their 60th anniversary on Thursday 23 April. Noel and Pauline Scott were planning a big lunch but, as dictated by COVID-19, it will be a quiet affair. “They have had to cancel,” daughter Julie Oldenburger said. “They are 81 and 83 and so are in the highest risk category.” The couple met at Albury when they were children and married at that city’s St Patrick’s Church, 23 April 1960. Mr Scott was in the Australian Army for 35 years, beginning as a 16-year-old…

IT was pre-Easter drinks in the time of the coronavirus last Thursday (9 April) for a community of apartment dwellers in Mornington. Residents of the former Sisters of Mercy Convent, in Tanti Avenue, toasted and cheered each other from their balconies. John Scott said the “coming out” was organised by Helen Begg, who has lived in the heritage listed building for the past 11 years. “She arranged for us to come out onto our balconies for a drink and a chat, at a distance, of course,” Mr Scott said. “Easter to some is church or a holiday break with family,…

ALL public Anzac Day events on the Mornington Peninsula, including services and marches, have been cancelled due to COVID-19. The decision was made in line with Returned Services League Victoria and the state government’s decision to cancel Anzac Day commemorative services and marches, Saturday 25 April. The RSL is asking that people stand in their yards, driveways, or on their balconies and observe a minute’s silence as the Last Post is played during the Anzac Day dawn service. The service will be streamed online at RSL Victoria’s Facebook page at 6am, and those taking part are encouraged to share a…

THE federal government is giving the Western Port Biosphere $300,000 over the next three years, matching the money provided by the organisation’s five member municipalities: Mornington Peninsula, Frankston, Casey, Bass and Cardinia. The Western Port Biosphere Reserve is recognised by UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program and the money will support the its aim of “balancing conservation and sustainable development within the region”. The biosphere’s new chair, Jo McCoy, said the federal government money “shows a real partnership between these levels of government”. “Few Australians can say that they live in a UNESCO biosphere reserve, but we can. The peninsula…

ALTHOUGH wildlife parks are closed, children should not forget they are surrounded by wildlife. A competition being run by Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, Pearcedale asks school-aged students to look around their backyard, home or balcony to discover and photograph wildlife. For a chance to win one of four $100 Moonlit Sanctuary gift vouchers children should go to the website and upload their best photos along with one fact about the creature in their picture. The competition runs until 5pm, Friday 24 April. Winners will be announced Monday 27 April. Details: moonlitsanctuary.com.au/backyard-wildlife-photo-competition First published in the Southern Peninsula News -…

JOHN Zacek admits that he has been a bit short tempered when dealing with staff at the office of Flinders MP Greg Hunt. But he attributes his anger to the “purely political” responses he received from Mr Hunt’s office when expressing frustration at the lack of a testing site for COVID-19 on the Mornington Peninsula. The closest “respiratory clinic” is at Frankston Hospital, a distance Mr Zacek sees as being too far away for the peninsula’s population of more than 167,000, especially the nearly 40,000 aged over 65. When asked by The News for comment on Mr Zacek’s concerns, Mr…

A DROMANA woman who has been volunteering as a family violence victim advocate for the past three years fears enforced isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to an increase in abuse. Geraldine Bilston said isolated living, less contact with people outside their homes, financial pressures and unforeseen stresses could mean “we are now bracing for an increase in domestic violence on the Mornington Peninsula”. As a survivor of domestic violence who fled with her daughter from a “man we should have been able to trust and feel safe with”, Ms Bilston said she experienced many forms of family…

THE day the music died for Erin Moore was also the day that she realised the precarious situation her family was facing. Ms Moore and her partner Nick Martin run the Soundbar in Rosebud which, like other venues, has had to close its doors in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The couple live in a residence attached to the venue. Ms Moore is waiting in “the virtual JobSeeker line” for Centrelink payments while Mr Martin, is ineligible for government help because he is a Canadian citizen on a 482 visa. The couple has been “saving every dollar…

SOCCER MICHAEL Woodward is one of the “invisible men” of local soccer. There are committee members at some clubs who have never heard of him but that’s more a reflection of how football is structured in Victoria than of the man himself. In a wide-ranging interview Football Victoria’s southern zone representative has chosen to share his personal views on the sports’ governance, clubs’ focus on their senior teams, the high cost of player fees especially at NPL junior level and what the prospects are for restarting the 2020 season. Woodward, 59, has a son and daughter that both played soccer…

A LETTER from the Frankston Gas Company relating to the electric light supply, but making no reference to the council’s decision to have the company’s charter cancelled, caused Cr Mason to ask at the meeting last week what action had been taken by the shire solicitor to give effect to the council’s resolution. The secretary said that Mr Cook had explained to him that he had been too busy to attend to the matter. Cr Mason – He has not replied to the council’s letter of six weeks ago. I move that Mr Cook be directed to carry out the…

Police have arrested four people following an aggravated burglary in Mornington yesterday morning (10 April). It is alleged three males, one armed with a firearm, forced their way into a Moorehead Avenue home about 3.10am. The residents woke and were confronted by the burglars who quickly ransacked the house before fleeing in a vehicle. The car was located in Merricks North after it crashed into the front yard of a home. An 18-year-old Rosebud man has been charged aggravated burglary and remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 14 April. A 17-year-old Rosebud teenager has been charged with aggravated…

Coronavirus cases in Victoria have today risen to 1241 – an increase of 13 from yesterday. The Mornington Peninsula’s cases increased by one to 55 after three days at 54. The peninsula’s COVID-19 cases  have risen by just just four in the last week, but all eyes have now shifted to the possible influx of tourists over the Easter break that may see all the good work undone. Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton today repeated his strong message that Victorians must continue to be vigilant in practicing physical distancing and staying at home for all but essential outings.…

Police investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a newborn baby girl now believe the baby was likely left on Seaford Beach sometime between 7am and 5pm on Monday 6 April. Investigators are continuing to search for the mother of the infant and hold serious concerns for her health and welfare. They are appealing for the woman to contact police as soon as possible and want to reiterate that her wellbeing is the primary focus of the investigation. The remains of the infant baby-girl was located by a passer-by on the beach adjacent to Nepean Highway about 4.30pm on…

Police are preparing to turn around holidaymakers over the Easter holidays. Mornington Peninsula’s cases rising much slower than state and national averages. No new cases on the peninsula for three days.  Key facts from today’s Victorian COVID-19 update: The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victoria is 1228 – an increase of 16 from yesterday. There were no new deaths overnight. The number of people who have died in Victoria from coronavirus is 12. The total number of cases includes 642 men and 585 women. Cases range in age from babies to their early nineties. There are 110…

HOLIDAYMAKERS visiting the Mornington Peninsula over Easter and planning to stay at holiday rentals, such as Airbnb properties, run the risk of being turned around and sent home. Somerville CIU Senior Sergeant Steve Wood, of the Frontline Tasking Unit, said police were already patrolling major thoroughfares, such as Peninsula Link and the Nepean Highway, looking for “obvious” visitors and pulling them over. “The rules are that people must stay at home and not undertake non-essential travel – and travel to holiday rental properties is non-essential,” he said. “This applies to rentals regardless of when they were booked.” Senior Sergeant Wood…