YOUNG people on the southern Mornington Peninsula now have easier access to free mental health support, with Headspace relocating to the Tounnin Wominjeka Youth Hub in Rosebud. Headspace is Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation and provides services for those aged 12 to 25, including mental health support and assistance with employment, education, and drug and alcohol concerns. Andrew Joseph, from Mornington Peninsula Shire Youth and Family Services, said the hub had been built with youth in mind. “We’ve got amazing workers here that can just have those conversations to make you feel really supported” said Joseph. Headspace Clinical Team…
Author: Sarah Halfpenny
A FOUR-seater electric buggy used to transport children and adults with disabilities has been stolen from a Balnarring Beach charity that supports vulnerable Victorian families. The buggy was taken from Saltbush Balnarring Beach about midnight on Saturday 25 April. Thieves used bolt cutters on the entrance gate and broke a downpipe when removing the vehicle from a secure storage area behind the front office. Saltbush Balnarring Beach chief executive officer, Keeley Reade, said staff discovered the theft on Monday morning, 27 April. A sensor light provided the only clue to the timing, with the charity’s CCTV not covering the storage…
FOUR Mornington Peninsula projects have been named finalists in the 2026 Dulux Colour Awards, which celebrate the use of colour in Australian and New Zealand architecture and design. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the awards, which drew more than 540 entries across eight categories. A panel of five leading interior designers and architects from Australia and New Zealand selected the 94 finalists. The local projects shortlisted are Point Nepean House by SJB (Residential Interior), Portsea Treetop House by Studio Esteta (Residential Interior), Joy Haus in Mount Eliza by Studio Shields (Residential Interior and Single Residential Exterior), and Crescent…
GUNNAMATTA Surf Life Saving Club is celebrating six decades of volunteer lifesaving service this year. The club, established in December 1966, now operates with around 95 active patrolling members, 100 nippers aged under seven to under 14, and approximately 490 total members, including social members and parents. Club secretary Barry Williams told The News the organisation has five patrolling teams that rotate through the summer season. “The average patroller does 60 to 70 hours over summer volunteering,” Williams said. “Some of our patrols will run through to over 150 hours on the beach a year.” Since its foundation, the club…
MOTORISTS across the Mornington Peninsula are enduring extreme delays as a combination of concurrent roadworks and road closures affect the area’s main arterial routes. A southbound lane closure on Nepean Highway outside the Bata site in Mornington, where private developer Neue Space is overseeing the construction of a new slip lane and bus stop to service its development, has become the flashpoint for widespread frustration at the state of the local road network. The closure is scheduled to remain in place until 22 June 2026. Compounding the disruption are ongoing works associated with Peninsula Link, which has diverted traffic onto…
MOUNT Eliza teenager Gemma Scott has been selected for Australia’s Skillaroos team to compete at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 in September. The 18-year-old Restaurant Service competitor will join 37 other skilled apprentices, trainees and students representing Australia at the world’s biggest vocational skills competition. WorldSkills is a biennial international competition where more than 1,400 young hospitality, construction, tech and trade workers compete against peers from over 70 countries and test their skills. Scott is a student at the William Angliss Institute with a Certificate III in Hospitality and a Diploma in Hospitality Management. Involved in hospitality since she was 15, her…
By Sarah Halfpenny THE Westernport Regional Band’s U19 Jazz Ensemble will make history when it becomes the first non-school band to compete at the Generations in Jazz festival, held in South Australia from 1–3 May. Established in 1987, the festival holds a special place in Australia’s jazz culture, attracting both jazz legends and young musicians to Mount Gambier to learn from each other, study, and perform. The U19 Jazz Ensemble was established in May 2025 to address a shortage of music opportunities for young people on the Mornington Peninsula. Headed by school music teachers, Kate Makrikostas and David Hedges, it…
By Sarah Halfpenny A HASTINGS woman who channelled her passion for animal welfare into grassroots activism has successfully brought a decade-old animal protection bill closer to reality. Tracey Asquith’s petition calling on the Victorian government to introduce the draft Animal Care and Protection Bill was tabled in Parliament by Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell on 2 April. Last year, Asquith heard about horses at 550 Moorooduc Highway in Mt Eliza being kept in terrible conditions and dying from neglect. The discovery spurred her to act. She created social media posts, organised protests at Parliament House and the RSPCA’s head…
PARKS Victoria has ordered contractors to stop work on the historic Flinders Pier restoration just four months after construction began, citing a lapse in funding. The direction issued to lead contractor Bridgewater Marine comes less than five months after Minister for Ports and Freight Melissa Horne announced that works had commenced as part of the Allan Labor Government’s $18m investment to restore some of the state’s most historic piers. Construction had been expected to finish by mid-2026. Chair of the Save Flinders Pier campaign, Charles Reis OAM, said the decision had shocked and dismayed supporters who fought for the pier’s…
By Sarah Halfpenny A BRIGHT blue cypress tree trunk now stands as a symbol of hope on Hotham Street in Sorrento, marking the arrival of the Blue Tree Project to the Mornington Peninsula. The tree, located at McFarland Reserve near the Sorrento Football and Netball Club, was painted as part of a global initiative to raise mental health awareness. The Blue Tree Project started as a grassroots movement in Western Australia in 2019, following the death of Jayden Whyte by suicide in 2018. It has since grown into a worldwide movement, with 1,600 blue trees now registered in Europe, the…