UNMADE roads are being blamed for the increasing sediment in the Balcombe Creek estuary at Mt Martha. The environment group BERG Mt Martha says “analysts” recorded 14 tonnes of sediment flowing into the estuary during three storms between 28 September and 23 October 2016. It believes a similar amount of gravel and dirt was washed into the creek from surrounding roads by heavy rains at the beginning of December last year. BERG Mt Martha says the sediment threatens the survival of the estuary’s native birds, fish and other wildlife. The environmental group is campaigning to raise awareness of the problem…
Year: 2018
THE shortage of safe, long-term accommodation for those affected by mental illness in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula has one man fearing for the plight of a family member. John Bradford, of Mt Martha, said “issues with drugs and alcohol” five years ago had forced him to try to find alternative accommodation for a relative with a mental condition. A search for suitable government-run accommodation proved fruitless and the alternatives, such as privately-run boarding and rooming houses, were often unsafe and cramped. The family member, a man whose name has been withheld, prefers to sleep on the streets of…
COASTAL protection works being designed to protect cliffs and the Esplanade at Mt Martha North Beach have revived calls for the permanent removal of beach boxes. Port Phillip Conservation Council says laying rocks and boulders at the base of the crumbling cliffs is “a short term reactionary response”. The PPCC says the latest consultants’ report recommending removal of the bathing boxes at Mt Martha North is a repeats of one made in 2002 by the former Department of Environment and Conservation. “Unfortunately, this sound solution was overturned … following sustained political pressure from the newly-formed Mornington Peninsula Boatshed Owners Association,…
RESIDENTS opposed to a proposed $50 million “retirement village” in Roberts Road, Mornington, say it will look like a “trailer park”. The land is in a recognised horse precinct with easy access to Mornington racecourse. “According to the developers’ plans, the 371 two-and-three bedroom dwellings will be constructed of Colorbond and timber. That’s similar to caravan park units. Their design will devalue properties in the area,” nearby resident and spokesperson Christine Pingiaro said. “There will be loss of native habitat, potentially massive impact on the Balcombe Creek catchment, and encroachment on conservation reserves. There is no plan about what vegetation…
THEY may be out of sight and hard to access, but the produce from hundreds of hectares devoted to undersea farming off the Mornington Peninsula have retail outlets in very public places: car parks. Paying Mornington Peninsula Shire $3780 this year, the car park seafood retailers are based at Flinders, Safety Beach and Hastings. The retailers are seen as operating with Seagate permits, compared by the shire’s property operations team leader Greg Collins to the longer running farm gate system. “The purpose of the Seagate trading sites is to provide local aquaculture producers with an opportunity to sell their produce…
WILDLIFE groups are breathing a little easier after a meeting with VicRoads officers on Tuesday 9 January thrashed out a “redesign of works” for clearing trees from the median strip on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway. In what was slammed as a “scorched earth” vegetation clearance last October, the authority’s “forestry machine” mulched its way through hundreds of metres of established median-strip trees and shrubs in preparation for the laying of steel-rope barriers along the length of the freeway. As the barriers require at least three metres of “flex” space, wide swathes of bushland became collateral damage with stressed animals and…
VANDALS trashed and robbed the historic old shire offices at Dromana, overnight Wednesday 7 February. Mornington Peninsula Shire officers said “significant damage” had been caused to the well-used community space in Pt Nepean Road. The offices house the Rotary Club of Dromana, Port Phillip 4WD Club, U3A Southern Peninsula, Dromana and District Historical Society, Dromana Potters Group and Country Women’s Association. During the break in, several valuable pieces were stolen from historical society collections. “I am angered by this senseless act on such a well-loved community space,” Cr Simon Brooks said. “We will work to help rectify the situation wherever…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is choosing five “key actions” after joining the Australia-wide Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership. The shire’s membership was announced at a ceremony in Lismore, NSW making it one of 70 municipalities networking to tackle climate change. While there were no shire representatives at Lismore, the mayor Cr Bryan Payne said “we are excited to be a part of such an important initiative and to be working in collaboration with other local councils to take the next step towards a sustainable, non-polluting energy future”. Councillors agreed to join the climate council last October. “Cities Power Partnership offers the…
RUPERT Norman Debney was a gunner in the 4th Battalion, 2nd brigade, of the Royal Australian Field Artillery, who retired to his parent’s holiday house at Dromana after World War I. A diary of his experiences while fighting in France in 1917 will be displayed at Mornington library as part of the Writing the War: Personal Stories from WWI exhibition, 17 February-31 March 2018. The exhibition will feature diaries, letters, artefacts and photographs taken from the State Library of Victoria’s archive. Seven personal stories from this collection have been selected for the touring exhibition. Mornington Peninsula Shire has invited the…
THE futile search for a swimmer missing off Portsea back beach on Sunday last week was an emotionally and physically draining exercise for Volunteer Marine Rescue crews from Mornington and Hastings. They were unable to find missing Narre Warren engineering student Khalil Nabizadah, 23, whose body was washed up at Portsea on Wednesday afternoon. Police are preparing a report for the coroner. Two other men were rescued: a 22-year-old Cranbourne West man was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and said to be in a stable condition, while a 23-year-old Cranbourne man did not require medical treatment. The rescue attempt…
MORNINGTON Peninsula residents are being invited to have their say on plans for the proposed $30 million Rosebud aquatic centre. A business case on the proposed Rosebud Aquatic Centre handed to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors late last year outlined three concept plans: a 25-metre indoor pool; 50-metre indoor pool; and a 50-metre outdoor pool with associated health, fitness and wellbeing facilities. Residents provide feedback on the summary and key findings of the business case and indicate their preference for either a 25-metre or a 50-metre pool. The deadline is Wednesday 28 February. The decision for a 50-metre indoor or outdoor…
TWO “sizeable” cash donations have enabled Crystal Ocean Wildlife Shelter’s Brenda Marmion to move house. The animal rescuer and advocate, 74, grappled with uncertainty after being asked to vacate the Golf Parade, Rye, property she and many lost, starving or injured native animals have called home over the past four years. Ms Marmion, a pensioner and in poor health, said her new Rye bush-block home in Highbury Road was “a bit rough but absolutely ideal” for her needs. She will move in on 21 February. She said the lead-up to finding the fibro-home was made possuble by donations which allowed…
THE family of murdered Hastings jeweller Dermot O’Toole have expressed disappointment at the vandalism of the walk named in his honour. O’Toole Walk is decorated with a mural, carved leprechaun, clover plaques, and a bench dedicated to the Hastings resident and trader who was murdered in his High Street store in July 2013. The mural has been defaced in recent days, and a plaque ripped from the wall. “The recent vandalism of O’Toole Walk is extremely disrespectful not just to our family, but to the whole community and to all those that volunteered their time to create this walkway,” Trent…
VANDALS are defacing billboards promoting a charity event run by Peninsula Aero Club. “Our air show benefits a number of charities across the peninsula,” club president Jack Vevers said online. “This year we have nominated Riding for the Disabled as our key beneficiary, and damaging the signs takes money out of their pockets. This makes this whole episode even more shameful.” He said the club was urging people to keep an eye out for vandals to “help us stop this damage.” The club’s air show War and Peace is on Sunday 11 March. First published in the Western Port News…
A $5000 donation by steel company BlueScope to the Hasting Yacht Club will go towards buying polo shirts for volunteers in the Sailability program. The program supports those who normally would not be able to sail or enjoy the pleasures of sailing. Club Sailability officer Kevin Baensch said the volunteers needed to be easily identified. One, John Browning, pictured, travels from St Andrews to assist at every Sailability session. He is now sporting the new polo with the BlueScope logo. “Another immediate requirement is for VHF radios to link up the rescue boats and the training yacht,” Mr Baensch said.…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has now officially “transitioned” out of running school holiday programs. Licences held by the shire with the Department of Education and Training will be transferred to commercial operator Team Holiday. Team Holiday will run programs under the licences from the April’s Easter school holidays at Hastings and Mornington while continuing existing programs at Mt Eliza and Mt Martha. Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Bryan Payne described Team Holiday as “an established and experienced service provider”. Team Holiday’s website lists three programs in the just-ended school holidays, ranging from $70 a day at Mt Eliza North Primary to…
THE WESTERNPORT Steelers have signed two new imports for the 2018 season who are set to make an impact on and off the court. German championship victor Dylan Travis arrived in Melbourne last month and has made an immediate impact at the club running the Summer Basketball Camp at the Somerville Secondary College two weeks ago. Travis, who finished his college career at Florida Southern College in 2016 with a number of honours in All-American teams, will be joined by European basketballer Attirah Munir who will arrive later this month. Munir will join the Women’s Steelers team and will help…
SOCCER MORNINGTON won its fifth Steve Wallace Memorial Cup on Saturday and will use its success as a springboard for a tilt at the State 1 South-East championship and an NPL berth. It was the sixth staging of the annual charity event which is a celebration of the local game and honours Stephen William Wallace, Langwarrin life-member and former club president, committeeman, coach, player and Bayside League referee who died on 19 July 2011 at the age of 54. The tournament had its fair share of controversy centring on disputed refereeing decisions and an argument over which sides should play…
SUB-DISTRICT DROMANA and Boneo maintain their positions at the top of the MPCA Sub District ladder after impressive victories on Saturday. Dromana’s victory was more profound given that it picked up maximum points against Tyabb (20). Dromana resumed on the second day with 4/115 chasing Tyabb’s first inning score of 128. Jed Savage went on to make 71 and Jack Fowler 51 while Jeff Bluhm scored a handy 41 at the bottom of the innings, this all helped Dromana to a score of 236. Tyabb just needed to bat the rest of the afternoon to avoid an outright loss, however…
PENINSULA LONG Island stepped up to the plate when it needed, steam rolling Pines in impressive fashion in MPCA Peninsula Cricket on Saturday. The Islanders started the day defending a modest total of just 154, however its bowling attack came to the fore, all of them contributing to the wicket tally. Greg Lamb was at his brilliant best snaring 4/18 off 12 overs while Stuart Swift took 2/15 and Andrew Tweddle picked up 2/19. Nick Wilcox finished unbeaten for Pines on 20. The only other batsman to score double figures was Jarred Coad with 13. Main Ridge, despite resuming one…
DISTRICT SEAFORD made tough work of winning its MPCA District game against Rye. However that was predicted given Seaford started day two of the match reeling at 4/42. David Anderson (28) and Dean Polson with an unbeaten 67 saved the day for Seaford, getting to a match winning total of 178 in just 57 overs. Andrew Dunn was the best of Rye’s bowlers, bowling 23 overs for a return of 3/72. Hastings deserved to celebrate on Saturday night and it did so with a 37 run victory over Mt Martha. Isuru Dias was masterful for the Blues sending down 32.2…
PROVINCIAL THEY say that a week can be along time in sport. Just one match ago in MPCA Provincial Cricket, Baxter appeared to be a long shot of making this year’s final series. Fast forward a match and Baxter is now the only team outside of the top bracket to be any chance of breaking in. That comes on the back of a demolition job on Pearcedale who would have been confident of getting the 191 runs needed for victory. Baxter’s bowling attack shared in the glory boasting five wicket takers in Pearcedale’s innings of 129. Ben Brittain was the…
Compiled by Brodie Cowburn IN consequence of numerous complaints regarding youths armed with pea rifles, shooting indiscriminately at windows, railway signals and stock, Const. Ryan proceeded, on Monday evening, to Carrum Downs and Seaford. In the vicinity of a swamp near Seaford on which a number of wild ducks were swimming, the const. found four youths. One had a shot gun and each of the others had a pea rifle. As the lads were all under 18 years of age the const. seized the rifles and the culprits will appear at Frankston Court on 11th inst. on a charge of…
THE plight of a dog named Jack and his would-be rescuer, Pam, of Mornington, touched many people when aired on social media over the holidays. Posted by Save Mornington Pound Pets, which advocates for improved outcomes at the shire’s shelter in Watt Rd, it received 21,000 hits in 24 hours. The story was about an old dog called Jack who often visited Pam’s home. After regularly “hanging around”, Jack was invited inside and they grew fond of each other’s company. “Jack was 16, with cataracts and deaf, and just loved to sit with me and the cat and be cuddled,”…
A ROW is brewing over plans to build a retirement village off Roberts Rd, Mornington. Residents are rallying to halt Steller Estates’ proposed 371-unit development on 20 hectares at the south end of Roberts Rd. The land is zoned Low Density Residential and designated a horse precinct. The company’s planning permit application was knocked back by Mornington Peninsula Shire but it is appealing to VCAT. Steller has been directed to notify affected neighbours. Steller told council that its retirement village submission “responds to the evident need for affordable retirement living on the Mornington Peninsula as Victoria’s population ages and housing…
THIS year’s Mornington Art Show, the 46th run by Mornington Rotary Club, is being called “one of the best ever”. More than 840 paintings were on show, including VCE student art work. The top award of best exhibit in any medium went to Casey Sealy’s painting “Winter moon Grafton”. The $50,000 raised by the club through the show will be spent on local and international humanitarian projects. Mornington Rotary has so far spent more than $600,000 raised from its art show on Mornington projects. “Despite the heat, the gala opening night was an enjoyable and friendly event attended by just…
TAKING a tougher stand against the hordes of young thrill-seekers gathering at The Pillars rock jumping platforms at Martha was front-of-mind for those attending a community meeting on Wednesday 31 January. Mornington Peninsula Shire organised the talk-fest to provide updates and seek community feedback on crowd behaviour at the scenic jumping spot. About 60 residents met at the shire’s Mornington offices with staff from Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Victoria Police, VicRoads, Parks Victoria, Ambulance Victoria, Mt Martha CFA, Mt Martha Life Saving Club and councillors. Contentious issues included parking, rubbish, road crossings, water safety and emergency…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Astronomical Society members and keen moon watchers gathered at The Briars Astronomy Centre in Mt Martha last Wednesday evening (31 January) to witness the total lunar eclipse on the second full moon of the month. At first, the mood was somewhat subdued as the cloud cover was heavy but at about 10pm the skies cleared revealing the beginning of the Penumbral Eclipse. Over the next four hours, the shadow of the earth gradually encroached between the moon and the sun, changing the colour of the moon to a blood red. Members of the astronomy club were kept busy…
MORNINGTON Peninsula residents are not affected yet by Visy Industries’ decision to end kerbside recyclable waste collections in some municipalities. The company’s action follows a Chinese ban on accepting waste from Australia. The shire’s acting executive manager infrastructure services Jessica Wingad said having contractor SKM as the shire’s recycler meant “we are not affected by Visy’s decision”. The reassurance comes alongside the resumption of regular fortnightly kerbside recycling. The shire collected recyclables weekly over January and resumed the fortnightly collection on 2 February. Recyclable materials include aluminium and steel cans and foil; plastics such as children’s toys, kitchen containers, cups…
THE state government has approved mandatory height limits for new buildings in Sorrento. This comes after Mornington Peninsula Shire last July moved to protect the “distinctive character” of the commercial centre – mainly along Ocean Beach Rd. A design and development overlay sets height limits of 11 metres in areas that allow three storeys and eight metres in areas allowing two storeys. Setback controls stipulate that a third storey must be set back so as not to be “visually prominent” from the opposite side of the street. The mayor Cr Bryan Payne thanked acting planning minister Lily D’Ambrosio for “seeing…