Day: March 25, 2020

Arthurs Seat Eagle falls into administration. Was COVID-19 the straw that broke the Eagle’s back? Mornington Centrelink wins a six month stay of execution due to current challenges. Key facts from today’s Victorian COVID-19 update: The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victoria is 466 – an increase of 55 from yesterday. The total number of cases includes 271 men and 191 women (with four cases under investigation). People are aged from pre-school age to their late eighties. At the present time, there are eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Victoria that may have been acquired through community…

A SIX-MONTH extension to the lease will allow Centrelink and Medicare offices in Mornington will remain open in their present form. The offices at 332 Main Street had been slated to close on 27 March and replaced with a private, part-time agency to run over 15 hours three days a week. (“Centrelink shutdown” The News 11/2/20). The new agency was expected to “complement” existing services run out of Rosebud, Hastings and Frankston offices. In a welcome turnaround, Flinders MP and health minister Greg Hunt said the lease extension would create certainty for Mornington Peninsula residents “through both the health and…

THE Eagle cable car ride at Arthurs Seat has been placed in the hands of administrators. The estimated $20 million ride that started carrying passengers in December 2016 has now ground to a halt. Lisa Macnamara, senior manager – corporate affairs at Pricewaterhouse Coopers said the closure was due to “the government’s advice on COVID-19, which coincided with the appointment of the voluntary administrators [Craig Crosbie and Robert Ditrich] the following day [23 March]”. “Due to the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 situation, a potential reopening date cannot be provided at this stage.” Ms Macnamara said all full time…

A STUDY of the wreck of a small Australian-built ship off Rye has helped Flinders University maritime archaeology students reveal more of the history of early timber vessels in Victoria. The students from South Australia partnered with Heritage Victoria and the community-based Maritime Archaeology Association of Victoria to investigate the wreck of the Barbara sunk near the pier in 1853. The ship was built along the Tamar River in Tasmania by Joseph Hind in 1841 and operated as a lime trader in Port Phillip. The making of lime and its shipment to Melbourne for brickmaking was one of the southern…