NEPEAN LEAGUE DROMANA maintained its position in the top five despite losing to Frankston Bombers by 22 points in MPNFL Nepean Division on Saturday. Billed as the match of the round, the game appeared to be anything but that in the opening quarter when the Bombers jumped out of the blocks and booted the first six goals of the game. The Bombers completely dominated centre clearances and their inside 50 count was 19 to two at one stage late in the term. Sam Fox booted three goals in the last quarter against Red Hill last week and booted three in…
Year: 2017
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie Despite being undermanned and facing off-field disruption leading into the match Peninsula Strikers battled to a gallant 2-2 draw against title contender Doveton at Waratah Reserve on Saturday. Former Strikers player and ex-English pro Willie Raynes was appointed senior coach last Tuesday, a move that shocked interim senior coach Billy Buchanan and assistant Graham Watson who thought that they had been appointed to the end of the season. No doubt Raynes turned up to Waratah Reserve expecting a baptism of fire against the State 2 South-East leader given that he’d lost Swiss import Raphael Stulz and…
THE gift of a quilt crafted by Bev Young, of Mornington Peninsula Patchworkers, has made a returned serviceman pleased and proud. The garment, known as a Quilt of Valour, was presented to ex-serviceman Tom Jones, 95, by Chelsea RSL president Michael Weissefeld and Wyn Roper, president of Quilters of Valour Australia. The organisation started in 2010 to “honour those affected by their service to Australia”. So far, more than 1000 quilts have been presented to ex-service personnel, each unique item taking many hours to craft by quilters. The message is that the quilts “wrap the wounded in love, care and…
WESTERN Port may play a role in easing Australia’s energy problems if energy supplier AGL goes ahead with a floating gas terminal at Crib Point. The terminal moored at the end of the jetty would warm chilled LNG into gas to be fed straight into a pipeline for the domestic market. Although Victoria produces more gas than it uses from fields in Bass Strait, the LNG would be imported from elsewhere in Australia and overseas. LNG is exported from the Esso plant at Long Island Point, Hastings, a few miles north of the proposed import site at Crib Point. “This…
Howard Bull tells us about Mt Eliza’s own Reginald Ansett and how Channel Ten was born… NETWORK Ten is again creating its own news after announcing a big loss and its billionaire shareholders Lachlan Murdoch, Bruce Gordon and James Packer withdrawing support for a $250 million guaranteed loan. Ten Network Holdings went into voluntary administration mid-June, which would have dismayed its creator, the Mt Eliza resident and leading businessman Sir Reginald Ansett of Ansett Airlines fame. Previous financial difficulties included going into receivership in 1989, which ended when Westpac bought the station and later sold it to a consortium headed…
By Ben Triandafillou RED Hill Mountain Bike Riders have a world beater in their ranks. Member Kevin Skidmore rode to victory in the World Endurance Mountain Bike Organization (WEMBO) 24-hour solo world championships. Skidmore, 41, took out the 40-44-year-old male category and finished 10th overall in the grueling endurance event at Finale Ligure, Italy, on Saturday 3 June. He rode 24 hours straight, clocking up 320km over 34 laps of the track which included almost 8000 metres of climbing. “It’s nothing short of insane,” Red Hill Mountain Bike Riders president Mark Gardner said. “There’s never a moment where he can…
PARKS Victoria expects to release a master plan in September for the use and development of Point Nepean National Park. The plan will be largely based on one adopted by the Labor state government in 2010 but jettisoned by the Liberal-led Coalition in the lead-up to the 2014 election. The current Labor government reportedly paid at least $1 million in 2015 to buy out a 50-year lease the Coalition had entered into with the privately owned Point Leisure Group for a health and wellness retreat with hot springs, a spa, restaurant, hotel and conference centre. In a 10 February letter…
MR C. J. Leadbetter notifies in another column that he intends opening a fish shop in Frankston on Saturday next and will keep a constant supply of fish, &c. Customers waited on twice a week. *** THE fortnightly Red Cross Social held at Tyabb July 14th was as usual a great success and favoured with fine weather. The evening opened with a short program, followed by competition which caused great amusement then dancing and supper. The musical items were:– Pianoforte duet, Mr and Miss Steer; song, Mr A Denham; song, Mrs Woodhouse; song, Mr Russell Denham; song, Mrs Roe; song,…
MORNINGTON Peninsula mayor Cr Bev Colomb says looking after and finding new homes for unclaimed cats and dogs is “high priority” for the shire. However, a group of animal lovers plans to demonstrate outside the shire’s Mornington offices on Sunday over their claims of secrecy surrounding how many unwanted animals are being put down. The Save Mornington Pound Animals group wants to stop cats and dogs being killed and for the shire to increase its efforts to find new homes for strays. The protest comes just weeks before the shire prepares to unveil $900,000 in changes to its new community…
Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate missing woman Tina Rayworth. It’s believed the 56-year-old was last seen in Frankston and Mornington some time in May. Tina suffers from a number of medical conditions and police have concerns for her welfare. She is described as being 160cm tall with a medium build and light brown/grey shoulder length hair. It is not known what Tina was last wearing. Police have released an image of Tina in the hope someone can provide information on her current whereabouts. Anyone with information about is urged to contact Frankston Police Station on 9784…
Somerville Highway Patrol officers experienced a case of double trouble in Frankston South on Thursday evening (13 July). Police intercepted a car on McMahons Road about 5.25pm and spoke to the driver, a 47-year-old Cranbourne East woman. She underwent a preliminary drug test which returned a positive result and she was then required to undergo an evidentiary result at a police station. She left the station and told police she would get someone to pick her up. The officers returned to their duties and noticed the same car on Frankston-Flinders Road. They intercepted the vehicle and found a 45-year-old Crib…
The entire Melbourne rail network is currently down to to “a computer fault”. All train lines, except for the diesel Stony Point line are currently halted. Trains that were travelling at the time of the network collapse are stuck between stations. Metro Trains have put out an urgent warning “Passengers on board trains stopped between stations, DO NOT attempt to force doors open & alight from the train. Listen for announcements.” 4.58PM, Metro Trains tweeted out “No metropolitan trains are currently operating. Please seek alternative transport where possible. Please listen for announcements.” 5.12PM, Metro Trains tweeted out” Some services are resuming.…
Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate Luke Goode. A warrant has been issued for the 38-year-old’s arrest in relation to theft of motor vehicle. Police have released an image of Goode in the hope someone recognises him and is able to provide information on his current whereabouts. Goode is described as 180cm tall with a medium build, blue eyes, light brown hair and a fair complexion. He is known to frequent the Mornington Peninsula area. Anyone who sights Goode or has information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit…
WORK valued at $481 million to replace outdated infrastructure and facilities at HMAS Cerberus is likely to start this year. The work was foreshadowed in a Defence White Paper in March. It will include “improved underground services”, technical and physical training facilities, survival-at-sea facilities, and refurbishment of dining and accommodation areas. The funding is expected to secure the future of the base as Australia’s principal naval training base and pump money into the economies of Crib Point, Hastings and surrounding areas. “When the base opened in 1920 it could not have been envisioned how much it would grow and expand,”…
THE 450 members of Devilbend Golf Club seem set to retain control of the future of their golf course. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has agreed to a new 21-year lease for the Loders Rd, Moorooduc, golf course. However, the operations of the golf club are to be subject to a review by private consultants hired by council. The lease effectively rules out advertising that the golf course was available for lease or appointing a commercial manager, as recommended by the shire’s property operations team leader, Greg Collins. The report to a council meeting in April with Mr Collins’ recommendations…
GENEVIEVE Beacom of Somerville flies to Japan this week as part of the Australia-Japan Women’s Baseball Youth Leaders Exchange. Last week she trained with the high performance squad in Sydney, focusing on skills, fitness, leadership and game development. The squad will compete against Japanese youth teams and train with professional Japanese women’s teams. Genevieve, 12, played the summer season as a left-handed pitcher for Cheltenham Baseball Club and was a member of the premiership sides in the under-12 and under-14 age groups. The year 7 Flinders Christian Community College student won the under-12 pitching award at the club and was…
POLIO support lobbyist Fran Henke of Hastings is the first to admit she has been “gently nagging” her local federal MP Greg Hunt for many years about the unmet needs of Australia’s polio survivors. When Mr Hunt was appointed federal Minister of Health in January (replacing Sussan Ley who resigned over a travel expenses scandal), Mrs Henke requested a meeting, and no doubt Mr Hunt knew what was coming. Last week he announced that a request to support Polio Australia’s Late Effects of Polio (LEoP) clinical practice workshop program had been successful. The federal government will fund the program for…
THREE flags were raised at the “hut by the sea” at Hastings to mark the start of NAIDOC Week. “Hut by the sea” is the English translation of the Boon Wurrung phrase Willum Warrain, the name of the Aboriginal community’s gathering place in Pound Rd, Hastings, that opened in 2014. NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and a week of events on the peninsula was started by raising the national flag, Australian Aboriginal flag, and the Torres Strait Islander flag. This year’s theme was “Our Languages Matter” to highlight the importance…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is reconsidering its decision to increase the rent for The Hastings Club after being told the calculations on which it was based contravened the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (the Act). The original plan, which saw the club’s rent rise from about $4000 to $42,000 in the first year and climbing to $54,000 in three years, was met with dismay by the members and supporters of the Hastings Cricket and Football Social Club who immediately sought legal advice. Councillors were last month (June) told by property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods that the calculation method she used in…
PENINSULA LEAGUE MT Eliza cannot win the 2017 premiership. To achieve the ultimate in 2017 in MPNFL Peninsula Division, a team must be able to beat Frankston YCW – that’s something Mt Eliza can’t do. Not this season anyway. On Saturday, Mt Eliza had its best chance ever of beating the Stonecats despite missing Dave Barton, Jimmy Freeman, Matt Lillie, Brodie Shaw, Robbie Turnball and Sam Gill. Frankston YCW had 15 of its best players out of the team due to either representative football, VFL or injury. Just some of the names missing included Scott McLeod, Kyle Hutchison, Matt LaFontaine,…
NEPEAN LEAGUE THE final five is set in MPNFL Nepean Division, six rounds before the end of the final home and away game. Dromana won its sixth game on the trot on Saturday and in doing so, went two games clear of both Red Hill (sixth) and Somerville (seventh). Given the Eagles and the Hillmen have tougher runs home, it appears now that the Tigers are in the perfect position to grab a spot in the finals. Furthermore, the Tigers are now just a game and percentage off second place and should be now aiming for a great outcome from…
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie ROY Kilner will step down as head coach of State 4 South promotion candidate Baxter at season’s end and has a succession plan in place. Kilner made the decision to call it a day some weeks back and wants current first team keeper Francis Beck to become the club’s new player-coach. Kilner has told the first team squad of his intentions and Beck has been given more responsibility in overseeing training sessions. While Beck is yet to fully commit to the succession plan there’s also the matter of whether or not his candidature will be approved…
AFL SE Regional General Manager John Anderson believes that one of the two options presented in the senior football competition review will provide a “very strong premier competition”. Anderson, who spoke in two separate videos last Wednesday, said he “believed a region of our size and stature ought to have a strong premier competition. He went on to say that “this is a view shared by many clubs”. Mr Anderson is consistent with this push despite 20 of the 22 MPNFL clubs responding to the recommendations last week, opposing the recommendations in the review. All clubswere given the opportunity to…
By Ben Triandafillou WHEELCHAIR Basketball will make its way to the Mornington Peninsula with a weekly clinic starting Sunday 23 July. Mornington District Basketball Association (MDBA) will host the weekly clinics at the Mornington Secondary College basketball stadium. It hopes to eventually lead on to a wheelchair basketball league. The MDBA has been taking registrations-of-interest from wheelchair basketballers since early-April after being contacted by a young local boy. Ella Linton-Smith, a representative of the association, says it had been looking at building a wheelchair basketball league for some time and was inspired to take action from an 11-year-old boy named…
OWING to his professional duties necessitating his constant absence from the district, especially on the dates of meetings of the Shire Council; Councillor Plowman has definitely announced his intention to resign his seat on the North Riding which he has filled with satisfaction to the ratepayers and credit to himself for a long period. His loss will be greatly felt, for although he has had leave of absence for some time, he has been anything but inactive in other directions in looking after the affairs of the whole shire at the Metropolitan end and many other directions a fact which…
UPCOMING exhibitions at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery feature works by past and contemporary female artists. The Leading Ladies of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow exhibitions run from 21 July to 17 September. Constance Stokes (1906-1991) is regarded as one of the leading artists of her generation, the gallery said. She travelled and studied in London and Paris, and in 1953 exhibited at the Royal Academy in London alongside Arthur Boyd, Russell Drysdale and Sidney Nolan. In 1929 she won the Travelling Scholarship at the National Gallery School, Melbourne, to study for two years at the Royal Academy in London. She…
RYE Community Group Alliance is urging Mornington Peninsula Shire to vote against increasing the number of boat and jet ski launching ramps at Rye. The issue will come to a head at the shire’s 17 July planning services meeting in Rosebud. Council officers have recommended the shire accept a $588,000 grant from Roads, Road Safety and Ports Minister Luke Donnellan to be given on the proviso the expansion includes a fourth boat ramp. But the alliance has urged councillors to “listen to what is being said by many in the Rye community and say no to the expansion of the…
THE boat hire business at Scout Beach, Mornington, has been granted a new nine-year lease along with a 300 per cent rent hike. The lease to Mornington Boat Hire and Bait and Tackle run by Paul Pingiaro operates from a boat shed and includes about 120 square metres of foreshore, which can be used for boat hire and a kiosk. Boats have been hired from a business on the beach for 90 years. A report to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s Tuesday 27 June meeting said Mornington Boat Hire had nine employees “and is Melbourne’s largest boat hire with other operations…
THERE’S no sign of the heritage sheep that once graced The Briars Park, Mt Martha. They vanished – and some of the volunteers who paid for them and felt responsible for them – say they have been kept in the dark about where they were sent and whether they will be replaced. Mornington Peninsula Shire says there is no mystery: the sheep were sold more than a year ago and volunteers were offered a refund. One volunteer said he had not received a refund from Mornington Peninsula Shire Council for the cost of the heritage sheep which he had contributed…
A MORNINGTON man got the fright of his life when bailed up by police, with guns drawn, outside his house, 1.30am, Tuesday 27 June. Philippe DeKraan, of Alameda Av, said the police helicopter hovering overhead and noises in his street woke him up, so he dressed and went outside. There was plenty of action in the street, he said, with police on foot roaming from house to house. “Before I could blink they rushed towards me,” Mr DeKraan said. “Three police cars turned their headlights on me and police jumped out of their cars with hands on their pistols, shouting…