TIM Freedman has been talking about impending new songs for years. Now he is putting it in writing that he will perform some new material in his solo tour this October and November 2019, and that he is prepared to be run out of town if he doesn’t deliver. “Hopefully the new songs aren’t too successful though, otherwise I’ll earn too much to retain my franking credits. Unfortunately, like every one else in the world, I just had to express myself.” Freedman is best known as the front-man and songwriter of Australian band ‘The Whitlams’ – an Australian Recording Industry…
Author: MP News Group
PERMITS have been issued for the Peninsula Aero Club’s 2020 air show to be held in March. The mayor Cr David Gill said Mornington Peninsula Shire Council was “always committed to seeing the air show proceed”. “It is a great event for the peninsula, providing significant charitable donations for the local community and a showcase for aero enthusiasts,” he said. The issuing of permits shows a thaw in relations between the club and the council after the club moved to cancel the event. (“Club abandons air show” The News 13/8/2019). At the time, PAC president Jack Vevers said he had…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire says survey results “show the community believes [the council’s] overall performance, customer service and waste management are all positive”. The annual community satisfaction survey, independently conducted by telephone across shire households in February and March for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, measures community perception on the performance of Victorian councils across a range of measures. While a minimum of 400 interviews were conducted in 63 municipalities for the survey, the results for each council have not been published for the public by DELWP. The mayor Cr David Gill said results for the peninsula show…
AN incentive program at Mornington Park Primary School in which students earn points towards owning a new – restored – bike is both insightful and productive. The Wheeling It Forward program run by physical education and sport coordinator Tim Fitzpatrick encourages the students to “do the right thing” and, in this way, earn points from a teacher towards reaching the magical 100 points target. They are then able to choose a bike rebirthed and repaired by New Peninsula Mt Martha Men’s Shed members as their reward. The students build up points, called tokens, for good behaviour, such as displaying school…
POLICE are searching for a man who left a service station without paying for petrol, around 1.30pm 26 August. The man filled up a white VR/VS Holden commodore with stolen plates with about $64 worth of fuel. The man then left the Baxter petrol station without attempting to pay. An image (above) has been released of a man police wish to speak to. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au First published in the Mornington News – 1 October 2019
THE Mt Martha branch of the Bendigo bank is the drop-off point for plastic bread tags which are part of the Bread Tags for Wheelchairs campaign. Created in South Africa in 2006, Bread Tags for Wheelchairs sells used bread tags to plastic companies and uses the proceeds to buy wheelchairs for disadvantaged South Africans with disabilities. The plastic company then recycles the tags into seedling trays and doorknobs. The volunteer run organisation collects 500kg of bread tags each month in South Africa, contributing to two to three wheelchairs. Retired nurse Mary Honeybun started the program after realising how important it…
A Mt Eliza Man has been fined $500 after he pleaded guilty to keeping an illegal and high-risk invasive snake. The 20-year-old, who exchanged a PlayStation for a milk snake on Facebook last year, was fined without conviction at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 17 September. The maximum penalty for importing, keeping or selling a controlled pest animal in Victoria is $39,652. “We are very concerned when we get a call about an exotic species being found in Victoria because of the enormous potential to threaten our native species and agriculture,” chief conservation regulator, Kate Gavens said. “Our investigators received…
IF there is anything a golden retriever likes more than a swim it’s food. And when your owner decides to sit on a bench during Mornington’s Wednesday street market you can be sure there’s food involved. Last Wednesday was the first week of the school holidays and the sun was shining as shoppers roamed Main Street during the regular market. But while stallholders and their customers strived to provide and buy such things as food, art items and clothing, few would have known it was the market’s 40th anniversary. The longest running street market in Victoria began on Wednesday 26…
A LIMESTONE cottage in Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento, and cargo shed have jointly won the Creative Reuse of a Heritage Place category in this year’s Mornington Peninsula Heritage Awards. The 1905 limestone cottage Carmel was originally run as a boarding house by two women and is now used as a reception area for holiday accommodation at the rear of the building. Women are running the venture these days, too – Philippa Chalkitis and Allison Manning – which is continuing the tradition in both senses. The cottage has two rooms for community use and sits in front of extensive accommodation areas…
RECREATIONAL divers are being urged to join a citizen science dragon hunt. The call to join in the research is not associated with any mythical creature, but the weedy seadragon. Although the weedy seadragon is the state’s marine emblem, little is known about how many of them reside in Port Phillip. “Weedy seadragon numbers in some locations in Australia have declined, however the population in our own backyard, Port Phillip Bay, has rarely been studied and we do not know if they are suffering the same fate” Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) ReefWatch coordinator Kade Mills said. “The first step…
THE Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is repairing the sandbag seawall at Portsea front beach. Sandbags were installed at the beach in 2010 to try to prevent further erosion. The pre-summer repair work will not affect pedestrian access to the pier except when trucks are using the pier access lane. “The sandbag wall was established in 2010 and has since helped protect the Portsea foreshore against the impacts of storm surges, waves, tides and wind,” DELWP Port Phillip regional director Stephen Chapple said. “The outer layer of the wall is in poor condition, as a result of…
TWO men were charged late last week over a series of burglaries and thefts in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula in the past three weeks. A Rosebud man, 23, and a Port Arlington man, 32, were arrested at a Mornington McDonald’s car park by members of the Somerville Highway Patrol and Mornington police, 11.30pm, Thursday 26 September. The allegedly stolen car they were driving had been seen earlier at Mt Martha and again in the restaurant car park. The Rosebud man is facing 15 charges, including aggravated carjacking, firearms offences, theft of a vehicle and handling stolen goods. The…
Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate missing 12-year-old Hastings boy Kayil Blundell. Kayil left his Penshurst Avenue home about 7pm last night. He has not been seen since and has not been in touch with his family. Police and family have concerns for Kayil’s welfare due to his age. Kayil is described as Caucasian with freckles, red hair, green eyes, 165cm tall and a solid build. Investigators have released a photo of Kayil in the hope someone may recognise him and be able to provide information on his whereabouts. Anyone with information is urged to contact Hastings…
CRIB Point RSL ran a sausage sizzle recently with all proceeds going to a worthy cause – the Western Port Support Group which assists those in need on the peninsula. The event did well with RSL social club members rounding off the amount raised to $2000. The money is for a good cause: Western Port Community Support – established 40 years – is the largest provider of emergency relief in the Western Port region. The not for profit volunteer organisation provides emergency relief, such as food and fuel vouchers, fruit and vegetables, medication, basic essentials and personal support to those…
A DEAD humpback washed up onto the beach at St Andrews over the weekend had been a meal for sharks as it floated in to shore. The 11-metre whale was gouged by large bite marks and covered in crustaceans. Environmental advocate Josie Jones spotted the whale out in the water on Sunday night. “We could see the sharks lunging and spray coming off them, their fins rising up out of the water – it was pretty full on to watch,” she said. Cetacean scientist Sue Mason said the whale must have died only recently as the carcass had not begun…
TOUGH laws aimed at protecting farmers and farm businesses against people inciting farm trespass have passed the federal parliament. The new laws mean anyone sharing farmers’ private details online to incite farm trespass will risk jail time. A similar law is also on its way through state parliament. The changes to federal law will strengthen the consequences for incitement to trespass, property damage and theft on agricultural land. Eastern Victoria Region MP Melina Bath said: “These strong new laws are a huge win for farmers, their families and regional communities not only in Victoria, but Australia-wide. “They send a clear…
IN what is hoped to be the first of many games, years 8 and 9 boys from Mornington Secondary College hosted boys from the Clontarf Foundation at Alexandra Park last week. The Clontarf team is made up of Indigenous boys from across Victoria in Mornington for a sports camp. The foundation is set up to improve the education, discipline, self-esteem, life skills and employment prospects of young Indigenous men. “The game was played in fantastic spirit as the two groups combined together to create two very even and well-skilled teams,” the college’s sport and community engagement teacher Ben Hall said.…
THE driver of a Black Toyota Hilux being driven dangerously on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway later blew 0.249 per cent – or just under five times the legal limit, 1.15pm, Monday 16 September. Rosebud Police spotted the vehicle after it exited Mornington Peninsula Freeway onto Boneo Road. The car was being driven in an “atrocious manner” before being intercepted, police said. The painter, 46, from St Albans, who was on his way to work, had his licence suspended and his car impounded. He will be summonsed to appear at Dromana Magistrates’ Court at a later date. Police would like to…
BURGLARS stole two cars and a motorbike from a Dromana property, overnight, Friday 13 September. Detective Senior Sergeant Miro Majstorovic, of Somerville CIU, said a 47-year-old man was asleep at the Jamieson Street house when “at least three” offenders removed tiles from the garage roof and entered his house. They took car keys from inside before stealing the cars – a 2013 grey Mazda CX5 and a 2015 maroon Mazda Neo and a 2001 Yamaha motorbike. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au First published in…
SOMERVILLE Highway Patrol police relieved one confused driver of four bags of cannabis he had allegedly left on the passenger seat, overnight Tuesday 17 September. He was among 29 drivers issued with summonses to appear at court at a later date. Police also impounded seven vehicles. Among 24 drug drivers intercepted was one suspended female driver who police allege “quickly turned down a side street and did a quick switch-a-roo with their passenger”. The woman then allegedly refused to undergo a drug test stating she wasn’t the driver, despite number plate and video cameras showing her in the driver’s seat…
THE executive chef at RACV Cape Schanck Resort, Joshua Pelham, will represent Australia in next year’s international Bocuse d’Or culinary contest. He will be joined in the Bocuse d’Or Asia Pacific qualifier by RACV City Club apprentice chef Harrison Caruana. The pair will be trained by head coach Scott Pickett and a panel of senior chefs. Pelham says he has has dreamed of competing in the elite event ever since he watched Pickett training for Bocuse d’Or 2005. “At the time I was an apprentice at Matteo’s with Scott’s commis chef Cate Robertson,” he said. “She invited me to watch…
RENOVATIONS underway at Crib Point Recreation Reserve include improving the change rooms and reconstructing the oval. Mornington Peninsula Shire is spending about $3 million on the mixed gender and accessible change rooms and a new playing surface, drainage and irrigation. The mayor Cr David Gill said the project was a timely response to the rapid increase in sports participation in recent years, particularly female and juniors in field-based sports. “Through these projects we’re making improvements to our sporting facilities where it’s needed most,” he said. “We’re working to close the gap in local sporting facilities and provide inclusive, accessible and…
POSTERS supporting the continued operation of Tyabb Airfield have started popping up around the Western Port area. The poster campaign follows the easing of a protracted dispute with Mornington Peninsula Shire over plane take-off and landing times. The shire has said it supports the airfield but will insist that businesses operating there have appropriate permits. The posters were the brainchild of Alicia Slater and Paul Mercurio, who said on social media: “It is our opportunity to voice and display our positive support for Tyabb Airfield. “Getting as many people as we can putting up our posters will show just how…
AN auction of antique furniture and old wares has raised $8000 for the ongoing restoration work at Coolart Homestead, Somers. The items, including curtains, crockery, beds, chairs, pool table, sewing machine, paintings and dressing tables from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, were donated by the owners of the heritage-listed Landene, in St Kilda Road, Melbourne. The 1895 home had been used as a boarding house and then became the St Kilda Post Office in 1962. “[The owners] had no room for any more furniture and generously asked if we would like it,” Friends of Coolart president Julie…
MT ELIZA Soccer Club is keen to ride on a wave of popularity in girls’ soccer. The club’s Stephen Bonfield said it was looking to expand the girls’ game and develop a girls’ soccer academy. “We currently have 40 girls playing over three teams: Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12 competing in leagues in and around the peninsula,” he said. “This summer we will be running a girls-only soccer clinic run by ex-professional player and coach Stuart Munro.” New change rooms and toilets for boys and girls are being built with help from Mornington Peninsula Shire. “The council have…
By Patricia MacLeod ENVIRONMENTAL group BERG MM is urging residents to look out for blue-tongue lizards taking advantage of the warming weather. The indigenous reptiles are being drawn out of their dormant phase to soak up the sunshine – making them vulnerable to being inadvertently killed. BERG MM member Hansi Wegner said the cold-blooded animals must sunbathe each morning to produce enough energy to live but that “this can be to their detriment if they choose to do it on the road”. Mr Wegner said motorists seeing a lizard on the road should “avoid them, but only if safe to…
CYCLISTS should have a think about what they wear on their next ride. Brighter colours, such as yellow or white, will make them stand out and allow motorists to see them more easily. That’s the word from traffic police who say many cyclists passing their checkpoint at the bottom of Oliver’s Hill near the car park exit on Saturday morning (where there have been many car-versus-cyclist collisions), had not factored in that being easily seen makes them safer. Their tops were a mixture of fluoro yellow, red, blue, white and black, with leggings predominantly black. “Most of the car/cyclist collisions…
A CRIB Point teenager has been arrested and charged over a series of raids on chemist shops at Somerville, Hastings and Balnarring, overnight Friday 6 September. Detective Senior Constable Rohan Brock, of Somerville CIU, said the 19-year-old was tackled by a “Good Samaritan” as he left one of the shops early Saturday morning. During what was termed an “altercation” his keys were thrown into a bush and he was intercepted by police before he could find them and drive off. The man has been charged with four counts of burglary and remanded in custody. As he was on bail for…
IT took only a minute for two offenders to force their way into the Australia Post shop at Mornington and force open self-serve machines before fleeing with a “large amount of cash”, early Wednesday 11 September. CCTV images show the men parking a dark coloured late model Land Cruiser or similar outside the shop in Main Street at 3am before breaking open the glass front door. The robbery is similar to a raid on self-service registers at the Woolworths supermarket, also in Main Street, 1.50am, Wednesday 4 September. In that raid three offenders stole two whole self-serve machines containing large…
VOLUNTEER fishers working as citizen scientists to tag, release and report the capture of King George whiting in Port Phillip and Western Port bays is helping improve our knowledge of their behaviour. The fishers, working on a three-year Monash University research project funded by recreational fishing licence fees, are helping track the fish’s movement patterns. “We know whiting enter our bays when they’re only a few months old and leave again at about four years of age to mature and begin spawning offshore,” Victorian Fisheries Authority CEO Travis Dowling said. “What we don’t know is how juveniles move within and…