Year: 2020

DOGS have a good run on most Mornington Peninsula beaches, but not all. At some beaches they are prohibited and at others they must be leashed. Mornington Peninsula Shire is working with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and local committees-of-management to encourage residents to better manage their dogs’ behaviour at certain beaches and foreshore and parks reserves. These include those at Balnarring, Capel Sound, Dromana, Point King, Point Leo, Shoreham, Somers, and Whitecliffs-to-Camerons Bight. Signs there aim to educate dog owners on their responsibilities. The shire says its officers will be patrolling regularly to ensure dogs are…

Story and photo by Barry Irving THE Rye Gift and family gathering held annually on the second Saturday in January has had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. The 2021 gift was to have been the 47th running of the annual event which started back in 1975. The board of the Rye Sports and Social Club, along with the six sporting clubs which run the event, are said to be “extremely disappointed to have had to make this decision”. Sponsors, advertisers and members of the public have been the backbone of the popular event which has…

THIS Christmas looked like being a sad affair when the first and second COVID-19 lockdowns caused the Southern Peninsula Woodworkers workshop to close for 29 weeks. But nothing could deter the enthusiasm and dedication of Gaven Davis and his team of toy makers. For more than 20 years the Woodworkers have made toys for charities on the peninsula and, despite being without the extensive facilities of the club’s workshop, they decided to make toys at home. When the club reopened recently the toy makers and their wives had produced 631 toys, including mattresses and blankets for cradles and prams. Other…

RENOVATORS of holiday houses and beach boxes on the Mornington Peninsula need to be aware not to disturb dangerous asbestos particles in the process. They should engage a professional to properly assess the risks. Gordon Legal senior associate Tess Dickie said most structures built before 1987 contained asbestos – especially holiday shacks and beach boxes. The substance was used in bathrooms and kitchens, laundries, meter boxes, eaves and under cladding, tiles and linoleum flooring and in sheds, fences and chicken coops. “Any amount of asbestos is dangerous and, while it won’t always cause asbestos-related conditions, even brief exposure could result…

MORNINGTON Peninsula wine producers are facing potentially serious consequences as a result of China’s effective ban on the importing of Australian wines. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on 27 November that new tariffs would be placed on all Australian wine imports while it carried out an “anti-dumping investigation”. Treasury Wine Estates, the owner of peninsula winery T’Gallant and the premium wine brand Penfolds, has been slugged with a 169.3 per cent tariff on all its wine exports to China, effectively killing off their trade with that country. The Chinese market accounted for 36.7 per cent of Australia’s wine export…

THE state government has allocated $13.85 million in the Budget to improve timetables and the frequency of bus services on Mornington Peninsula. Services on Route 788 from Frankston to Portsea will soon run every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 40 minutes on weekends – instead of the previous 40-50 minute frequencies – to tackle overcrowding and give passengers more choice about when they travel. Mount Martha bus users will have better bus access with an extension of the Route 781 service to Dromana, while Route 887 – between Rosebud and Frankston – will be redirected along the Mornington Peninsula…

PENINSULA Community Legal Centre has received extra funding to fight rising levels of family violence on the Mornington Peninsula. This comes as the United Nations declares the global increase in domestic violence for women and children a “shadow pandemic”. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 will be remembered by many of those working in the family violence sector as the worst on record,” PCLC’s CEO Jackie Galloway said. “Our family violence team has not only seen an increase in the frequency and severity of family violence across the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne’s south east, but also a surge in people…

BALNARRING Picnic Races are on this Saturday (5 December), although spectator tickets are limited due to COVID-19 regulations. Catering will be minimal, so it is a BYO day for food, drinks and chairs.  The TAB will not be operating, and bookmakers may not be on course. However, there will be room for social distancing and face masks must be worn. For further information or to buy tickets go to balnarringraces.com or email balnarringraces@hotmail.com First published in the Western Port News – 2 December 2020

THE state government is still not onboard the Frankston rail extension project. There was no funding for the proposed project in the state budget handed down last week. The business case assessing the cost of the extension was finally released last month. The cost given for duplicating and electrifying the Frankston line to Baxter was quoted at an eye-watering $1.3 – $1.5 billion. The federal government has committed $225 million to the extension. CEO of advocacy group Committee For Greater Frankston Ginevra Hosking said “the extension is vitally important so Frankston and Mornington Peninsula residents can board trains at stations…

MARG D’Arcy has a burning passion that cannot be extinguished. Decades since she first worked in a refuge for women and children escaping family violence, Marg is no less passionate about advocating for a society free from violence. Having moved to the Peninsula last year following the passing of her husband, Marg has quickly developed a strong local connection. “I love the Peninsula. It gives me the open space I crave – perfect for establishing my garden, reading and taking long walks along the beach with my dog, not to mention discovering the region’s wineries! I have also become a…

PENINSULA A TOP order collapse saw Somerville fall short of victory in their clash against Heatherhill on Saturday. Heatherhill chose to bat first, and opener Don Pulukkuttiarachchi was in impressive form. He scored a half century, with his side making 185 before their innings came to a close. Somerville struggled, with five of their top six batsmen dismissed for scores of less than ten. Three of those batsmen went out for just one run. Number four batsman Bradley McDonald tried his best to drag his side over the line, but his knock of 57 wasn’t enough. Somerville ended up losing…

SOCCER WHEN Jason Nowakowski isn’t enforcing public health directives he’s policing the right side of Skye United’s senior team. He’s in his 10th year with Victoria Police and 2021 will be his fifth year at Skye Recreation Reserve. Nowakowski, 32, is married with a three-year-old son and is one of the few senior players in the local area never to have played as a junior. His playing career kicked off as a 14-year-old at Hailebury College and he was 18 when he joined his first club Endeavour United in Provisional League ranks in 2006. He spent a season in the…

HORSE RACING CHAMPION Mornington-based racehorse trainer Jim Marconi passed away last Monday 23 November aged 87. Leaving behind a remarkable legacy, Marconi swiftly moved from a late-blooming picnic trainer in his mid-40s in 1978 to becoming a multiple Group One winning professional owner/trainer over the next two decades with the feats of Cossack Prince, Rancho Ruler and King Marauding to name a few. But, it wasn’t just racing that Marconi succeeded at. Despite setbacks throughout his life, he always found a way to turn it into an opportunity. Before immigrating to Australia in his mid-20s, Marconi found a way to…

ON Boxing Day the Australian Aerial Derby will be decided. The fastest machines in Australia will compete, and they will start from the Epsom Racecourse, Epsom, and race to Frankston and back three times, a distance of 60 miles. The program of the machines will be reported by wireless telephony from Frankston to Epsom, so the spectators will be able to follow the race throughout. The British and Imperial Oil Co. Pty Ltd and The Herald and Weekly Times are presenting valuable trophies, and these will be presented by either the Prime Minister or Senator Pearce, the Minister of Defence.…

THE Victorian Fisheries Authority has identified about 50 dead seastars left on Mornington pier as environmental pests, northern Pacific seastars. The invasive seastars are thought to have been introduced into Port Phillip through ship ballast water from Japan in 1995. Fully formed Northern Pacific seastars can grow from the severed arm of just one injured individual and the VFA recommends that they be dumped in waste bins rather than being thrown back into the water or left on the pier. Stacey Fallowfield was dismayed and photographed (above) seastars seemingly left to die on Mornington pier mid-November. “I enjoy walking down…

OLD and unwanted household chemicals can be disposed of responsibly and for free at the Detox Your Home event at Mornington transfer station, 9am-3pm, Saturday 5 December. The Sustainability Victoria pop-up event will accept a specific range of highly toxic household chemicals, such as cleaning products, pool chemicals, and weed killer. These products are not accepted at most transfer stations because they pose a high risk to safety when combined or stored in large volumes. However, no paint, fluorescent lights or batteries will be accepted. Organisers say household chemicals can harm people and pets, fuel a house fire, release toxic…

MONEY to start the $562 million Frankston Hospital redevelopment has been made available in the state budget. The budget was handed down by the state government last week. A total of $16.2 million in taxpayer funding was allocated in the 2020/2021 financial year for the hospital expansion. The budget papers showed that $27.2 million will become available for the project in 2021/2022, $124.6 million in 2022/2023, and $191.1 million in 2023/2024. The budget read that the total estimated investment of $562 million “includes funding beyond 2023-24”. The money is welcome news for supporters of the project. Just $6 million was…

RESIDENTS living in koala areas can receive free trees under a plan to improve habit on the Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation and the Conservation Collective Nursery are giving away trees from the nursery at 52 Westernport Highway, Somerville, during business hours. Check conservationcollective.shop for contact details and hours. Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation president Dirk Jansen urged those interested to direct any questions to the nursery and to be “quick because the trees won’t last long”. “Feel free to share with your friends and neighbours and send us a photo of the trees you have planted,” he said. “If…

WOMEN wearing orange marched along Mornington Peninsula streets in support of victims and survivors of family violence and to amplify the message that all forms of violence against women, is unacceptable. The 12th annual Walk Against Family Violence along Main Street, Mornington, was on Wednesday 25 November – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Members of Southern Women’s Action Network (SWAN) arranged two group walks through the town and encouraged others to walk closer to home in smaller groups. About 20 women, including at least one with “personal experience of family violence”, walked about 42 kilometres.…

POLICE will be keeping a sharp eye on rowdy end-of-school celebrations on the Mornington Peninsula this year. They will be increasing patrols in such popular party locations as Rye, Sorrento, Dromana, Rosebud and Mount Martha, and will “not tolerate any behaviour that negatively impacts the community”. This includes underage drinking and anti-social and drunken behaviour on the beaches and around licensed venues and accommodation houses. Senior Sergeant Natalie Dollard, of Rosebud police, said anyone breaching the private gathering rules could cop a $1652 fine. Under eased restrictions up to 15 people are allowed to visit a home, but the host,…

A PILOT was “shaken up” after his light aircraft suffered engine failure and was forced to crash land soon after take-off at Tyabb airfield. The Searey amphibious single-engine plane was reported to have landed on the emergency east-west runway where it collided with a parked twin-engine Cessna 414, 10.30am, Wednesday 25 November. Peninsula Aero Club president Jack Vevers said the plane was in the air for about eight seconds after reaching a height of “maybe 50 feet”. The pilot was taken to Frankston Hospital with a sore back and for a general assessment. An Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman said…

THERE is almost certain to be a revival of newly-elected councillor Anthony Marsh’s failed bid to drop the prayer that is said before each Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting. Cr Marsh was stopped from being able to introduce the move as “urgent business” at the first meeting of the new council last Monday (23 November). He has also been criticised for not including his plans to remove the prayer in his election campaign (see Letters Page 12). Cr Marsh was supported by Crs Paul Mercurio, Sarah Race, Kerri McCafferty and the mayor Despi O’Connor. Councillors against allowing him to move…

UP to $60,000 in this year’s Mornington Peninsula Shire Council budget will go towards developing a mountain bike and BMX strategy on shire-owned land. The strategy will aim to ensure that new and upgraded trails and jumps are in suitable locations and designed with community needs in mind. The shire manages four bike sports areas on the peninsula: Dromana Pump Track, Hillview Reserve, Boundary Road, Red Hill Mountain Bike Skills Park, Red Hill Station Grounds, Harold Reid Reserve BMX track, Baxter, and Westpark Reserve BMX track, Hastings. The shire is also deciding if any of the unauthorised – and illegal…

DETECTIVES on Friday charged a fourth person over the alleged stabbing death of a Langwarrin man at Seaford last week. Frankston man Liam Casley, 18, was arrested at a house at Carrum Downs, 4.30pm, and charged with affray, assault and committing an offence while on bail. His arrest ends the hunt for offenders wanted in relation to the death of Cam Smith, 26, in Station Street, 6.55pm, Wednesday 25 November. The carpenter died after a fight with up to four men. He was reportedly defending girlfriend Natasha Stroumos who was being verbally abused by a group, which included females, as…

A MONKEY bike rider hooning around Tonkin Avenue, Safety Beach last week had his bike impounded with a release fee of $1250. Rosebud police say support from the community with information led them to the culprit who is expected to be charged with unlicensed riding, riding an unregistered vehicle and failing to wear a helmet. He will appear before a children’s court at a later date. Police describe the bikes as dangerous and their use as putting people at risk. Local intelligence and co-operation from the community is essential to apprehending riders, they say. Anyone seeing a rider is urged…

A MAN who allegedly head-butted a security guard at Safety Beach last month is being sought by police. The man reportedly approached the guard and verbally abused him before pushing and head-butting him outside a marina on Marine Drive, 10.15pm, Thursday 15 October. The victim, a 19-year-old Lyndhurst man, suffered minor injuries. His attacker is described as 185cm tall, messy brown hair, aged 30-40, wearing a green jacket, black track pants, black pull-on boots and carrying a fishing rod. Anyone who recognises the man or who has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or file a…

HIGH velocity storms, frequent heavy rain and gushing stormwater in street drains, waterways and outfalls on the Mornington Peninsula are anticipated this spring and summer as a result of the La Nina effect. The forecast follows a report by insurer AAMI which ranks Mornington, Mount Martha, Mount Eliza and Frankston at number four in its list of storm-damaged suburbs. (“Storms create claims havoc” The News 2/11/20). Mornington Peninsula Shire says storms and heavy rains can have a big impact on property, neighbours and the wider community. Residents are being encouraged to revisit or create an emergency plan and prepare their…

AWARDS are often made to those who offer hope and understanding in areas that are sometimes misrepresented in the public realm. The work by Kent Stannard over the past 18 years fits that description and has qualified him as  being the recipient of the Outstanding Individual Achievement Award in the inaugural Victorian Marine and Coastal Awards. Stannard’s award recognises the research and education he has spearheaded into the feared, but endangered, great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Not always the most popular of creatures, the great white plays a key role in the marine ecosystem and Stannard, through the Tag for…

FORESHORE camping at Rye, Rosebud and Sorrento will resume on 2 January. This is one month earlier than was anticipated when Mornington Peninsula Shire CEO John Baker emailed campers that sites would be closed until February. It is estimated that the camp grounds will operate at about 80 per cent capacity to support social distancing and to ensure adequate space between sites. There will be no casual booking offered at this stage. Mr Baker said the postponement was the “right decision with [COVID-19] restrictions still in place for the foreseeable future” (“Foreshore campers locked out” The News 9/11/20). “We concluded…

GIVEN her scientific knowledge, underwater experience and background it takes something really special in the marine world to excite Sheree Marris. But what she saw during a dive off Blairgowrie a couple of weeks ago left her scrambling to find a comparison. “I was greeted by a sea of baby sea ponies. It was like a thick soup of these delicate little jewels,” Marris said of what she described as “one of the most spectacular events I’ve seen in all of my years exploring Port Phillip”. “These baby sea ponies – or fry – measuring a tiny two to three…