ACTORS Ella Cannon and Brooke Satchwell say they are thrilled with their roles in the mock-reality show Footballer Wants a Wife. Described as a parody of The Bachelor Australia 2015 it premiered at the Astor Theatre, East St Kilda, Monday last week, and was released online the same evening. It is accessible via the Bendid youtube channel and is claimed to be Australia’s biggest-ever web series. The first three episodes are online and the final three will be released today (Tuesday). The live premiere attracted 700 people to watch celebrity appearances on the red carpet. Cannon, who attended Woodleigh School,…
Year: 2015
A DISGRUNTLED French Islander who allegedly threatened to “blow up” the Stony Point to Tankerton ferry, Thursday 3 September, has been arrested and charged with making threats to kill. Police have also raided the man’s home and seized several firearms. Two uniformed police travelled on the ferry that afternoon to protect passengers from any possible threat. The man, 60, who is alleged to have made the threats, has been bailed to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court in January and banned from using the ferry. It is understood the man is a pensioner and has written to Hastings MP Neale Burgess…
COMPLAINTS about delays and cost increases may lead to a postponement of the implementation of new rules for building in flood prone areas of the Mornington Peninsula. Councillors were told in June that new flood maps were an improvement and that 20,000 properties were no longer designated as flood-prone and more could be removed from that designation as work proceeded. However, an “experienced builder on the southern peninsula” has now told council officers that the new flood map system “instantly stopped $2 million worth of my work, frustrated me and my customers and had a net result of costing my…
THE Point Nepean quarantine station will not be reopened to provide sanctuary for refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria despite suggestions last week it could be a suitable base for asylum seekers. Liberal state opposition leader Matthew Guy had urged Labor Premier Daniel Andrews to consider housing some Syrian refugees at the Point Nepean station “at the end of the Mornington Peninsula” early last week. “In 1998-99, the Kennett government and the Howard government managed to bring many hundreds of Kosovar refugees to that site,” Mr Guy said. “If Daniel Andrews won’t do anything with that site then we should…
SECONDARY students and primary pupils from throughout the Mornington Peninsula took a break from their normal classrooms on Thursday to discuss ways of solving the world’s environmental problems. More than 250 students and pupils from 11 schools and colleges were at Point Nepean National Park as part of the national Kids Teaching Kids Week. Around Australia the week sees 55,000 students putting the environment and its challenges under the microscope. In the months leading up to their Point Nepean visit students prepared by making presentations on the dilemmas and solutions to such issues as conserving fossil fuels, protecting endangered marine…
THE leader of a mosque at Langwarrin believes a vendetta is being waged against his congregation. Imam Syed Wadood Janud said three men were attacked at the mosque by intruders at about 9pm on Friday 4 September, leaving one victim with a broken nose and the others with facial injuries. The Bait-ul-Salam Mosque in Leisureland Drive is the Victorian headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, an Islamic movement whose members are persecuted by Muslims in some other countries, particularly Pakistan. Members of the community were said to be in shock at the cowardly attack and security at the mosque is…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s Dial-A-Bus service is 10. Starting with three passengers – collected by the shire’s aged and disability transport team leader on her way to work – it has grown into a dial-up service to all areas of the shire servicing 520 regular passengers. It offers those aged over 60, or those of any age who have a disability (and their carer), a door-to-door transport option across the peninsula. Around 70 Dial-A-Bus passengers celebrated the service’s 10th birthday at the shire’s Rosebud office on Thursday 3 September. The mayor Cr Bev Colomb said the first Dial-A-Bus service began collecting…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors are being urged to pressure the federal government into giving East Timor the chance to earn billions of dollars from undersea gas fields. “It is disgusting for a wealthy advanced country like Australia to literally steal part of a rich gas field from one of the poorest, least developed and needy nations on earth, Cr Tim Rodgers said. On Monday Cr Rodgers was set to tell council colleagues that it was time Australia entered into a more equitable agreement so that East Timor (Timor-Leste) received a greater share of profits from the rich offshore gas fields.…
TORQUAY Boardriders Club won its sixth consecutive Victorian Teams Title on Sunday at its home beach of Jan Juc. Peninsula Surfriders Club came fourth, behind 13th Beach (second) and Portland (third). Peninsula will be relegated to B grade for next year’s competition. “The event combines three divisions, Men’s Skins, Women’s and Teams requiring all clubs to have depth in their roster to take the win,” Surfing Victoria’s Liam Robertson said. Torquay had dominated the event, winning all three A grade divisions. The Torquay team included two former World Tour competitors, Troy Brooks and Nic Muscroft, Qualifying Series surfers, Cahill Bell-Warren…
IN January after the murders in Paris at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Mornington Peninsula publisher, author and artist Fran Henke dispelled her dismay and anger by creating a collage on the theme of the slogan that swept the world – “Je Suis Charlie” (I Am Charlie), including Aussie references. “I’ve worked with cartoonists and satiric portraitists over more than 50 years of journalism and the tragedy hit me hard,” she said. She donated her work, Je Suis Ahmed, to Bald Archy Prize organiser Peter Batey, who created the prize in 1994 to take the mickey out of pretentious portrait…
THE freezing waters of a Tyabb dam might not be everyone’s idea of a good hiding place, but they appealed to a man running from police on Monday. Highway patrol police identified the Hastings man, 30, in O’Neills Rd as “someone we would like to speak to”, but he ran off, overland, when approached. Sergeant Simon Noonan, of Hastings police, said the fugitive “went to ground in a dam” – until police called in the dog squad which was nearby. Without hesitation one of the dogs jumped in, swam out and seized him by the arm, and brought him back…
FLINDERS MP and Environment Minister Greg Hunt has condemned “aggressive behaviour” by protesters towards staff at his Hastings office. Mr Hunt said the behaviour of two men during an anti-coal mine protest organised by GetUp on Wednesday was “utterly unacceptable”. “A member of staff was deeply upset and intimidated by two of the protesters,” Mr Hunt said. “This aggressive behaviour by two male protesters towards a female staff member is utterly unacceptable and should be condemned by GetUp. “I certainly hope their behaviour is not representative of the organisation and did not represent the general behaviour of the delegation.” A…
LONG-TIME Peninsula Aero Club member Jim Wickham is “a little bit upset” about the dramatic finish to his return flight from a central NSW flying event on Sunday morning. Half way along the Tyabb airfield runway a wheel of his replica Russian Yakovlev Yak 9 slipped into soft turf at the side of the bitumen causing it to veer off course. Both wheels then dug into the grass and the plane slowly rose up and gradually flipped over onto its back. It was left with damage to its wheel, wing, propeller and rudder. Mr Wickham, of Moorooduc, was unhurt but…
ANALYSIS RUMOURS of BlueScope Steel closing its Port Kembla blast furnace in Wollongong and reorganising its Australian flat steel production could benefit the company’s plant at Hastings. BlueScope announced a full-year profit of $136.3 million on 24 August – an improvement on last year’s loss of $83 million and even larger losses in recent years – and its share price went up but these are worrying times for the nation’s biggest steel producer, its workers and other stakeholders. The financial result came out on the day the Australian share market suffered its worst fall since the global financial crisis but…
REMEMBER the glory days of World Championship Wrestling at Festival Hall? Sunday afternoons in the 60s and 70s would come alive with mad-cap bouts – mainly between US showmen wrestlers and the locals – over 16 years. Was it rigged? Was it all a sham? No one really cared as we cheered the “good” guys – the Golden Greek, Spiros Arion, Mark Lewin, Mario Milano, and Dominic DeNucci, taking on the “baddies” – Killer Kowalski, Brute Bernard, Bulldog Brower and Abdullah the Butcher. Gravel voiced US-born commentator Jack Little was in his element, spruiking his famous catchphrases: “Wham! Bam! Thank…
THE shire has charged the owner of a bush block in Main Ridge with illegal clearing under the Environment and Planning Act. The matter will come before Frankston Magistrates’ Court next week. The owner faces a maximum penalty of $180,000 per offence but any fine is likely to be much lower. If the prosecution is successful, the fine would likely be in the range of $5000 to $50,000. The matter of remediation will be pursued separately. About a third of the 16-hectare block was cleared in January by a contractor. A shire spokesman told The News the owner had been…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire will soon begin erecting traffic signals at the corner of McDowell St and Jetty Rd, Rosebud. The intersection has received Black Spot funding after three serious injury crashes over the past five years. The signals and usual traffic management works will allow for safer turning movements and make it easier for pedestrians to access local shops, primary school, Centrelink office and Centro Rosebud shopping centre. But parking will be affected by VicRoads works and No-standing areas will be enforced on McDowell St from Jetty Rd to about 60 metres west of Jetty Rd. A No-standing area will…
DROMANA’S famous Butterfly House; war memorials at Somerville, Red Hill and Mornington; the former Sorrento post office; and a slab cottage built in about 1850 at Heronswood are among the places featured at the 2015 Mornington Peninsula Heritage Awards. The awards are a joint effort of the peninsula branch of National Trust and Mornington Peninsula Shire, and started in 2011. They were presented on Friday 28 August by shire mayor Cr Bev Colomb and Dr Graeme Blackman, chairman of the National Trust board. Cr Colomb said the “excellent nominations” received this year were a good indicator that interest in the…
THE replacement of Rosebud pier is finally complete after two construction periods more than five years apart that saw state government agency Parks Victoria spend about $3.5 million on the 329-metre long structure. The outer section of 104 metres was replaced in 2009 at a cost of $1.4 million after it had been closed for two summers, much to the annoyance of dedicated anglers. Work on the inner section of 225 metres started in April and was completed late last month at a cost of $2 million. Both Labor and Liberal-Nationals Coalition state government have spent millions in recent years…
THE Peninsula Motor Garage Pty. Ltd., has engaged an additional driver for the Frankston Garage and has also installed an additional modern Buick car at the Mornington Garage. *** THE next consignment of goods ready to be sent to Central Depot, Federal Government House from the local branch is now on view at Ritchie’s Stores, corner Bay and Playne street. *** WE are pleased to state that Private Daniel Downs, who enlisted from Frankston, and contracted meningitis while at the Seymour camp, and was conveyed to the Alfred Hospital, is now improving. *** WE hear that Zephuron, the Grand National…
PENINSULA LEAGUE THE Frankston YCW freight train continued to steamroll anything in its path on Saturday at Frankston Park, belting Mornington by 89 points in the Peninsula Division qualifying final. After resting up to eight players last week in the final home and away game of the season, the Stonecats came out firing from the first bounce on Saturday and eventually humiliated the team that almost snatched a premiership from them at the same venue last year. I have been saying it for months and have been accused of being disrespectful to the other teams in the competition, however I…
THE Peninsula and Nepean Teams of the Year will be announced at MPNFL presentation dinners over the next couple of weeks. Coaches were asked to provide ‘their’ team of the year, based on the matches they had seen in season 2015. Media commentators Brent Clinnick and yours truly, Toe Punt, also put together a team based on the enormous amount of footy we have seen this season. In Peninsula, there were a total of 66 players nominated in the squad. In Nepean, there were 60 players nominated. It was then my responsibility to put the teams together. This was done…
NEPEAN LEAGUE ROSEBUD is now raging hot favourite to win the Nepean Division premiership after beating Somerville for the third time this season. The Buds led for all but two minutes of the second quarter of Saturday’s second semi final at Rye’s RJ Rowley Reserve, eventually winning 10.17 (77) to 9.7 (61). While the Buds advanced straight to the grand final, Somerville will play Sorrento in this Saturday’s preliminary final at Tyabb. Rosebud was always in control of the match against Somerville and never looked as though they were going to lose it. Coming off a bye and two 100…
Peninsula based rock band Munster Terrace have been performing around the traps for 30 years now, and they will be celebrating this milestone with a special show at the Rye RSL on Saturday the 12th of September. The band first formed in 1985, and their debut gig was on the 7th of May of that year (supporting The Saints on their return to Australia after some years based in the U.K). It took a year or so for the early version of “Munster” to find its’ feet, but by late 1986 the line-up was stable, and the band was a…
POWERFUL owls might be 60 centimetre s tall and have white plumage, but they are rarely seen; heard maybe, but not seen. Being a nocturnal bird of prey they are most active at night and make themselves scarce during the day. They are the largest of the avian night hunters and, as their name suggests, capable of preying on medium to large tree-dwelling mammals: ringtail possum and great glider. They also take roosting birds and animals on the ground, such as rabbits and small marsupials. Despite their strength and hunting prowess, powerful owls are listed as being endangered. The Mornington…
THERE have been countless happy campers at Mt Eliza over the past 90 years. Apart from when being used to recuperate US soldiers wounded in the Pacific campaign during World War II, the camp has provided a place to get away from it all for families and groups since 1925. The Sunnyside Rd camp site was given to the YMCA by Thomas and Alice Baker. Camp Manyung’s 90th anniversary last month and the unveiling of a historic interpretive display of the camp’s history from 1925 to the present brought back family memories for Jenny Little (nee Stevens), a camper from…
THE opening of Mt Eliza Bowling Club’s season last week with new synthetic greens and floodlights helped members showcase bowls as a sport which the whole family can play. The additions mean the club can open all year and stage twilight and evening bowls events. A highlight of the night was watching three generations of club life member John Gregson’s family – aged seven to 70 – take part in a special bowling demonstration. Gregson’s grandsons – Victorian and national representative Dylan Fisher and seven year old Jett Simmons – joined him on the green along with Jett’s father, Todd,…
A LONG-TIME peninsula resident with a yen for adventure will celebrate her 100th birthday on Sunday. Thelma Adams will be joined by her two children Roy and Joan, as well as seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and eight great, great-grandchildren, and friends, making it a family affair to remember. Mrs Adams, who lived at Somers for 30 years and for the past year at an aged care home at Mornington, was born in South Melbourne on 13 September 1915 and spent her early years there. She left school at 13 as her mother was unwell and she was needed at home.…
MP News Group journalist David Harrison is in Thailand supporting his mate Alan Morison and his wife Chutima Sidasathian, who were charged in late 2013 with criminal defamation and computer crime over a story they published on their online website Phuketwan about abuses against Rohingya migrants in Thailand. The charges centred on a paragraph in Phuketwan on 17 July 2013 citing an investigative report by Reuters alleging that some navy officials were involved with trafficking Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar (Burma). The trial generated widespread condemnation from human rights groups and the United Nations. Morison and Sidasathian faced up to seven…
VISUAL arts students at Chisholm Frankston are taking their work to the walls of Monash Health this month to cheer and stimulate patients, visitors and staff. Their show, featuring paintings, sculptures, drawing and printmaking by art and illustration students, will open in the Monash Health Art Space, 3.30pm, Thursday 17 September. The opportunity came about after a meeting between art student Eleni Theodoridi, who also works as a medical interpreter at Monash, and senior manager and curator at Monash Health, Kim Minett. Their mutual vision and enthusiasm for the role that art plays in the public health setting created the…