HORSE RACING THE Matt Laurie-trained Algadon Miss announced herself as a potential Stakes contender in the Spring by scoring back-to-back victories at Moonee Valley on Saturday 24 August. The pint-sized speedster settled in behind the leaders before kicking strongly around the bend to run away with the benchmark 84 victory over the Busuttin/Young-trained Angelic Spirit and Danny O’Brien-trained, Fabric. Not only was the performance impressive to the eye, but the mare also clocked the quickest time of all four 1200m contests on the day. The victory bought up Algadons Miss’ fifth victory from eight career starts and continued her unbeaten…
Year: 2019
PERFORMING at the Frankston Arts Centre on Friday 20 September and Sunday 27 October, the Imperial Russian Ballet Company return to Australia with Swan Lake…the most loved classical ballet of them all. This masterpiece ballet is presented in two acts and follows the original storyline. Subtle revisions and variations have been introduced by Gediminas Taranda, Artistic Director of the Imperial Russian Ballet Company. Swan Lake crosses the world of magic and mystical creatures with that of the real world. It is a story where the virtues of love and forgiveness in the end conquer evil and betrayal. The Imperial Russian…
PLANS are well underway for this year’s 6.7 kilometre fun run or walk Arthurs Seat Challenge, from Rosebud to Seawinds Gardens at the top of Arthurs Seat. This event promotes and raise money for the Fit to Drive road safety program provided free to Mornington Peninsula and Frankston secondary schools. Fit to Drive focuses on personal safety, responsibility, and strategies to make young people use the roads safely. Running since 2001, the Fit to Drive program has been aimed to reducing road trauma by changing attitudes and behaviours of young drivers and passengers. BlueScope Western Port has supported the Arthurs…
JUST over the white cliffs of Dover, on the landward side, is a picture of an aeroplane cut in the centre of a green meadow. It marks as a remembrance the spot where Mr. Rolls landed when he made the first flight across the English Channel from Calais to Dover. That flight was made barely ten years ago, and when it was made all the world wondered. It is but 22 miles as the crow flies between Calais and Dover, and Mr. Rolls’ flight was made under carefully selected and favourable weather conditions. Shortly after his successful flight across a…
A PROJECT to improve the Roger Penman Reserve Community Playground at Blairgowrie is making great strides. Volunteers’ coordinator Kate Coker said Mornington Peninsula Shire Council had given $15,000 towards the $50,000 needed for new playground equipment at the reserve behind the shopping precinct in Wilson Road. “The play equipment was last updated in 2003 and is understandably in need of an upgrade,” Ms Coker said. “We have an enthusiastic group of parents who are currently volunteering their time to the project, and we have had a huge amount of support from the Blairgowrie community. “The Sorrento Community Centre is backing…
A PROPOSED bike path linking Mornington Tourist Railway at Moorooduc with Civic Reserve at Mornington would be ideal for walking and running as well as cycling – all healthy pastimes in an increasingly frenetic world. Backers of the aptly named Mornington Safelink want support for their project which they say is “shovel ready”. “Most of the work has been done – it just requires lots of public encouragement to get up and going,” proponent Graeme Rocke said. Backers of the path see it is a logical extension of the PenLink trail that now ends at Moorooduc. The aim is to…
A SHOW of hands at a public meeting in Mt Eliza to discuss the introduction of 5G telecommunications services on the Mornington Peninsula showed that those attending did not want the rollout to proceed in its proposed form. This would include positioning small cell antennas near buildings and at the ends of streets using untested millimetre waves, they were told. Organiser Judy O’Donnell said the meeting at Norwood House, Wednesday 14 August, went “really well”. “Over 70 people attended and showed much interest in the presentations, which will be available to view on 3RPP video channel. (“Call to stall 5G…
TWO Mt Eliza men have been arrested and interviewed as part of an investigation into “suspicious betting activity” in an esports league, 23 August. Police allege video game players were “arranging to throw matches and subsequently placing bets on those matches”. The matches were part of a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, a popular multiplayer first-person shooter video game. The Mt Eliza men were among six people arrested as part of the ongoing investigation. Police believe five matches were affected, with more than 20 bets placed on those matches by Australian punters. Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit detectives also arrested two 20-year-old…
A RISING tide of anger has greeted the announcement that no action will be taken to ensure sand remains at Mt Martha Beach North. However, the anger and political backlash is being aimed at recommendations made by engineers and scientists who say any physical efforts to save the beach would transfer the problem elsewhere. Flinders MP Greg Hunt and Mornington MP David Morris, who is also the state opposition’s environment, climate change and bay protection spokesperson, accuse the state government of abandoning the beach and its beach boxes. The state government has paid for large boulders to be placed behind…
A MAN’S body was found inside a burned out Mornington house last week. About 20 firefighters and five appliances fought the blaze in Carramar Street just after midnight, Friday 23 August. Thick smoke was visible from the Mornington Peninsula Freeway. The Arson Squad will investigate the blaze which spread to a neighbouring house and damaged the garage. The occupants of that house were safely evacuated. Neighbour Sam Maxwell said he was working in his garage about 11.30pm when he heard – and felt – a loud “whomp” followed by a series of pops and bangs, like bursting aerosol cans. “At…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council wants residents to back its hard line against jet skiers on Port Phillip beaches. It is urging them to speak up in a Maritime Safety Victoria survey on a proposed rule change aimed at prohibiting irregular riding – such as wave jumping and freestyling – of jet skis in shared zones. The rule would also require jet skis riders to steer a direct course offshore so other water users to better predict their course. The proposed rule follows the shire losing its bid to reign in dangerous behaviour by jet skiers near bathers. The shire sees…
INCREASING money for free legal services could help improve the early detection of family violence on the Mornington Peninsula and in Frankston. The Peninsula Community Legal Centre, which has offices in Frankston, Rosebud and Cranbourne, says increasing the financing of “health justice partnerships” is a key to improving the early detection of family violence. In a submission to Victoria’s mental health royal commission, the legal centre says “specialist pathways” are needed to connect patients who are victims of domestic violence to lawyers experienced in psychosocial health and family violence. These pathways must come from both the public and private health…
BARRY Goldsmith has warned that this could be an “early year” for snakes. A wildlife controller, snake catcher and wildlife rescuer on the Mornington Peninsula for “close to four decades”, there’s not much about snake catching Mr Goldsmith doesn’t know. “Every year is different,” he said last week. “Some years, the season will start early and the heavy rain we had in August has meant lots of vegetation growth as well as healthy populations of lizards, frogs and rodents [which snakes like to eat]. “I just want people to be aware in the garden and around the home as we…
THE frequent use of drugs by drivers on Mornington Peninsula roads was highlighted during Somerville Highway Patrol’s Operation Drive-Thru last week. Drivers exiting fast-food outlet drive-throughs in the Frankston Council area were tested to see if they had the munchies as a result of drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Over the Friday and Saturday nights 16-17 August 78 vehicles were intercepted with 21 drivers testing positive to drugs and being over the alcohol limit. A 21-year-old, of Frankston South, blew 0.164 per cent after being clocked at 200kph in a 100kph zone on the Frankston Freeway. Police issued six vehicle…
TWO mates heading home after a big night out at Mornington’s pubs and clubs took the wrong option, Saturday 17 August. Instead of splitting a taxi fare, calling a sober friend or walking the three kilometres home they decided to drive instead. If life’s a lottery then the 20-year-old Mornington man lost: The p-plater was picked up driving his mate’s manual 4WD on his automatic-only licence. After being clocked at 97kph in an 80kph zone on Nepean Highway he blew 0.126 per cent and lost his licence for 12 months. His mate’s 4WD was impounded for 30 days. “If you…
A FAMILY asleep upstairs at a house on Old Mornington Road, Mt Eliza, awoke to the sound of breaking glass, 4.30am Sunday 18 August. Venturing downstairs they found glass all over the floor and a handbag missing. The offenders had fled but credit cards from the bag were used twice before being cancelled. Investigations are ongoing into the burglary. Anyone with information is urged to call Acting Senior Sergeant Jason Hocking, of Somerville CIU, 5978 1300 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 27 August 2019
SOMERVILLE detectives are reviewing CCTV footage to help identify a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at an ATM in Eramosa Road East last week. Detective Senior Sergeant Eddie Logonder said the National Australia Bank’s ATM was destroyed and the bank facade damaged in the incident, 11.50pm, Tuesday 20 August. Somerville CFA fire crews contained the fire to the front of the building. No other shops were damaged. Anyone with information is urged to call Somerville CIU 5978 1300 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 27 August 2019
AN air of excitement builds around at Eastbourne Primary School during book week as students from all levels dress up as characters from books. Principal Stephen Wilkinson said learning specialist Carli Hunter and her team “provided many stimulating, inquiry based activities to engage all the students”. “The Reading for Life theme is important. It enables students to realise reading is part of everything we involve ourselves with whether it be numeracy, interpreting rules for sport or observing road signs and directions,” Ms Hunter said. “At Eastbourne Primary we have very good data in reading across the board because of the…
AN exhibition opening in Mornington later this month will show the Mornington Peninsula as seen through the eyes of 58 artists. The artists will explore the beauty of the region for the Southern Buoy Studios’ 2019 Landscape Prize through their works on show from Saturday 31 August to Saturday 28 September. “Our aim is to showcase a variety of well-known and emerging artists,” the studio’s program and marketing manager Rachel Doyle said. “The familiar becomes new through paint; narratives and recollections are projected to create a dialogue with the viewer. Works immerse us in the experience of the Mornington Peninsula…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council ruled out chemical “fogging” to kill mosquitoes in the fight against the Buruli ulcer. The decision follows community alarm over the uncharted environmental impacts of non-targeted insecticide spraying in mosquito prone areas of the peninsula. (“Be very concerned: mayor cautions about Buruli study” The News 22/7/19). At that time the mayor Cr David Gill – a bee enthusiast who gives talks on native bees – said he was “devastated by the possibility of widespread spraying.” “All insects will be affected and, consequently, the rest of the food chain, including birds and fish. The public has the…
Police will prepare a report for the coroner after a person was located deceased following a fire in Mornington this morning. Emergency services responded to the Carramar Street blaze about 12am. The fire spread to a neighbouring residence and caused damage to the garage. The occupants from second home were safely evacuated. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be established and the investigation remains ongoing.
By Lance Hodgins Part Three The members of the 1913 “Greatest Team Ever” JACK CAMPBELL was the 1913 captain and, at 38 years of age, a football veteran. He grew up in Bendigo, where he captained the strong Bendigo FC before moving to Tasmania to play in the tough mining competition at Queenstown. In 1912 he came to Hastings to join his brother in the family general and hardware store (near today’s Shire Offices) and played in the premiership team that year. He captained again in 1915 and served as a club administrator after the war years. He settled in…
ADMITTING he “didn’t have a clue” about garden care or even being a franchisee didn’t deter Hastings resident Richard Harrison from taking up the first Jim’s Mowing franchise in the UK in 2005. For Harrison, the goal was to make enough money to pay for his and his former wife’s European holiday. “I thought, how hard can it be?” the recently published author said. Looking back all these years later he has written a light-hearted memoir, The Export Gardener, about a clumsy optimist who travels to England and decides that affluent Sevenoaks in Kent is the ideal place to launch…
A SHARED passion for skating has allowed Hastings dad and skateboarding coach Craig Mitchell to spend quality time with his three children – Riley, 13, Kobe, 10, and Indy, 6. Fort the past five years they have been regulars at the YMCA skate parks on the Mornington Peninsula. “We’re a skating family and the YMCA and its skate facilities have given me and my kids a place to have fun, keep active and create lasting memories,” Mr Mitchell said. “I’m also heavily involved with the Y’s skateboarding programs and coach around 100 kids a week from all over the state.…
NEXT year’s scheduled Tyabb air show has been cleared for take-off. Peninsula Aero Club president Jack Vevers late Monday afternoon said he had signed a permit for the air show with Mornington Peninsula Shire. Agreement for the permit followed a week of “intense negotiations” between the club and the shire. The permit drawn up by the shire was delivered to Mr Vevers by shire CEO John Baker on Friday, just days after the club announced cancellation of the Sunday 8 March 2020 air show. On Monday morning, Mr Vevers said the club had been “talking all weekend [about signing the…
THE ability to communicate with others is a simple process for most people. We speak, others listen and, hopefully, understand what we are trying to say. But everyday words are mysterious unknowns for some Mornington Peninsula youngsters, especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds who are unable to enunciate, or even create basic sentences. They are unable to use words as building blocks to expand their vocabularies and tend to shy away from communicating because it exposes their poor literacy skills. Later in life they tend to be forced to the back of the queue when it comes to higher learning…
NEW interpretative signs on Tanti Creek, Mornington, explain the natural environment of the creek, and its use by traditional owners the Boon Wurrung through to white settlement. They offer interesting illustrations and descriptions of the plants and wildlife in the creek estuary. Members of Tanti Creek Friends Judith Martin and Jan Oliver oversaw the designs of the large format signs during 10 years of research. Their work was paid for with a Mornington Peninsula Shire community grant. The signs are near the estuary at Mills Beach, and at the well-used foot bridge at Stones Crossing. Some of the early grand…
By Danielle Kutchel VETS are upset by a push by Mornington Peninsula Shire to sign them up to an agreement setting out what they can do with stray animals. The non-mandatory 84Y agreement – included in the Domestic Animals Act of Victoria – requires that all cats and dogs found or seized be delivered to an authorised council officer, or to a council-approved organisation, including vets. If a vet practice has an 84Y agreement with a council it can retain, dispose of, or return cats or dogs to their owners. Vets without an agreement must hand strays over to the…
THERE will be no further steps taken to restore sand to the beach or protect beach boxes at Mt Martha North. A report released on Friday by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) found that the most feasible options at the beach are to “monitor” and, if necessary, reinforce a rock wall protecting the bottom of the cliff and “allow natural processes to take place without further intervention”. “This option aligns with the Victorian Coastal Strategy’s directive to allow natural coastal processes as the preferred approach to coastal erosion management,” the report states. It also recommends Mount…
DIVISION ONE SORRENTO will head into finals with momentum on their side after easily defeating Pines in their last home and away match for the season. The Sharks put on a show in front of their home crowd at David Macfarlane Reserve. They took the lead early with an impressive first half, and never looked like giving it up. Sorrento went into half time comfortably six goals ahead, and didn’t let up in the second half. They were helped by three goals from Mitch Hallahan. Shannon Gladman, Nick Marston, and Chad Harris also had impressive games for the Sharks. Sorrento…