IT’S unusual to associate young boys with taxidermy, but don’t tell Xavier Noonan. The Grade 6 Tyabb Primary School pupil is so enthused by his craft that he’s decorated the walls of his parents’ house with a stuffed rat, mice, birds of all sorts, fox, duck, and a deer’s head. “And we’ve got a lot of dead bodies in our freezer,” confided his mum, Kellie. At the tender age of 11, Xavier has been practising taxidermy for nearly two years. “He has been passionate about animals since he was little and was always very good at art,” Mrs Noonan said.…
Year: 2015
FRANKSTON line commuters face short-term travel pain for long-term gain with sections of the railway tracks set to be closed for weeks on end while level crossings are removed. Eleven level crossings along the Frankston line are earmarked to have their intersection between road and rail separated to stop traffic delays and allow Metro Trains to eventually run more train services. The Bentleigh, Ormond and McKinnon stations will be demolished and rebuilt from November next year and are expected to reopen in February 2017. Trains will run between Frankston and Moorabbin stations during a planned 34-day line shutdown near the…
ABOUT 50 Esso workers at the company’s Hastings plant at Long Island Point are taking industrial action in opposition to longer shifts, roster changes, and staff cuts. The workers are covered by an enterprise agreement covering Long Island Point, Longford, and the Barry Beach marine terminal. An Esso spokesperson on Monday said the longer working roster – 14 days on and 14 days off – “is actually for the workers at our offshore facilities – not Long Island Point”. “Under the most recent offer we made to the workforce the current seven day on seven day off roster was retained,…
LAND bought for a fuel storage and distribution depot is the first step towards the realisation of state government plans for the Port of Hastings to be increasingly used as a “bulk” port. An eight hectare site in Bayview Rd has been bought by Puma Energy, a relatively new player in Australia’s fuel industry. The company already has “seaboard” terminals at Brisbane, Mackay and Townsville, with a fourth being built in Perth. It is understood Puma paid $2.2 million for its Hastings land which will be developed as a fuel storage depot at a cost of up to $120 million…
Sorrento SES volunteers have attended three rescue jobs within 24 hours. In the first instance they were called to free a woman trapped in her car which had rolled onto its side in Mawarra St, Rosebud, 6.15pm, Tuesday. “We worked together with the fire crew and ambulance to safely extricate her,” media liaison officer David Lammers said. “All this only took 10 minutes and the woman was taken to hospital with what seemed like minor injuries.” At 4pm Wednesday they got a call to help out at Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento, where another car had flipped onto its side and…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have agreed to sell off another piece of surplus property – this time a “laneway” off Myers Rd, Balnarring that, technically, it does not yet own – for $22,000. A report to council stated that the 12.67 metres wide by 713.7 metres long strip of land was designated as a road in the early 1900s subdivision. The proposal resulted from a request by the owner of 7 Turners Rd, Balnarring, to buy the land. The “laneway” runs north from Myers Rd, between properties at 234 and 238 Myers Rd. It abuts the eastern boundary of the…
NEPEAN Ward councillor Tim Rodgers has criticised the state government for axing the Point Nepean quarantine station development proposed by Point Leisure Group. During a speech at the recent opening of the $250,000 renovated Sorrento Community Centre, Cr Rodgers said the government was not “doing its bit” at Point Nepean. “The refurbished Sorrento Community Centre with its large sporting hall is an asset for the whole of the Nepean Ward community – Blairgowrie, Portsea, Rye and Sorrento townships – and we may also get a new township for the community, Nepean township at Point Nepean quarantine station, if the state…
A PROPOSAL to change the name of Rosebud West to Capel Sound was delivered to the shire council last week but it appears to be on shaky ground as many residents push back against the idea. Fourteen residents led by Terry Wright want to change the name, claiming there is a disconnection between the name and the area’s real character “and the impact this has on the pride we feel about our place”. “The name Rosebud West has no relevance to the locality and assumes it has no character in its own right. Rosebud was the name of a ship…
PENINSULA LEAGUE EDITHVALE-ASPENDALE is coming and are looking ominous after blowing Mornington away by more than five goals on Saturday. Edithvale started well and led by 11 points at quarter time and nine points at the major interval. However, it was the seven goal to one third term that set-up the 14.13 (97) to 8.17 (65) victory. Edithvale-Aspendale, as we well know, is hard to stop when its confidence is up. One could argue that the Eagles’ draw has been relatively soft over the past five weeks, however, it’s hard to argue with five wins on the trot. Three of…
NEPEAN LEAGUE RED HILL kept its finals chances alive with a gutsy four-quarter performance against Hastings on Saturday at Thomas Barclay Reserve. Whilst the Hillmen continued its push towards finals, Hastings let slip an opportunity to break away from other sides vying for a top three position. The Hillmen were too strong over four quarters, winning comfortably 14.8 (92) to 10.5 (65). It was Red Hill’s best win of the season. It was the stars who shone yet again for the Hillmen, but it was teenage defender Jonah Siverson who really stood out playing in the back half. Siverson has…
Hear Neil Diamond’s legendary Hot August Night album in its entirety – one of the best-selling albums in Australian music history – 1 in 3 homes has a copy! The show also features interesting stories about how the songs were created, and of Diamond’s dark journey from being a struggling Brooklyn poet, to becoming one of the worlds most loved performers. As well as being a celebration of Diamond’s greatest hits, Hot August Night and Me, offers its audience so much more. Performer Dominic Finley is a former member of 80s chart toppers Cutting Crew (known for their number 1…
WE regret to report that Captain Leslie Hartland (whose letter is published in this issue) has been killed in action. Deep sympathy is expressed for Mr and Mrs Hartland and family, in their great sorrow. *** A STOREHOUSE, on the Brooklyn Estate, owned by Mr Archibald, was entered last week, and some tools, etc, were stolen. The thieves were a mean, hungry lot, as they stripped a small rhubarb plot. The matter has been reported to the police. *** AUSTRALIA Day (30th July) was celebrated at Mornington Junction by a bazaar and sale of gifts, the proceeds of which it…
STATE government utility South East Water is one giant step closer to selling off a disused reservoir in Mt Eliza for housing. A planning panel has ruled in favour of the 2.8-hectare reservoir on the corner of Barmah and Kanya roads being used for houses and rejected calls for it to become a conservation reserve. A submission to set aside two lots for public housing was also rejected as was a request by Mornington Peninsula Shire that one hectare be public open space. The decision has bitterly disappointed Kunyung Residents Group, formed late last year to push for a reserve…
A LABOR Party vote to support asylum seeker boat turnbacks if it wins back government has been slammed by Amnesty International. Amnesty International peninsula branch spokesman Kevin Bain criticised Labor and opposition leader Bill Shorten’s move at the party’s annual national conference last month to fall into line with the Abbott government’s boats turnback policy. Mr Bain has presented several petitions in recent months to Liberal federal government ministers Bruce Billson and Greg Hunt in Dunkley and Flinders respectively protesting against the Abbott government’s “inhumane treatment” of asylum seekers. “Boat turnbacks are a recipe to violate rights and endanger lives,”…
FRANKSTON Embona Armed Robbery Squad detectives on Friday arrested and charged five males allegedly involved in violent robberies at two southern peninsula 7-Eleven service stations in the early hours of Wednesday. Four juveniles were charged with armed robbery and other offences and remanded in custody to appear at a Melbourne Children’s Court later this week. The fifth, 18, was charged with armed robbery and remanded in custody to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later this week. Terrified attendants feared they could be killed in the 3.07am and 3.30am raids, which were both captured on CCTV footage. The two men were…
THE reorganisation of Mornington Peninsula Shire continues under the guidance of CEO Carl Cowie. About 330 staff last Thursday were invited to a briefing by Mr Cowie at Morning Star Estate, Mt Eliza, with many looking over their shoulders wondering about the ongoing security of their positions. “The news is that there is really no news. The only upshot is that the customer service is going to be better,” a staff member who did not want to be identified told The News. The same person said many staff had been looking forward “to the change a new CEO would bring…
CREDITORS have so far lodged claims of $2.334 million against Shiva Yoga Inc, which went into voluntary liquidation in April. The organisation’s main assets are three houses in Mt Eliza, two in Petrel Av and one in Clendon Close. The properties are near the Shiva School of Meditation and Yoga, headquartered on a much larger property in Tower Rd. However, the residential ashram in Tower Rd surrounded by carefully tended gardens around an ornamental lake is owned by Shiva Yoga’s former spiritual leader, Russell Kruckman, also known as Swamiji and Swami Shankarananda. Paul Burness, of liquidators Worrells Solvency & Forensic…
MORNINGTON’S $1.2 million youth centre in Wilsons Rd will likely open in September as work to convert an old classroom block nears completion. Contractors are refurbishing half of the former Mornington Secondary School block as well as attached toilets, changing room and storage area. The school moved from Wilsons Rd to its current site on the Nepean Highway in 1999 and Mornington Peninsula Shire bought a large part of the old school land and its three remaining buildings. The first half of the block was refurbished in 2010 and 2011 for community radio station RPP-FM and opened in September 2011.…
MODEL aircraft enthusiast Daniel Arapakis finished third in the junior category and 22nd outright in the 2015 model aircraft world championships in the Czech Republic. He was competing in the Australian team which finished second in the team event among 20 participating countries and 50 pilots. The Australian team consisted of three senior pilots and one junior at the event held during the July school holidays. Daniel, of Mornington, was the youngest entrant but this didn’t stop him recording his personal best times in official practice with 56.2 seconds – one second off the world record. “I was pleased with…
THE shopping complex Peninsula Home on Bungower Rd, Mornington, next to Bunnings will get a new restaurant and an Aldi supermarket, the second in the town. Formerly known as Peninsula Homemaker Centre (and several other names since it opened in 2005), the so-called large format retail centre (or bulky goods centre) will have a 551-square metre building erected in the middle of the car park for a 165-seat restaurant, two shops and an outside playground. About 100 of 840 car parking spaces will go. Sydney-based centre owner BB Retail Capital will also build a 410-square metre addition to an existing…
Hastings was a welcome port of call last night for a skipper of a stricken yacht, plucked to safety by water police. The drama began to unfold at about 3pm yesterday an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated on an 8 metre yacht which was having difficulty in 5 metre swells. The Latrobe Valley Air Ambulance (HEMS2) and a fixed wing aircraft were dispatched to locate the stricken vessel and found it approximately 29 nautical miles off Wonthaggi. They were unable to winch the skipper, a man in his 60s from Geelong, from the yacht and called in…
Three men allegedly took 80 abalone and a rock lobster during a prolonged fishing venture at Sorrento back beach this week. The daily recreational limit for abalone is five per person, when the season is open. However the recreational abalone season is closed at present. A call from a concerned member of the public to the 13FISH reporting line alerted Mornington Fisheries Officers who watched for several hours as two of the men allegedly dived in a bay for abalone and used a kayak to transport the fish to a third man on the beach. Fisheries Officers later intercepted a…
ROTARY clubs on the Mornington Peninsula are among 1100 across Australia urging families to “have the chat” about organ and tissue donation with their loved ones and register their donation decisions during DonateLife Week. Rotary’s participation in the week was prompted by the story of Jack Wilson, grandson of one of the 21 Rotary District Governors in Australia. He was born with nephrotic syndrome, a congenital kidney disease causing lengthy hospital stays. Jack had to return to hospital initially five days each week for four-hour sessions of protein infusion, then 10 hours home dialysis every night. From three days after…
A PENINSULA-based email “clearing house” that distributed environmental and planning information to about 200 members is set to fold. Peninsula Exchange Inc – Pen-X for short – was started in 2006 by residents concerned about proposals for five new helicopter landing pads on the peninsula, the Chateau Elan conference centre next to Greens Bush in Mornington Peninsula National Park, and a big tourism complex at McLears Hill in Dromana. (The chopper pads and Chateau Elan did not go ahead, although McLears Hill remains a live planning permit.) There was also disillusionment with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council with claims made at…
ROSEBUD West has again figured prominently in the Dropping off the Edge 2015 report on disadvantaged suburbs around Melbourne. The report – by Catholic Social Services Australia and Jesuit Social Services released last week – showed it held a “most disadvantaged” ranking – again. It was among the 27 state postcodes – or 4 per cent of the total – which account for 28.2 per cent of the highest ranking positions across 22 indicators of disadvantage. It is said to experience a “complex web of persistent and hard-to-shift disadvantage”. The disadvantaged suburbs – nicknamed “struggle towns” – have high rates…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Greens have donated money to Flinders MP Greg Hunt’s Walk for Autism. The $100 donation was handed to Mr Hunt, the federal environment minister, during his lunch break at Rye last Thursday along with a letter asking him to “fight harder for additional support for people with autism”. “We know you will receive this letter in the friendly spirit of community engagement and cross party support for which it was meant. We look forward to find more common ground in the future.” The MP is again walking 500km around his electorate for charity, this time to raise funds…
THE Labor state government and Arthurs Seat Skylift have signed a 50-year lease for the gondola chairlift, Environment Minister Lisa Neville announced on Monday last week. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council approved the gondola in June 2014 by one vote and in December the state planning tribunal VCAT rejected a challenge to the council’s decision by citizen lobby group Save Our Seat (SOS). There are just two more hurdles to vault before construction can start – shire council approval of a second batch of conditions in the planning permit, expected to be dealt with next month, and a new VCAT challenge…
THE terms champion, superstar and legend are thrown around way too flippantly in footy circles. A player does a couple of special things and he is a ‘superstar’. Kicks a bag of goals a couple of weeks in a row and he’s a ‘champion’. Champion, superstar and legend are powerful terms in our great game – to be fair, there’s not a hell of a lot of them. However, there’s at least one MPNFL player who sits very comfortably across all three categories – Guy Stringer. On the weekend against Tyabb, Guy Stringer became the first player to reach the…
PENINSULA LEAGUE PINES has dropped to fifth place on the ladder after losing a high quality game against Mornington at Eric Bell Reserve on Saturday. In a thrilling contest, the match was played in two halves. Pines booted 16 of its 18 goals in the first and third quarters while Mornington booted 18 of its 20 goals in the second and final terms. Suffice to say that it was the wind that won on the day. In the end though, despite playing away from home, the Doggies proved too strong, winning 20.11 (131) to 18.8 (116). Mornington were 43 points…