Month: July 2016

STORM damage has forced the closure of a section of  Mornington’s newly restored pier. East Port Phillip and Western Port area chief ranger Reece Taranto said nine concrete wave screen panels and handrails facing the bay were dislodged during last Tuesday’s (12 July) storms. The outer section of the pier is closed, but the public can still access the inner section, including the lower landing, as these areas were not damaged. “Once the pier has been properly assessed, we will reopen the areas that are safe to use,” Mr Taranto said. “Until the project engineers have had a chance to…

WHALE watchers are recording the “busiest season on record” as sightings pour in from Western Port and Port Phillip. “The 2016 whale season has turned into a record breaker around our bays.  We’ve just had our busiest weekend of sightings ever,” said Dolphin Research Institute, research officer David Donnelly said on Wednesday. “Winter in our bays and surrounding coastal waters has become something of a busy time for keen whale watchers. Large whales are now so regular in our waters that sightings have become an expectation rather than a novelty.” Mr Donnelly said although “hunted to the edge of extinction…

AN absorbable heart stent was inserted in a Peninsula Health patient. This breakthrough for the health service was achieved by Associate Professor Jamie Layland, one of a few cardiologists in the world who has inserted this new absorbable stent. He and fellow cardiologist Robert Lew, also of Peninsula Health, are part of a worldwide team investigating the use of absorbable stents in patients with heart disease. A stent is a small mesh tube used to treat narrow arteries in the heart. Traditionally, a metal-based stent is placed in an artery of patients undergoing a coronary angioplasty – a procedure which…

TWO Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors who attended a United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris late last year have fulfilled their requirements to report on the trip and itemise their expenses. Councillors Hugh Fraser and the mayor Graeme Pittock spent 10 days in Paris and attended several other sessions, including the climate summit for local leaders and seminars on renewable energy, smart cities, waste, urban agriculture, low carbon development and water and climate finance. At the Monday 11 July council meeting, Cr Pittock said it was worth noting that there had been no conference fees, no public transport costs, and…

ROB Lippiat is reviving the days when paddle steamers regularly circumnavigated Port Phillip. But he’s not about to embark on a voyage of the bay, it’s more about looking at the past in scale, about 100 to one. Lippiat is building model replicas of the boats and admits to doing things by halves. His wooden boats and split down the middle and mounted on mirrors. “I used to make them complete, but this way they can fit in with any decor,” Lippiat says while sitting at his workbench in Mt Martha. “That was more than 14 years ago when I…

INVESTORS snapping up prime Mornington Peninsula land for apartments and townhouses are facing opposition from a council divided over development amid claims of electioneering. After lengthy debate at the Monday 11 July council meeting, councillors voted to overturn officer recommendations to support proposals for 14 townhouses in Bentons Rd, Mt Martha, and two separate applications for six two-storey townhouses and 14 townhouses, both in Green Island Av, Mt Martha. Residents applauded as Briars Ward councillors told the meeting they had a duty to protect the neighbourhood character of the peninsula’s towns. However, their celebrations might be premature, with council officers…

NEPEAN LEAGUE THE Devon Meadows Football Club was a super proud club on Saturday night. But it had little to do with the 13.10 (88) to 10.11 (71) victory against finals aspirants Rye. It was more about how the Meadows went about the entire day after star player, two-time league medal winner and favourite son Beau Miller lost his fight with cancer. After being diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer a couple of months ago, Beau lost his fight last Thursday, leaving behind wife Stephanie, two young sons and a football community that adored him both on and off the…

PENINSULA LEAGUE PINES bounced back from a shock defeat last week to inflict a savage loss on Bonbeach in MPNFL Peninsula Division football on Saturday. Pines coach Patty Swayne scoffed at suggestions pre-match that there was daylight between Bonbeach and the top three sides after the Sharks had won seven of its past eight games. However, Bonbeach coach Steve Hughes might have been right after the Sharks were made to look second rate by the Pythons, going down 4.12 (36) to 17.6 (108). Pines’ loss last week to Edithvale had a little to do with the fact that full back…

SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie ROSEBUD Heart is the only senior team throughout Victoria’s State Leagues with a perfect record. While the fledgling club has achieved a rare feat in only its second year of competition the mood among local clubs was one of gloom as tribute was paid at last weekend’s matches to former Skye United president and FFV Chief Financial Officer Chris Attard, 52, who died last week. Skye drew 0-0 away to Harrisfield Hurricanes on Saturday but the club remains a genuine title contender in State League 4 South. Heart’s relentless push towards promotion from State League 5…

BY the death of Mr J. F. Hodgkinson, the district loses an old and highly esteemed resident. He possessed many natural talents besides being good with the brush and pencil, he was also a fine etcher. A lover of good poetry, he was an original thinker and a keen student of nature.   His life exemplified two well known sayings “Talent is developed in solitude” and “They whom the Gods love, die young” for he passed away at the early age of 45 years.   He will be greatly missed by the residents of the adjoining properties. His practical advice…

A WOMAN was found burnt to death in Rye this morning (Monday). A passer-by found the woman on fire near the intersection of Peter and Betty streets and extinguished the flames around 7am. Police spokesperson Natalie Webster said the matter was being treated as non-suspicious. Emergency services were called to the scene about 7.15am. The woman’s identity has not been released and the exact circumstances are yet to be determined. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to submit confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on…

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate Lisa Johnson. The 22-year-old is wanted by police in relation to failing to appear at court in relation to weapons matters. Investigators have released an image of Johnson in the hope someone may recognise her or have information on her current whereabouts. She is known to frequent the Rosebud area. Anyone who sees Johnson is urged to contact Rosebud Police Station on 5986 0444. Source: Victoria Police

Southern Metropolitan Region Crime Team Investigators have charged an 18-year-old man following an investigation into two aggravated burglaries and a burglary in Rosebud in July. The alleged aggravated burglaries occurred at Eighth Avenue and Tarwarri Avenue on 8 July 2016. Investigators arrested the man at a Langwarrin address about 7.40am yesterday. The Langwarrin man was charged with numerous offences including aggravated burglary, intentionally cause injury, assault, theft and burglary. He was remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this morning. Victoria Police has escalated its response to aggravated burglaries and carjackings across the state. At the start of May they rolled…

HASTINGS FNC SATURDAY saw the Hastings Football/Netball Club come up against Red Hill Football/Netball club in what loomed as a massive test for all sides. But unfortunately not all sides did not come away with a win on Saturday. The club came up against very determined Red Hill sides which was very disappointing but the that’s sport. We now have next week to get ready for. Next week also looms as another huge test with the club heading to Rosebud Football/Netball Club in what shapes as a season defining game for our senior footballers. They played some scintillating football in…

IN July, 2008 the The News printed a short obituary on Des Duguid who had passed away at the age of 76. Des was a courteous, quietly spoked gentleman who resided for many years at Eldon Park in Graydens Road where he filled the role of fitness trainer and helped around the farm. But Des was a man of diverse talents: he was a gifted singer and actor and, in his younger days, was a more than capable boxer. He won a bronze medal in the light welterweight division at the 1954 British Empire (later Commonwealth) Games at Vancouver. Six years later…

A DINING table and other items of furniture have been returned to Coolart Homestead, near Somers, after almost 80 years. The original 16-seat table arrived at Coolart in 1937, where it was converted into an extension table by Gerturde Luxton, who also crafted the original tapestries for the chairs. Mrs Loxton is the wife of Tom Luxton, who bought the 1895 property from the Grimwade family in 1937 and declared it a sanctuary for native wildlife. He embarked upon a program of habitat development. Peter Roffey, a descendant of the Luxton family, made the donation along with eight chairs and…

SECONDARY students from Western Port, Mt Eliza, Mornington, Dromana and Rosebud participated a three-day youth leadership camp at The Portsea Camp, 19-21 June. The camp – for 32 Year 10 students – was organised by the Mornington Peninsula Partnership Forum, made up of the eight Bendigo and Community Bank branches on the peninsula, and Mornington Peninsula Shire. The forum aims to bring together possible sources of funding for strategic projects on the peninsula. “As this was the first camp, there was a great sense of anticipation and excitement about its potential to provide real opportunities for those attending,” Bendigo Bank…

VICROADS was “totally aware” of the problems caused by the deteriorating surface of sections of Frankston-Flinders Rd, Somerville, a spokesman said Friday. By mid-week, loose stones had damaged five windscreens, chipped car panels and generated countless verbal complaints about the quality of the work in the relaid section between Hawkins Rd and Scott Grove. “Who knows how many windscreens have been hit by now,” VicRoads media advisor Jarryd Stokes said. A temporary 60kph speed limit is in place on the two kilometre section of road which was resurfaced in April, with the new seal deteriorating in the recent heavy rains.…

PROPERTY owners on French Island are worried that koalas are eating themselves out of house and home. Although not native to the island, the introduced koalas are so successful that their numbers have increased past the point of being able to sustainably coexist with the vegetation on which they feed. Islanders fear the koalas will die of starvation or need to be culled as hundreds were in 2013 and 2014 near Cape Otway, south-west of Melbourne. “The extent of damage and loss of koala habitat has increased over the last three years to the point where koalas themselves are becoming…

Mornington Peninsula Crime Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for public assistance following a burglary in Rosebud last Wednesday (6 July). Investigators believe that five unknown offenders have attended a shopping centre in a gold/silver BMW, with stolen registration plates TNV 409, on McCombe Street about 3.15am. They have pulled up in front of the shopping centre where four have gotten out of the car and one has remained in the driver’s seat. The four have smashed a hole in the window of a door using a crowbar and then used a concrete saw to cut the lock on a sliding…

OBITUARY Kenneth Jack Spunner, 24 August 1927–18 June 2016, rabbit trapper, registered hairdresser, wool valuer, dairyman, wool grower, market gardener, shire councillor, real estate agent, land developer KEN Spunner, the descendant of a 19th century Sorrento lime burner, rose to become head of the Mornington Peninsula’s peak planning body, was a two-time mayor of the Shire of Flinders, and played a significant role in the life of the southern peninsula and Rosebud in particular. Mr Spunner, who died of pneumonia at 88 last month, was a great-grandson of Irish emigrants, John and Susan Spunner who arrived in the Port Phillip…

PETER Munro feels he’s near the end of a campaign to have the names of two Sorrento boys killed in WWI placed on the Fromelles Commemorative Wall along with their 1300 comrades-in-arms. For the past two years the lives of 13 Sorrento men killed in action in that war has become “something of an obsession” for the amateur historian. That search has now gone even deeper. “In my research I discovered a story concerning two of the soldiers killed at Fromelles with no known graves and I wanted to correct that long-standing oversight,” Mr Munro, of Blairgowrie said last week.…

VICTORIAN Marine Rescue Mornington president Tim Warner returned from a six-week holiday last weekend just in time for an emergency callout in the bay off Safety Beach. His crew quickly set out for an area 100 metres off the marina – only to find they were “rescuing” the Safety Beach Coast Guard boat, which had run out of fuel. Now, anyone with an insight into the rivalry between two of the state’s peak marine rescue bodies will understand the sensitivity of that situation. “Yes it was a rather unusual call,” Mr Warner said, stifling a grin. “We have a rather…

MUSICIAN Steve Romig will launch his latest album Sticky Fingers Played Here. The album is a change of pace for Romig, who is well known for blues and roots music. It delivers soul riffs, with a splash of funk and blues “to add grit”. Romig is embarking on an international publicity tour for the album in two weeks, and the launch in Mornington on Thursday will be his final appearance in Australia for a few months. “We are really happy to be launching the album on the peninsula among friends before I leave. Being able to support an amazing emerging…

A POD of killer whales has caused excitement among wildlife watchers off Flinders and Phillip Island, although its arrival is probably not so welcome by the inhabitants of Seal Rocks. Known as the ocean’s apex predator, the killer whales, or orcas, were first seen by tour operator Wildlife Coast Cruises about 11am on 4 July. The Dolphin Research Institute’s David Donnelly said the news quickly spread with “eager whale watchers converging on the location, but you had to be quick as the pod was clearly on a mission”. “Shortly after arriving the killer whales quickly went about investigating the local…

A MCCRAE panel beater’s workshop was broken into early Tuesday morning and a customer’s car stolen. The 2012 Kia Cerato was lowered from a hoist by the thief and reversed through the roller door at about 4am, causing extensive damage to the workshop. The car was then used in a ram-raid at the Chemist Warehouse, Mornington-Tyabb Rd, Mornington. Detective Sergeant John Coburn, of Mornington Peninsula CIU, said a man was seen stealing four shopping baskets containing fragrances and perfumes ranging upwards in price from $60. He said the man was only in the store three or four minutes but managed…

THIEVES raided two Mornington Peninsula tobacconists last week, stealing about $40,000 in cigarettes and tobacco products. Detective Leading Senior Constable Nick Sweetman, of Mornington Peninsula CIU, said about $20,000 in cigarettes, tobacco and cash were stolen from the Bentons Square, Mt Martha, tobacco outlet early Sunday morning 3 July. Two men are seen on CCTV wearing gloves, caps and hoodies and driving a red Commodore around 3am. A newsagent, cafe and fashion store were also targeted in the late-night-early-morning raid in which the thieves spent more than six hours inside the centre. In a separate raid, thieves stole $20,000 in…

ASPIRING Continental hotel developer Julian Gerner is “working very closely with Heritage Victoria and the council over the hotel’s preservation and restoration as an attraction for Sorrento”. Mr Gerner was speaking at a hearing on 23 June to discuss his group’s proposed purchase of the hotel’s off-street car park at 23 Constitution Hill Rd. Acquisition of the $1.8 million block – bought by the council in 1968 and currently providing 18 car spaces – is a crucial factor in the Continental Development Group’s multi-million redevelopment of the 120-year-old property. The 900 square metre block was an informal gravel car park…

THE beach patrol group 3941Rye aims to help save marine life by removing litter from the beaches and foreshore, as well as promoting litter awareness among members of the community and visitors to Rye. The group had a successful beach clean Saturday 2 July, with 23 volunteers and 11 children – as well as mascots Dixie and Jack. “We collected 286 drink containers and a total of 144kg of rubbish,” organiser Julie Jame said. “3941RYE is the first beach patrol group on the Mornington Peninsula and we were pleased to be joined by a member of the second group: 3941Tootgarook…

THREE leading Peninsula conservation groups are calling for an immediate halt to construction of a “dangerous” and unsightly concrete-stepped seawall at Sorrento. Nepean Conservation Group president Ursula de Jong is furious work has begun on the “steps to nowhere” structure and says there has been inadequate community consultation. She says the NCG, the Nepean Historical Society and the Port Phillip Conservation Council are opposed to the development “from environmental, historic, place sensitive and safety perspectives”. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) began work this week on the seawall structure, which will include a “meeting point” of coloured…