AFTER more than three months of remote learning, foundation to year 2 students at Eastbourne Primary School, Rosebud started the new term with a teddy bears picnic. “We wanted to reduce the anxiety and relax all the children and remind them of how much fun school life can be,” Shae Haney, the foundation teacher who organised the day, said. She said the event saw students and teachers “enjoy school as it should be, plenty of learning, excitement and relationship building and fun”. “Remote learning has been difficult for everyone and our school community has been sensational at providing the best…
Year: 2020
MOUNT Eliza resident Joanne Gunnersen believes Christmas is a time for giving, not receiving, and has seen her bountiful taste treats raise more than $162,000 for the Cancer Council of Victoria over the past 12 years. The founder of Christmas Cakes for Cancer, Ms Gunnersen has worked diligently to develop Joanne’s Handmade Christmas Cakes from baking 200 cakes at her home when she started in 2008 to a high of 10,500 in 2017. The money goes to fight bladder, pancreatic and kidney and other “insidious and hidden” cancers which, she says, tend to be under funded. This year, because of…
THE Friends of Williams Road Beach are pleased that Hengyi Pacific has acknowledged the public open space between its proposed retirement centre at Mount Eliza and the foreshore. The developer is keen to transform the 3.41-hectare site at 33 Jacksons Road into a $160 million “retirement community” overlooking Canadian Bay. A 19th century residence and two other buildings date from 1878. They were also previously a hospital and aged care facility and have heritage protection (“Big plans for Beachleigh” The News 29/9/20). Plans lodged last month seek approval to build 105 low density dwellings with a two-storey height limit, wellness…
THE days of spotting the small horse pulling a made to measure jinker along Mount Martha streets and footpaths have gone. Taffy the horse has died. On vet’s orders, his owner, Simone Kelly, had been exercising Taffy by getting him to pull the jinker. Taffy had become a bit overweight and unfit, grazing with his cow and goat mates in the paddock which forms part of the six-hectare Woodclyffe property off the Esplanade. The vet gave him his marching, or trotting orders, when checked for a hoof complaint. Ms Kelly and Taffy soon became popular regulars along the Esplanade and…
WALLS at The Bays Hospital, Mornington, are brighter and more colourful thanks to thoughtful contributions from students at St Macartans Primary School. Visual arts teacher Kristy Hayes said that at the beginning of term 3 she called the hospital to ask if she could send in some artwork to cheer healthcare workers and patients. “We were aware minimal visitors were allowed,” she said. “Hospital reception loved the idea and invited us to drop off some work.” Ms Hayes and foundation to year 2 visual arts teacher Andrea Kirkpatrick collected some of the works of leaves and beach boxes completed at…
SOCCER A TV show, a new home ground for 2021, community projects and hospital beds for Fiji … Frankston Pines has been a hive of activity recently. Last week the spotlight fell on the club’s four young Fijian internationals, Pines vice-president Victor Kumar and senior coach Kevin “Squizzy” Taylor who were interviewed by former Socceroos inhouse videographer Ben Coonan. Coonan’s company Side Netting had been contracted by Beyond Productions to work on a show commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation focussing on the lives of Pacific Islanders in Australia. There’s no working title yet for the program which is likely…
ELLIE Cole was just 16 years old when she waved goodbye to her Frankston High School classmates and jetted off for the Beijing Paralympics. By the time she returned her whole life had changed, and she was a three-time Paralympic medal winner. Cole was treated like a star by her classmates, a time she recalls with both fondness and a hint of embarrassment. “I still remember the pride the school had,” the star swimmer told The Times. “There were posters all over the place, and I’m a bit modest so I didn’t handle the attention that well. I asked them…
HORSE RACING THE Jason Warren and Dean Krongold partnership has immediately struck winning form with new stable acquisition Ruby Skye on Sunday 18 October. Formerly in the hands of Sylvia Thompson, the seven-year-old mare has thrived in her new surroundings at Denistoun Park to win her way into the $500,000 Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Series on Kennedy Oaks day (November 5). With her last win coming up eight months ago, Ruby Skye shot straight back to somewhere near her best to take out Heat Five of the Country Series first-up for her new stable at Kilmore. Weaving a passage from…
THE councillors of the shire of Frankston and Hastings have received a communication from the Minister of Public Works requesting them to attend before him, at his office in Melbourne, on Tuesday next, 19th inst., for the purpose of discussing the present position, and arriving at an amicable settlement of the dispute which has caused a deadlock for nearly three months. *** AN open air meeting, under the auspices of the Frankston branch of the anti-liquor league, will be held in Bay Street, under the electric light, on Wednesday evening next, at 8 o’clock. Ex-Senator Watson will deliver the address,…
SOCCER FOOTBALL Victoria held online meetings two weeks ago with senior and junior licence holders to discuss restructuring the state’s NPL setup. The game’s governing body held a zoom meeting with NPL1 clubs on Monday 28 September, with NPL2 and NPL3 clubs the following evening then met online with junior NPL clubs on Wednesday 30 September. The opening address at the meeting with NPL2 and NPL3 clubs was made by FV director Sezar Jakupi with the federation’s Football Strategy Manager Emilio Amanatidis and NPL Competitions Manager Hakan Dogan participating. At all three meetings clubs were told not to discuss the…
HORSE RACING PINECLIFF, Mount Eliza-based trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman remain adamant on bypassing the VRC Derby with promising colt Ain’tnodeeldun despite claiming the Listed Hill Smith Stakes (1800m) at Morphettville on Saturday. Co-trainer Anthony Freedman believes the $2million VRC Derby (2500m) on Saturday 31 October will come up too soon for the improving Dundeel three-year-old. “He still has some maturing to do so I don’t want to give him a gut buster in the Derby,” Anthony Freedman said on the Freedman Racing website. “I think he will be a better horse in the autumn so we will give him…
LAST Saturday afternoon, the land situate between the Prince of Wales Hotel and Mr Sage’s shop, Frankston, was offered for sale, on the site. The owner, Mr. Short, considers the situation admirably adapted for shop sites, and he subdivided the block into four allotments. The whole block has a frontage of 100 feet to Mornington Road, with a depth of 200 feet to Kananook Creek, where there is a three feet right-of-way along the bank of the stream. Mr Short has cut his block in two, reserving the rear portion – 100 x 100 ft – as a residential area…
WESTERN Port almost scooped the pool at this year’s Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns Awards which were announced at a virtual event in Beechworth on Saturday night. Hastings was crowned overall Tidy Town winner while the region won various awards as well as receiving high commendations in two key projects. The Keep Victoria Beautiful event aims to recognise and celebrate grassroots initiatives and positive actions taken by individuals, community groups, schools, businesses and councils across rural and regional Victoria. These include initiatives that protect the environment, reduce waste, preserve heritage, change behaviours, increase social wellbeing, celebrate indigenous culture and encourage…
NEIL Armstrong, above, has been appointed CEO for the next two years of the Western Port Oberon Association. A justice of the peace and a former Mornington Shire councillor and a board member of Metropolitan Ambulance Service and other non-profit organisations Mr Armstrong was awarded an Order Of Australia Medal in 2019. Western Port Oberon Association president Max Bryant said Mr Armstrong had an “amazing background as an administrator and will bring a strong strategic focus to our current operations and long term plans”. He said the association’s “key projects to be completed over the next 24 months” were finding…
THE proprietor of the Big Goose animal petting farm Justin Orr says, with some irony, that he has never sought charity, but that’s exactly who came to help as he battled to supply food to his animals during the COVID-19 closure. Mount Martha mum Charity Cooper – who says Big Goose is the “saviour of sunny days and stay-at-home parents all year long” – started a campaign to raise money to feed the animals during the stage four restrictions and surprised herself by generating $4300. The money went towards filling one of the Moorooduc farm’s silos with feed for the…
THE discovery of an illegal eastern corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) at Hastings has prompted police to ask if anyone has information about it or any other exotic species of reptile. The white snake was found in a backyard on Hodgins Road, between Marine Parade and Victoria Street, Sunday 13 September. Witnesses had reported numerous sightings of a white snake loose in the area several months before its capture. The albino-like reptile – an exotic pest – was probably kept as a pet before its escape. Police said it was illegal to import, keep, breed, trade or release the snakes in…
EXPERIENCED drivers are being sought to help supervise learner drivers as part of the Transport Accident Commission’s L2P Program on the southern Mornington Peninsula. The program is paid for by the TAC and managed by the Department of Transport. Volunteers from across the peninsula have been assisting learner drivers who do not have access to a supervising driver or a vehicle since 2009. Mornington Peninsula Shire wants to recruit 10 mentors to help the learners achieve their 120 hours of driving as required for their test. An L2P mentor is described as someone who is “enthusiastic about contributing to the…
THE demise of suburban bank branches is continuing with the Rosebud branch of the ANZ shutting its doors on 18 March 2021. The bank’s general manager for Victoria Michael Wake reeled off what have now become standard responses to bank branch closures (“ANZ withdraws from Mount Eliza” The News 28/9/20). “Every year we see 10 per cent less transactions at our branches because our customers no longer use them for everyday banking like they used to,” he said. “While branch activity has declined, we’ve seen a spike in demand for many of our non-branch roles, such as customer contact centres…
THE multi-award winning documentary “Can Art Stop a Bullet: William Kelly’s Big Picture” is having its final online screening on Thursday 29 October. Described as a peace documentary, the film follows Cheltenham-based artist William Kelly through various countries, recording his views on peace along with those of actor Martin Sheen, photographer Nick Ut (whose photo of a child fleeing napalm bombing is credited with adding impetus to ending the Vietnam War) and philosopher A C Grayling. The image of that young girl is also incorporated in Kelly’s 13-metre long “Peace and War/The Big Picture” banner, which hangs in the La…
APART from national issues, the federal budget contained few specific finance packages for the Mornington Peninsula. The largest was nearly $1.5 million for Stopping Buruli ulcer in Victoria, the flesh eating ulcer that in 2019 became prevalent on the southern peninsula. The budget also included $300,000 for “pedestrian safety upgrades” at Arthurs Seat. The Buruli money will support 22 research projects under Professor Tim Stinear at University of Melbourne. Buruli ulcer (BU) is described as a destructive skin and soft tissue infection that can cause permanent deformity. The National Health and Medical Research Council says the ulcer is caused by…
NEIL Farnsworth was buying hardware at Red Hill South when he learned his wife and two of his sons had been involved in a horrific car crash on the Point Leo Road, about five minutes’ drive away, early in 2019. What followed was a cruel race against fate and destiny with generous help from a close-knit rural community – help which Mr Farnsworth admits he will never be able to repay but for which he is eternally grateful. “They are my saviours,” he says. The crash, about 4.30pm, Wednesday 13 February, turned family life on its head. Nothing would or…
VOTERS have just over one week to elect 11 councillors to run Mornington Peninsula Shire for the next four years. Social media has become an intense platform for debate in what is recognised as the most unusual municipal election ever because of the COVID-19 restrictions on campaigning. Ballot packs were mailed out to peninsula voters by the Victorian Electoral Commission last week and must be returned by 6pm Friday 23 October. Voting is compulsory for those listed on the state electoral role. Just five of the sitting councillors are seeking re-election and the results will be announced Friday 13 November.…
DROMANA Drive-In has scored two quick goals in getting permission from the AFL and Channel 7 to live telecast the AFL Grand Final. But the result won’t be known until owner-operators Paul and Shelley Whitaker get the nod from the state government to screen the event before an anticipated crowd of hundreds on Saturday 24 October. Following on from the successful Saints versus Bulldogs match at the drive-in last June, they said that to host the big game on Victorian soil “would be so important for many fans and even those watching for the first time”. “It’s been a team…
SOPHIE Jackson took after her father and grandfather in learning to sail in the sheltered waters of Mornington harbour beginning in the summer of 2009. Although she was always known around the Mornington Yacht Club, the gifted sailor has charted her own course in the sport and is making a name for herself not only in Mornington but around Australia. Jackson – an instigator of the TrySail initiative to introduce the sport to 8 to 10-year-olds – has also been female state champion in her Optimist dinghy for a record three years in a row. Commodore Greg Martin said Jackson…
MORNINGTON police are planning to step up patrols against flashers on the foreshore between Mount Eliza and Mount Martha this summer. Senior Sergeant Paul Edwards said the problem was “not of epidemic proportions, but it does rear its head from time to time and we want to stamp it out”. Senior Sergeant Edwards said flashers were known to frequent narrow and winding tracks and trails leading to and from beaches and near beach boxes. “It’s a seasonal thing and we will be mobilising police on foot and on bike patrols, especially near the Balcombe estuary,” he said. A Southbank man…
KIDS were out in the fresh air, using their initiative, having fun, and letting off steam last week on improvised bike ramps – but some people saw their antics as vandalism of a public park and leaving a mess for others to clean up afterwards. The two schools of thought have parents on one side happy to see their kids occupied outdoors and amazed that some of their neighbours could take an opposing view and report them. Police arrived at Mountain View playground in Mount Eliza last week and asked children playing on the jumps for their names, addresses and…
STRONG winds brought down a gum tree in Esperance Court, Mount Martha last week. “The tree narrowly missed a child when it fell, 5.30pm, Thursday 8 October,” resident Klaas Kalma said. “It could have been deadly if a car had been coming up or down the court.” Mr Kalma said last year he discussed the inherent danger of having large eucalypts on nature strips with a Mornington Peninsula Shire arborist. “I think they are inappropriate for that purpose when other smaller native Australian trees are plentiful,” he said. “The shire tested the tree on our nature strip and considered it…
HEAVY rainfalls forecasted late last week prompted Mornington Peninsula Shire to evacuate a house near The Esplanade, Mount Martha. This followed a warning to shire’s emergency management team that up to 50 millimetres of rain could fall from Wednesday “increasing concerns of a further [soil] collapse”. The Esplanade remained closed at the start of the last week following a landslide between Bradford and Ellerina Roads on Tuesday 29 September (“Landslip closes Esplanade” The News 6/10/20). “While there was no concern for the houses above the slip, there is concern a further collapse will cut access and utility services,” the shire…
IT was a busy weekend of rescues at Mornington Life Saving Club and the season hasn’t even started … Club patroller Jonathan Dark accompanied by mate Adam Brand and another lifesaver from Point Leo rescued five youngsters in trouble off Mills beach, Saturday 3 October, and then, an hour later, did the same again when another group found themselves in trouble. This time they had help from junior club members – Nippers – on their boards who paddled out to assist the five youngsters caught in a rip halfway between the beach and the markers and perilously close to the…
SCIENTISTS play a crucial role at ExxonMobil Australia which is celebrating National Science Week. The company is keen to inspire future generations to think about maths and science as a career pathway. Since 2009, ExxonMobil Australia, through its subsidiaries Mobil and Esso, has inspired a new generation of engineers and scientists through its Bright Future grants program. Western Port Secondary College principal Chris Quinn said the school had used Bright Future grants to buy technology and equipment for senior biology lessons in which students learned how to analyse DNA. “Earlier this term our Year 12 biology students conducted Gel electrophoresis…