A DECOMMISSIONED water reservoir in Mount Eliza is being prepared for sale by the state government, despite calls for it to be kept as community space. The 2.8 hectare site at 57 Kunyung Road operated as a South East Water reservoir before being handed to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport to either transfer its ownership or sell it off.
Fear of the impending sale of the land prompted Mornington MP Chris Crewther, shadow minister James Newbury, South Eastern Centre for Sustainability president Steve Karakitsos and Ian Morrison, of Mount Eliza, to visit the site in January this year in the hope of making the land an issue in the Dunkley byelection. At the time, Crewther said the land faced being sold off to a private developer for up to 40 homes.
“It’s disgraceful that the state government is now preparing the old South East Water site in Mount Eliza for private sale,” said Mornington MP Chris Crewther. “The community and I have been calling on this site to be saved as a public-access ephemeral wetlands and reserve for years now, instead of being sold for potential development. “The best and easiest result would be for the land to be transferred to Parks Victoria along with a minimum $1 million from state and or federal governments for basic rehabilitation that would see the land preserved for community use. “We call on Labor to save this site, just as has occurred with the decommissioned Frankston and Devilbend reservoirs. This would be great for residents, visitors, Kunyung Primary students and more!” Crewther said the land not only acted as a drainage sink during wet weather, but is also home to many native birds and animals.
Environmentalist Hans Brunner, who died earlier this year, said in 2016 the reservoir had the “greatest potential to become an environmental treasure as well as an ark for so many species including the possible return of sugar gliders which otherwise could be lost in this area”. The News understands Mornington Peninsula Shire passed up the opportunity in 2022 to express an interest to buy the site “for a community use”.
First published in the Mornington News – 17 December 2024
