BONEO Lions Club have expressed frustration towards Mornington Peninsula Shire after the site for their Sunday market was double booked.
On 28 October, the club found out through an advertising flyer the Italian Festa had also been booked for 1 November at the Rosebud Foreshore.
The Boneo Lions Club has held a market on the foreshore on the first Sunday of every month for the past five years but has had to cancel their 1 November market.
Boneo Lions Club president Terry Cook said this is “appalling” treatment of a local community organisation from the shire.
“We’re thinking over $6000 that we’re going to lose,” said Cook.
“You’ve got to realise, being a Lions Club, we put money back into the community down here on the peninsula.”
Cook said the club received no notification from the shire, and he was not happy with the shire’s response when he contacted them about the issue.
He said the main concern is the impact the cancelled market will have on the local community.
“We are just hoping we’re not going to lose a lot of stall holders, because they will be terribly upset, and I can understand it,” said Cook.
“In addition, the Cup Weekend is one of our busiest markets of the year and one of our major fundraisers.”
Cook said the market had around 90 bookings for sites and they estimated $600 of sales at the sausage sizzle.
“They offered for us to go down to Boneo Rd, where the old pool used to be, but that’s not suitable,” said Cook.
“It’s not big enough and there’s no power down there and we need power for some of the stall holders.”
He said the shire has stated they will reimburse the club for any funds lost but he told them this cannot happen again.
Michelle Loielo, organiser of the Italian Festa, said the site was booked with the shire twelve months ago.
“I’m mortified that we, as community members, are down here putting together all types of community events and the shire haven’t conveyed any notice to the Rosebud Market given they had 12 months,” said Loielo.
She said community members put in “blood, sweat, and tears” to bring together these events and help connect the local community.
“We’re putting in the hard yards and the shire is shutting us down at every angle to the point where we’re almost ready to throw our hands in the air and say ‘You know what, don’t worry about it, we don’t want to do it anymore’,” said Loielo.
“Thank the Lord that as community event leaders, we have the capacity to speak to each other and really, truly understand that it’s not either party’s fault, it is actually the shire that has failed all of us.”
Nepean MP Anthony Marsh said he is incredibly disappointed for the Lions Club and the stallholders.
“These markets are an important part of our community, and the volunteers and stallholders deserve better,” said Marsh.
He said many stallholders will have invested considerable time and money preparing for the market.
“They should not be left out of pocket through no fault of their own, and I believe council should do the right things and provide appropriate compensation,” said Marsh.
“I have spoken with the mayor, the local ward councillor, and the organisers of both events. We all want to see the Italian Festival succeed, but we also need to ensure the Lions Club and its stallholders are treated fairly and supported through this unfortunate situation.”
Shire CEO, Mark Stoermer, said he apologises “unreservedly” to the Boneo Lions Club, stallholders, and anyone affected by their mistake.
“We recognise the disruption and loss of income this cancellation causes, particularly at such short notice,” said Stoermer.
“I have asked for a review of our booking processes so we can identify what went wrong and put measures in place to prevent it happening again.”
First published in the Mornington News – 3 November 2026
