‘Respect what we have, take your rubbish home’ The residents of Blairgowrie recognise that we occupy a very special place sitting between Port Phillip and Mornington Peninsula National Park. Our neighbourhood character is greatly enhanced by considerable roadside native vegetation and a number of bushland reserves and beautiful beaches. This character is under attack by excessive clearing for residential development, graffiti on public infrastructure and rubbish dumped or left on our beaches. I wish to acknowledge the efforts of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, the Whitecliffs foreshore management and Parks Victoria to address these problems. We would like to appeal to…
Author: MP News Group
PLANS for a new Bungower Road tech park have been adapted after community feedback and have entered phase two. The proposal, first put to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council in 2020, is predicted to provide up to 1100 jobs and create a business park with green space and ancillary facilities. The founders of the navigation technology company Sealite are the major players behind plans for the $540 million technology park at Somerville. Lead proponent Chris Proctor says it is “future-proofing” local employment through innovation and community growth. He said the park would be safeguarded from potential heavy industrial use and was expected…
AFTER a few difficult years following COVID-19, staff changes and finding a new home in Davies Avenue, Mount Eliza, Baluk Arts has returned to members’ workshops with public access sessions to follow soon. The program series will feature some of the biggest names in Victorian Aboriginal art, including the first session which was with Maree Clarke, a pivotal figure in the reclamation and revival of southeast Aboriginal arts and recent recipient of the 2023 Yalingwa Fellowship. Artforms to be explored in the series include painting, sculpture, weaving, possum skin pyrography, and jewellery-making. There is also a weekly weaving circle which…
MORNINGTON Peninsula residents can dispose of green waste at no cost during the shire’s No Charge Green Waste event from 28 to 30 April. The no charge weekend is for shire residents or ratepayers only, with green waste to be delivered only from residential vehicles and trailers. The popularity of previous free waste days has led to delays at transfers stations, especially in the morning and at the end of the day. Proof of residency (driver’s license, rates notice) needs to be shown at the transfer station. Green waste includes all types of garden waste and untreated timber. The Mornington…
VOLUNTEERS who clean up rubbish left by others at Mornington Peninsula beaches are calling for help to do their job even better. As part of BeachPatrol Australia – the umbrella organisation concerned about the plastic that is ending up on beaches – volunteers at Rye, Safety Beach, Dromana, Mornington, Rosebud, McCrae, Blairgowrie, Mount Eliza and Mount Martha are removing litter, one plastic wrapper and disposable coffee cup at a time. In the collective effort to keep streets clean and stop plastic litter entering the creeks, canals, beach or ocean, BeachPatrol has teamed with inland groups of Love Our Street to…
BAYSIDE Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives have charged a 34-year-old Baxter man with alleged sex offences. It is alleged the offences against three victims took place between January and March this year in Waterways and online. The man was arrested on Thursday 16 March. Police searched his vehicle and two properties and seized various electronic devices. He has been charged with 10 offences, including sexual penetration of a child under 16, sexual assault of a child under 16 and grooming. He has been remanded and will next appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 7 July. First published…
THE Lions Flinders Motoring Heritage event over Easter is in its seventh year and promises four hours of “revving”, music, food vans and a festival atmosphere. The show will be held 10am to 2pm Sunday 9 April, and includes classic, veteran, vintage and neo-classic cars parked around the town. Proceeds will support the refurbishment of an interactive garden at the Peninsula Health Mornington Centre in Separation Street. The garden – the first of its kind in a dementia ward within a public health system in Victoria – is designed as to reduce symptoms and contribute to the quality of life…
ELITE Pacific island weightlifters joined gold medal-winning weightlifter Eileen Cikamatan in Dromana on Friday 24 March, as they trained for the Pacific Elite International Weightlifting Tournament in Hawthorn on Saturday. The Samoan athletes were brought to Dromana by peninsula resident and international weightlifting coach Paul Cogga MBE who said he wanted to give peninsula residents a chance to see the athletes in action before the weekend tournament. After competing and the working as Australia’s national coach, Cogga moved to Nauru decades ago as weightlifting was taking off around the Pacific, before moving back to Australia during the pandemic. Fijian-born Cikamatan,…
GOLF THE last weekend in March will be a massive finish to the Australasian Tour season of golf at The National in Cape Schanck. A spot in the ‘Open Championship’ field for 2023 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, and three playing places on the DP World Tour for 2023-24 season go on the line at The National as the domestic golf season reaches its climax. Months of toil and travel will come to fruition when the Moonah course hosts the season-ending tournament on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia. A season spanning 16 tournaments that began in mid-October, 2022,…
Schools came first Tyabb Primary was established over 130 years ago (1895) and still cherishes an oak tree planted at that time; Tyabb Railway Primary School was established in 1907 and continues to utilise an original building as a classroom (“Airport came first” Letters 14/3/23). Being a local newspaper journalist one would assume Fran Henke has checked her facts and it would therefore follow that the airfield operators had great foresight in establishing the airfield long before Orville and Wilbur Wright conducted their first flight. Furthermore, living some two kilometres from the southern end of the runway is hardly at…
MOUNT Martha karter Matthew Basso recently brought home the coveted blue plate trophy after his win in the Victorian Kart Championships (KA3 Junior Heavy class) at the Albury Wodonga Kart Club on the long weekend. The newly crowned Victorian Kart Champion was the fastest in qualifying and lead every lap of each race, and was the only driver in any class to do so all weekend. Basso said all the hard work behind the scenes from his family and support team is paying off as he continues to achieve strong results. Basso took out his first Victorian State Championship win…
ONE of the Mornington Peninsula’s newer residents, musician, songwriter, TV presenter and musical director Phil Ceberano, has opened a band performance program for local teenagers who want to develop their skills. Over the next two weekends, Rock Academy Peninsula will give young people the opportunity to work directly with touring and recording musicians to develop songwriting and performance skills. As well as working extensively with his sister, Kate Ceberano, Phil has a strong background in the industry, having formed and played in many bands including well known Melbourne club band Sexual Chocolate (87-93) and Trentwood, Phil’s original power rock trio…
EMERGENCY services will undertake a clean-up in Western Port near Sandstone Island after six 44-gallon drums with unknown contents were allegedly dumped. The CFA said on Friday there was “no immediate threat“, but further investigation would take place. The Coast Guard on Friday issued a ‘Potential Hazard to Navigation’ alert, informing people heading out on Western Port be on alert for the floating drums. The drums are located between Crib Point Terminal, Hastings Channel and Sandstone Island. The drums are believed to have been dumped by an unknown offender between three and four weeks ago. Witnesses have told The News…
NONAGENARIAN Liz Hicklin’s memoir Kiss & Cry was launched on Sunday 26 February at Morven Manor Mornington to a warm group of fellow writers, friends, and family, as well as Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s deputy mayor Cr Debra Mar. Originally from the United Kingdom, 92-year-old Hicklin (author, poet, and raconteur) has led an interesting life on two continents, dating the celebrated British poet Laureate Ted Hughes before moving to Australia and marrying her late husband Bill in the 1950’s. In her introductory speech at the launch, vice president of the Peninsula Writer’s Club, (of which Liz is a member) Rebecca…
MORE Mornington Peninsula sports clubs are set for the big games in 2023 with the completion of new sports facilities at AR & F Ditterich Reserve in Main Ridge, Narambi Reserve in Mornington and Emil Madsen Reserve in Mount Eliza. Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh joined Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Steve Holland and local sporting clubs at all three venues to officially open the new cricket training facility at Main Ridge, newly-lit sports oval in Mornington and newly-lit soccer pitch at Mount Eliza. At AR & F Ditterich Reserve, there’s a new three-wicket cricket training facility for the…
COASTREK – Australia’s iconic team hiking challenge – will bring its inspirational formula of fun, fitness, friends, and fundraising to the Mornington Peninsula on Friday 26 May, encouraging more women (and men) to get moving in nature and hike for healthy hearts in support of the Heart Foundation. More than 2500 trekkers will take on a 60km, 45km, 30 or 20km challenge along the peninsula’s picturesque coastlines and hiking trails, starting at sunrise at Cape Schanck lighthouse, and then taking in the natural beauty of Sorrento Beach, panoramic views from Fort Nepean, and coastal bush trails including Farnsworth track to…
THE ‘lucky’ 13th Rosebud Rock n Rods Festival will be held at Eastbourne Primary School grounds, Allambi Avenue, on Sunday 2 April from 10am to 4.30pm. The festival will showcase classic and collectable cars with a backdrop of great rock n roll music and dancing from Moonlighters, DJ Jeff and more. The day promises a trip down memory lane for car enthusiasts and families, with something for all ages, including refreshments and food trucks, Lions club members manning the barbecue, and a range of stalls. Proceeds go to the Rosebud Hospital. Festival entry is $10. Under 12s and display cars…
Three Southern Peninsula businesses have been given national recognition at the Australian Tourism Awards. It was a momentous win for Searoad Ferries, taking home silver in the category of Major Tour & Transport Operators Further commendation is due for Red Hill Candle Co and Carmel at Sorrento who both made finalists. Established to highlight and celebrate tourism excellence across the nation, the Australian Tourism Awards have a longstanding history of more than 35 years. More than 200 entrants form part of the national Awards ceremony, each having taken home a gold medal at their respective state Awards. Last night, industry…
THE Westernport Sybils performed in Hastings last Friday (10 March) to support Climate Action Network Australia’s day of action to call for the federal government to “safeguard our climate, not polluter profits”. Sybils member Hannah Lewis said their message “was clear, no new gas, no new oil and no dodgy offsets”. The Sybils and members of Save Westernport, Westernport Peninsula Protection Council and Extinction Rebellion said local politicians should know “that the community continues to hold government to account”. “Western Port is a precious resource with Australia’s southernmost mangrove habitat and an internationally recognised Ramsar wetland,” Lewis said. “It is…
BONEO sculptor and organic vegetable grower Andrew Bryant has always had a fascination with the symbiotic relationship between light and humans, creating dozens of works reflecting on that connection. One of his pieces – Perfect Time – has particular symbolism for the veggie farmer at this time of year, with the shadow of the three-metre tall piece literally cut in half when the sun hits it on a right angle on the equinox. The plumber turned sculptor and farmer said his equinox sculpture symbolised the connection people had with light and demonstrated the relationships all life had with seasons. He…
CAT and dog owners have until 10 April to renew their pets’ registrations with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Renewal notices are about to be sent out and fees can be paid online, over the phone and in person. It costs $54 a year to register a desexed dog and cat, with discounts for pension card holders. Owners of an unregistered dog or cat can be fined $363 (subject to state government increases). The Domestic Animals Act 1994 requires all cats and dogs over the age of three months to be microchipped and registered with the shire. The shire says services…
Inquiry off track I have not been able to crack Mornington Peninsula Shire’s codes and find out much more about the $85,000 inquiry into Mornington’s Beleura cliff path, the contract for which will apparently be signed soon. What is not a secret is that the Friends of the Beleura Cliff Path take a very different view to the shire on how the landslips and closure issues should be handled. In the course of our working bees over eight years, we have been studying these issues closely and constantly begging the shire to tackle certain problems. Now we are still working…
Acting on a community tip-off, Mornington Divisional Response Unit (DRU) detectives have today seized 1,500 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of $2.5 million. Police swooped on a commercial property in Keppler Court, Seaford at about 8am this morning, uncovering a sophisticated hydroponic set up where they seized the cannabis plants. During the warrant police seized: No arrests have been made at this time and investigation remains on-going. Police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or lodge a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au. Quotes attributed to Mornington Divisional Response Unit Acting Detective Sergeant Chris…
SUSIE Beveridge sees Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Watson Ward as “the forgotten corner of the shire”. One of six candidates contesting the seat left vacant by Paul Mercurio since he won the state seat of Hastings in the November election, Beveridge is no stranger to council politics. First elected to represent the then Truemans Ward at a byelection in 2007, then in 2008 re-elected a second time unopposed, Beveridge says she was “quite badly assaulted”, sustaining injuries which contributed to her “heartbreaking” decision to resign from council in 2010. Injuries from yet another attack sidelined her from running in the 2016…
MERRICKS author Megan Rogers has lived in many places, but says it was moving back to the Mornington Peninsula that became the inspiration for her debut novel The Heart is a Star. Rogers spent her primary school years “scribbling” in her mother’s 1970s cookbooks and then telling people they were novels she’d written and published. Now a mother of two, her own novel tackles the trials of middle age and second chances. The book centres around the mid-life predicament of many women: competing demands of work, families, and marriage, and trying to understand what their heart and sensual selves are…
No gain in Roper Gulf ‘partnership’ I seethe when I read that our dedicated councillors have decided to form a partnership with the Roper Gulf Regional Council (“Partnership ‘opportunities’ assured” The News 27/2/23). What earthly good will this do for the ratepayers of Mornington Peninsula? There is nothing we have in common with this area at all. It is touted as some kind of business partnership that will generate revenue for us ratepayers down here. I challenge the logic behind this proposition and would assert that it will generate absolutely nothing at all for us, financially or practically. As I…
MORE than 2400 people have “shared their ideas and priorities” with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council about how the shire’s money should be spent in the coming financial year. In December shire invited people to share their “ideas and priorities” online. The “budget portal” on the shire’s website will close next Wednesday (15 March). All contributions and feedback will be presented to councillors for their consideration. The shire has listed 14 themes where money can be spent: New footpaths; drainage and stormwater upgrades; coastal infrastructure and access; improving planning services and permits; community crisis and homelessness support; economic development, tourism and…
POLICE are continuing an operation targeting speeding drivers on Mornington Peninsula and Frankston roads after early results showed too many drivers were not getting the message about the dangers of speed. Somerville Highway Patrol Acting Sergeant, Christopher Spero says Operation SAST over the summer holidays showed that too many motorists were complacent when it comes to speeding, despite speed being one of the major contributors to road trauma. Operation SAST saw police targeting drivers on high-risk roads between November and February, with 241 traffic offences detected on the peninsula. Seventy per cent (169) of offences detected during the operation were…
A BURNSIDE Heights man has been charged following an investigation into a series of alleged fraudulent deliveries and scams on the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne’s south east. The 57-year-old man self-presented at Sunshine Police Station where he was subsequently charged on Thursday March 2 with 22 counts of obtaining property by deception and two counts of attempt to obtain property by deception. The charges follow incidents where businesses and residences reported being approached by someone purporting to be a delivery driver who required cash up front before goods could be provided. However, the man allegedly left with the money without…
A TEENAGER has been arrested and charged with burglary and theft offences after Mornington Peninsula CIU detectives located two allegedly stolen vehicles at a Safety Beach home on Thursday 2 March. Officers from Rosebud were travelling west on Point Nepean Road when they observed a VW Golf without registration plates about 4.45am. The driver allegedly sped off before officers later found the same VW Golf parked in front of a residential address while patrolling. After searching the property, officers found a Mazda that had allegedly been stolen in an aggravated burglary in Cranbourne on 25 February. It is alleged the…