A NEW wave of micro-sized plastic pollutant is finding its way into Port Phillip in ever-increasing volumes, sparking growing concern among environmental watchdogs who warn urgent monitoring and research into the problem is required. Thousands of pre-production plastic pellets known colloquially as nurdles have been found throughout the waterway and on beaches as far south as Mornington, Dromana and Sorrento. The tiny pellets – usually between 3-5 millimetres in diameter – are petrochemical products that are poured into moulds and melted down at factories across the planet to form virtually everything made from plastic. But increasing numbers of the pellets…
Year: 2014
By Isabel Cassidy HOMICIDE detectives who investigated the murder of 14-year-old Shirley May Collins (pictured), whose battered body was found in September 1953 at Mt Martha, described the murder as “one of the most vicious and sadistic in the history of Victoria”. The investigation was said to be one of the biggest and most intensive manhunts in the history of Australian crime. Shirley Collins was described as a young, shy, smiling and innocent girl. Her father had died and her mother remarried and moved to Queensland. She was one of four foster children living with her foster parents, Mr and…
WHILE Mornington’s hotels, cafes and restaurants are often overflowing with patrons, the town has a hidden army of hungry people. Virtually unseen are the hundreds of people being fed through vouchers, the SecondBite program, and breakfasts and lunches for schoolchildren. Free dinners are now being served on Mondays and Fridays at Bellamy Hall, behind St Peter’s Church in Queen St. Holidaymakers enjoying Mornington’s many attractions would be unaware that Mornington Community Information and Resource Centre handed out 60 per cent more food vouchers in the past two weeks than over Christmas, its traditional busiest time. “Many families have exhausted their…
SEEING satirist, comedian and actor John Clarke standing in the mangroves of Western Port at Hastings, you naturally enough expect a sardonic comment. Perhaps something about the odour of the mud at low tide. Eau de saltmarsh, anyone? A crack about the seagrass? This would look good in the fish pond. But, no, Clarke is on a mission; something completely different, as the Pythons once said. He is a founding board member of Western Port Seagrass Partnership, an independent trust formed in 2001 to lobby for the protection and restoration of Western Port and its catchment. Why does a 65-year-old…
THE threat of legal action by Frankston MP Geoff Shaw over an article written by former mayor Christine Richards is a Mexican standoff. The article headed “There’s more to Frankston than beer and bogans” was published in The Age on 7 January and led to Mr Shaw’s solicitor Quinn McCormack seeking a formal apology from Ms Richards (“MP’s defamation threat”, The Times 16/1/14). Ms McCormack claimed the article, which was co-signed by four other former Frankston mayors, “made a number of defamatory imputations” including that Mr Shaw “had acted violently, had engaged in bullying, had misappropriated public funds and was…
NO fires can be lit in the open across the Mornington Peninsula or in Frankston as from Monday. The CFA last week declared the Fire Danger Period (FDP) for both municipalities and warned residents to be “fire ready”. French Island has also been included in the fire ban. During the danger period, fires cannot be lit in the open air without a written permit from the CFA or the municipal fire prevention officer at Mornington Peninsula or Frankston councils. Anyone lighting a fire in the open without a permit faces fines of $17,000 and/or 12 months in jail. Barbecues and…
BALNARRING’S catamaran world champion Robbie Lovig has rivals for best yachtie in the Western Port region – two teenagers he has been coaching for about 14 months. Michelle Bursa and Chelsea Haynes, both 17, secured a place in the Australian team for the ISAF Youth World Championships in Portugal in July when they won their Hobie 16 class two weeks ago off Blairgowrie and Sorrento on Port Phillip. Mr Lovig, 29, who with his French crewman Andy Dinsdale won the Hobie Tiger Worlds in Germany last winter, said they were the first-ever female team to represent Australia in the class.…
HASTINGS MP Neale Burgess has ridiculed speculation the Port of Hastings could be privatised, labelling any plans that pre-empt the outcome of a $110 million state government planning study as “a nasty joke”. While refusing to rule out potential future privatisation, Mr Burgess said it was ridiculous to speculate on possible financing models when feasibility studies into the viability of the project were yet to be completed. A report in the 18 January edition of The Age newspaper suggested the state government was “actively considering” privatising the ports of Melbourne and Hastings to raise up to $8 billion. The state…
HE may have had little to do with art and even less with the Mornington Peninsula, but King Solomon is the name four artists have chosen for a new gallery in Sorrento. The quartet’s first exhibition in the heritage-listed Masonic Centre in Point Nepean Rd opened on Australia Day weekend and ends on Sunday. Foundation member John Bredl said the gallery space in the centre would in future feature “select artists from the peninsula and beyond”. The four artists involved initially are Bredl, Beverly Whiteside, Jennifer Feller and Hans Van Vlodrop. Mr Bredl said he and Mr Van Vlodrop were…
HOW easy is it on a hot day to go for a swim or lie on a surfboard? Not very, if you happen to have a physical disability. On Saturday 18 January, close to 300 people at Pt Leo Beach were given an insight into each other’s lives when Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula held its first event for 2014. More than 230 volunteers made it possible for 41 disabled surfers to know the feeling of being on a board pushed along by the natural energy of a wave. The simple joy of being hit by a wave can be…
LEADING Senior Constable Mick Mears is no stranger to receiving accolades and awards for his decades of work as a youth resource officer with Victoria Police. But this still didn’t prepare him for the “shock” of being named Mornington Peninsula Shire’s 2014 Citizen of the Year on Australia Day at Rosebud. The 67-year-old veteran police officer is now into his 44th year with the force and has been based at Mornington since 1980 where he has dedicated himself to working with peninsula schools and young people. Affectionately known as Constable Mick, the former army reserve drummer has earned much praise…