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…
Author: Sarah Halfpenny
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…