SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie FRANKSTON Pines looks doomed to relegation from State 1 South-East while Langwarrin dented Malvern City’s championship aspirations in last weekend’s catch-up round. Pines slumped to a 4-1 loss at home to fellow struggler Berwick City on Saturday and is anchored to the foot of the table while Langwarrin dealt a body blow to Malvern City with a 1-0 victory at Lawton Park. A pivotal moment in the Pines contest came in the 16th minute when the referee overruled the linesman who had flagged for offside and was ignored initially. After Dejan Radojicic struck home a firm…
Author: MP News Group
Following their sell-out 2015 performances of Swan Lake, the Imperial Russian Ballet Company return to perform the ageless tale of bravery and dreams that is The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is famous for Tchaikovsky’s music. The genius of Tchaikovsky created one of the most recognisable and enduring music scores ever written. The illustrious cast of the Imperial Russian Ballet Company enjoy performing The Nutcracker more than any other ballet from their extensive repertoire, especially when they are joined by children from local ballet schools in the cities that they perform in around the world. The Imperial Russian Ballet Company was formed…
TWO significant manna gums previously protected because they were on public land have been chopped down as part of development works in King St, Hastings. After thriving for 80-100 years the remnant gums were destroyed in a few hours, Thursday 18 August. The alarm was first sounded when the Mornington Peninsula Shire-owned land was listed for sale in March. It had previously been used as a walkway between two streets and as an informal carpark for a nearby supermarket. The trees were regarded as an attractive feature of the landscape. Such large specimens, in good health and with no visible…
HASTINGS FNC SUNDAY saw the Hastings Football/Netball Club come up against our nemesis in 2016, the Red Hill FNC, in the elimination final played at Rosebud. On a slightly overcast day our boys certainly came to play. You could tell even before the opening bounce they seemed very focused on the job at hand. In the first quarter Red Hill got out to a two goal advantage before our boys kicked a couple into the wind to be down at the quarter time break by only a few points. It was shaping up as one of the toughest games of…
RETIRED racehorse Tarawera enjoyed being put through his paces by triequithon participant Seumas Marwood at Coolart Farm, Tuerong, on Wednesday. The 11-year-old racer was formerly trained by Fran Houlahan and Brian Johnston at Mornington Racecourse until they retired last month. His wins included the Australian and Crisp steeplechases. Now in retirement, Tarawera has transitioned as an equestrian eventer, which combines dressage, cross country and show jumping. His next race is in Racing Victoria’s Off the Track Triequithon, Caulfield, Saturday 27 August. The event aims to “shine a light on life after racing” for older racehorses, and gives aspiring and well-heeled…
TWO recent events encouraged people to sleep out for a night to help raise awareness about homelessness. The sleep-in-your-car event, Saturday 6 August at Mornington Park, was organised by Fusion Mornington Peninsula. The event was one of several similar events across Australia aiming to raise awareness and funding to address homelessness. “It is shocking to think that on any given night in Australia there are more than 100,000 people without a home or a safe place to sleep,” the mayor Cr Graham Pittock said at the sleep-out. At the second event, on Tuesday 9 August at the Salvation Army’s premises…
HMAS Cerberus teamed up with Crib Point Primary, St Joseph’s Primary and Perseverance Primary, French Island, on Friday to give 300 pupils a practical insight into flight as part of Science Week. The pupils inspected the Navy Bell 429 helicopter and met its crew at Cyril Fox Reserve, Crib Point – directly behind St Joseph’s. School competitions all week, and the screening of the movie Paper Planes, added to the excitement of learning and discovery. The Navy 723 Squadron operates Bell 429 Global Rangers and AS-350BA Squirrel helicopters for air-crew training, all-round duties and to support air capable ships. “The…
Somerville Highway Patrol impounded a p-platers car in Sorrento Saturday afternoon (20 August) after he was caught driving with too many passengers. Police intercepted the black Ford sedan travelling west on Point Nepean Road as it appeared to be overloaded about 1.45pm. The P1 driver, who had only had his licence for about two months, explained to police he was taking his friends to Sorrento. The teen was carrying a passenger in the front seat and four passengers in the rear seat which was only fitted with three seat belts. The driver, who was not carrying his licence at the time,…
MORNINGTON’S is set to light up with a big list of stars set to attend Mornington Racing Club on Saturday 3 September in aid for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Brendan Fevola, Archie Thompson, Danny Frawley, Brian Taylor, Shane Warne, Joe and Tony Hachem, Heath Scotland, Campbell Brown, Marc Murphy Mark Harvey, Anthony Koutoufides and Robert DiPierdomenico will be the headline players at the Mornington All In For Charity’s event, with tickets selling fast at $150. It promises to be a night full of glitz and glamour at the newly $5 million renovated Mornington Racing club, with some big surprises…
MARINE authorities are investigating the grounding of an oil tanker last Friday afternoon on a sandbar off Rosebud. The 115 metre Bow Singapore is believed to have hit the sandbar on the edge of the shipping channel west of Hovell Pile about 4pm. Just after 11 that night as the tide rose the tug Hastings took about 20 minutes to free the ship which was believed to have been turning towards Geelong when it hit the bottom. The tanker is capable of carrying 6219 tonnes of oil or chemical products, but authorities were reported as saying there had been no…
CATERING company Wise Choice is on the move after being based for 18 years at Mornington Racecourse. “Unfortunately for us, Melbourne Racing Club [which runs Mornington Racecourse] has decided not to renew our contract, which means the end to a fabulous era at the track,” Tony Carter, one of the three partners of Wise Choice said. “Best we get on with business and get on with what we do best, serving the local people,” Cheryl Carter said. She said Wise Choice “started with the three boys who call themselves brothers”. “Although Tony is an in-law, they have shared a special…
PARENTS who think “healthy” foods are better for their children’s health and behaviour should learn more about food labels, warns additive campaigner and researcher Sue Dengate. Ms Dengate is speaking at Mornington Secondary College, 7-9pm, Monday 29 August, at the request of Mt Martha dietitian and nutritionist Joey De Backer, who is happy to share her experiences and that of her daughter Isla in the struggle against allergies. “My daughter was a colicky baby, waking every hour overnight, often crying inconsolably and kicking her legs, and then she developed eczema when we introduced solids and always had rosy red, scabby,…
SAGES Cottage Farm, Baxter, has been bought by not-for-profit service Wallara Australia to expand its training services for adults with different abilities. The not-for-profit organisation had been leasing the 38-acre property for the past three years from Menzies, a support service for disadvantaged youth. It aims to carry forward its vision for the farm and support some of the most vulnerable people in the community. “We’ve already engaged with Rotary, Frankston RSL, Brockhoff Foundation, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and a number of corporates, all of whom are assisting us with the development of the site and the innovative programs and…
FRANKSTON police are working around the clock to keep residents safe by blitzing crime hotspots, arresting repeat offenders and responding to incidents in public spaces and on train-lines. Sergeant Phillip Hulley said that, by day 65 of its operation last week, the Shadow Taskforce had made 200-plus arrests – equating to an average of three per day. “So far, 4122 vehicles have been checked with many of these checks resulting in traffic stops or the execution of outstanding warrants,” he said. “A large number of the vehicles checked have also been searched for drugs and weapons.” Sergeant Hulley…
A COMMUNITY forum on advance care planning will be held 2-3.30pm, Tuesday 23 August, at Rosebud Over 55s Club, 121 Ninth Av, Rosebud. It is being run by PACE – Peninsula Advisory Committee for Elders. The aim of the forum is to help people learn about medical powers of attorney and advance care directives. In this way people can let family and doctors know how they want to be cared for if they become unable to make decisions for themselves, or when they become seriously ill or frail. This may involve resuscitation and life support, high-risk surgery, permanent tube feeding, and…
By Wayne Chamley NEWSPAPERS’ reporting of matters such as business and property sales can sometimes overlook other important consequences of such developments. A case in point is the expected sale of the Continental Hotel in Sorrento and an adjoining, council-owned, public car park. There is an important story about these sales and it covers the protection Victoria’s heritage, the greed of a shire and the disinterest of its councillors. On 25 July, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council considered, in sequence, two reports prepared by its staff. The first report considered the possible sale of the car park to Continental Developments Pty…
TWO of the biggest names in the surf industry have quietly moved onto the Mornington Peninsula. Rip Curl came first, buying out Peninsula Surf and next month Billabong takes over the Trigger Brothers store at Sorrento. Recognising the strength in local branding, Rip Curl still displays prominent Peninsula Surf signs at its Frankston, Mornington and Rye stores and Billabong is set to do the same with Trigger Brothers in Sorrento. “After the Rip Curl buyout of Peninsula Surf stores six months ago Billabong needed to ensure rack space or real estate on the peninsula,” Phil Trigger said. “They approached us…
COMMUNITY groups are ready to be consulted on landscaping plans for the area around the new Sorrento seawall. The Department of Environment Land Water and Planning-funded stepped seawall is currently being built and is endorsed by Nepean Councillors and Mornington Peninsula Shire officers. “It is crucial the community has genuine input into the landscaping plans before the seawall completion, expected before the summer holiday period,” Julie Corridon, of Nepean Conservation Group, said. “All our members care deeply about where they live and many are feeling a real sense of alienation about their rapidly changing environment and decisions imposed on them.…
THE Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital has unveiled revolutionary new technology at Frankston Hospital to connect patients who present at an emergency department with eye injuries or conditions in outer metropolitan, rural and regional areas with specialist advice without having to travel to East Melbourne. Eye and Ear Hospital CEO Mark Petty said the initiative will enable Peninsula Health’s emergency department clinicians who are not ophthalmic specialists to manage patients with the help of a remote eye and ear specialist when needed. In 2014, 2700 people travelled from the Mornington Peninsula to the Eye and Ear Hospital for urgent…
MORNINGTON Football and Netball Club players enjoyed a half day’s “experience” with the Saints last week as winners of the FOX Footy Club Rewards program. Eight Bulldogs players, who sit third on the Peninsula Football Netball League ladder, visited St Kilda Football Club’s Seaford headquarters for a behind-the-scenes view with senior coach Alan Richardson and his assistants. The aim of the rewards program is to support grassroots sport and recognise local football clubs and recognise the benefits they deliver to their community. The Mornington club has had a long partnership with the Salvation Army: it donates $1 from each club…
PADUA College’s year 10 students from Tyabb and Rosebud will be based at the school’s Mornington campus from 2019. The move comes amid a series of curriculum changes outlined in the school’s educational strategic plan, launched last week by principal Anthony Banks. “The plan will mean greater flexibility for subject choices for year 10 students, including making year 11 and year 12 VCE and VCAL subjects available a year earlier and offering more VET courses on-site,” he said. “It also outlines a revitalised, stand-alone year 9 program and a streamlined year 7-8 curriculum to be rolled out in 2018.” Mr…
KEEPING older drivers safe and mobile is the aim of a free driving seminar at Mornington Community Theatre, 10.30am-12.30pm, Thursday 1 September. The seminar is open to all senior drivers, their families and friends. “Older people make an important contribution to the economic and social well-being of the community as owners, employees or customers of businesses, as volunteers, and through the support they provide to family and friends,” organiser Nancye-Joy Gardner said. “They need to stay mobile to sustain this contribution and to maintain their own sense of independence and well-being. “It is important to keep older drivers driving safely…
A “SPARKLING musical mash-up” will be performed this week to celebrate a century of Tallis family ownership of the now state-owned Beleura house and gardens, Mornington. The musical 1916! will be performed at 6.30pm, Friday 19 August, with a matinee at 1.30pm, Saturday 20 August and a final show, 6.30pm Saturday. Organisers predict the John Tallis Pavilion will morph into the legendary Her Majesty’s Theatre, from where the entrepreneur oversaw his empire as managing director of JC Williamson’s – known as The Firm in theatrical circles. The musical 1916! is set in Sir George’s office at the theatre on Saturday…
Twenty-six-year-old Torres Strait Islander Daniel O’Shane won the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery’s National Works on Paper Prize of $15,000 sponsored by Beleura House & Garden. National Works on Paper was established in 1998 and incorporated the former Spring Festival of Drawing and the Prints Acquisitive which began in 1973. The National Works on Paper is a biennial prize and exhibition organised by Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery to discover and showcase the most outstanding contemporary works on paper from across the nation. Works acquired from the National Works on Paper become a part of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery’s collection –…
By Andrea Louise Thomas Melbourne-based author Toni Jordan has penned four critically acclaimed novels. Originally from Brisbane, she studied physiology at the University of Queensland. She worked in molecular biology as a protein chemist amongst other things before becoming interested in copy writing. She took a Professional Writing and Editing course at RMIT and it was there that her first novel, Addition (2008), was born. It became an international bestseller. Her latest novel, Our Tiny Useless Hearts, has just been released. It’s brilliantly written, insightful and hilarious. I caught up with Jordan before she speaks at Frankston Library on August…
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie BAXTER continued to celebrate promotion from State 5 South with a 3-0 win over visitor Pakenham United on Saturday. Baxter created enough chances to make this a double-figure rout as Shaun Walker turned on a midfield masterclass while strikers Mark Pagliarulo and Liam Kilner terrorised the Pakenham defence. The visitors can thank keeper Jarrod Reynolds whose heroics time and again kept his team in the contest. Baxter should have scored four goals inside a five-minute period of the first half highlighted by an interpassing combination involving Frank Ntim and Pagliarulo and ending with a first-time Kilner…
A POLICE armoured vehicle blocked off a Mornington street this morning (Friday 12 August) as heavily armed Special Operations Group police arrested a man at gunpoint. The 26-year-old was seen crawling on his hands and knees from a Pamela Place property about 10am. He was handcuffed and led to a police car. The police Eastern Region Crime Unit is believed to be clamping down on burglaries and thefts in the area. “The SOG have arrested a 26-year-old man in Mornington this morning as part of an investigation into burglaries and thefts,” Victoria Police spokesman Thomas O’Byrne said. The night before, a home-made incendiary…
MT ELIZA and Mornington fire brigades rushed to extinguish a fire at a laundromat in Mt Eliza Sunday 7 August. The Mt Eliza Pumper was first on the scene at 8.10am when crews found smoke billowing from the business and flames spurting from a dryer. Firefighters wore breathing apparatus to quickly extinguish the fire and make the building safe, Mt Eliza Fire Brigade 4th Lieutenant Mark Turnham said. “Using thermal imaging cameras and a gas detector, crews investigated the premise and found all to be OK.” Lieutenant Turnham said a passer-by had made a valiant attempt to put out the…
HASTINGS FNC ON Saturday the Hastings Football/Netball Club played against its local rival Crib Point Football/Netball Club. The Hastings boys certainly had to win this game to guarantee a spot in this year’s Mornington Peninsula Nepean finals series. They achieved this with ease! The boys played a great style of team orientated football to set up a great clash next week against Frankston Bombers at Frankston. Now the club has secured another shot at this year’s premiership, it’s all systems go in preparations for this year’s finals series. Get down to training this week and show your support as we…
By Brendan Parnell LIFE on court is still getting back to normal for Western Port Basketball Association after the dramatic events of Sunday 1 May. That day – sometime before dawn – the Steelers’ long-time basketball home at Somerville Recreation and Community Centre was destroyed by fire. While Western Port was only one of 26 community groups using the centre, with more than 1500 players, 50 referees and a vast number of volunteers, coaches and team support staff the loss of the two-court facility hit them hard. The loss has had a galvanising effect on the community. “We’ve been getting…