GYMNASTICS coach Zak Stolz has a new army of supporters following his win on the Australian Ninja Warriors televised entertainment show. Taking home the title of Furthest Fastest in 2021, the 23-year-old from Rosebud credits his agility to his years training in the artistic gymnastics discipline. He also broke a world record for the furthest distance by lacheing (launching from a shelf) 4.7 metres. The shelf grab world record stood at 4.57 metres. Stolz’s record smash earned him an extra $15,000 on top of the $100,000 prize money he’d already won in the grand final. He said there was always…
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A FAMILIAR sight on the streets on Mornington is Robert Klaas Kalma, who many will recognise as the friendly musician who for the past four years has been Main Street’s “humble busker”. But what many who stop listen and drop a few coins in his bucket may not know is that Kalma’s efforts have raised hundreds of dollars for Red Cross and the Royal Children’s Hospital. Even more remarkable is the fact that the almost 83-year-old didn’t take up music until he was 70, without ever having a lesson. Kalma has had his fair share of personal tragedies and says…
RED Hill artist Michael Leeworthy is drawing on his talent and promotional skills to make Hastings the “cultural capital” of the Mornington Peninsula. He uses words to illustrate the affection he feels for Hastings and says he is indebted to its businesspeople for giving him “an opportunity to be self-employed back in the 1970s”. Describing himself as a secondary school dropout, lacking in self-confidence and starting work at 16, Leeworthy says he came “very close to getting into trouble”. “I was a window dresser to a major clothing chain and at night I would do letter drops under any shop…
SOMERVILLE resident Brenda Thornell has spent her life doing things for her community, but recognition for that has come as a bit of a “shock”, said the 88-year-old. Thornell has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to the community of the Mornington Peninsula. “I certainly didn’t expect this, I just got involved in things because that’s what you do in small communities,” she said. “When you live in a small town all your life, you know everyone, and you help everyone out if you can. “I didn’t think about it much, I just did. “I remember…
VISITORS to the 560-hectare Point Nepean National Park will soon be able to overnight there in a tent. In a low key visit last week, Environment and Climate Action Minister Lily D’Ambrosio and Nepean MP Chris Brayne (pictured) had a first-hand look at one of the 36 pre-pitched tents that will be available from spring. Erected on wooden decks, the tents are close to the beach (signs warn of strong currents and rips) and amenities, including kitchens. Brayne said the “camping experience” would help “ensure the site’s ongoing presence as an environmentally and historically significant tourist destination”. The camping ground…
EVEN for people who only know very little about football, the name Billy Baxter rings of luminary fame, like the pseudonym or alliterative moniker of a screen star or wanna-be pop star. For those who don’t know, that name is attached to one of Australia’s most ‘under-the-radar’ and down-to-earth superstars of the entertainment sector, who says he was “shocked”, “humbled” and “grateful” for the recent honour of an Order of Australia Medal. The award is not just for Baxter’s 42 years of non-stop involvement in the music industry as performer and broadcaster, but also as author and actor, and for…
AT just 17, in the middle of her VCE exams, Rosebud resident Deanna Renee was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Suddenly her whole world looked vastly different. “I literally woke up one day and could barely see, my vision loss was so bad it was just like looking through a tiny black dot” she said. Renee’s ophthalmologist diagnosed Optic Neuritis, which was a red flag for Multiple Sclerosis, and after an MRI discovered lesions on her brain, the diagnosis was confirmed. It would have been very easy to give up dreaming about the future, but Renee refused to give in to…
MORNINGTON Peninsula resident and co-founder of a wrap that is compostable and eco-friendly, Julia Kay, has been named Young Victorian of the Year by the Victoria Day Council. From a young age Kay, a former architect, had a knack for design, and wanted to have an impact on the environment. That led her to a career in architecture, which in turn has taken her around the world and led to her designing everything from galleries to schools. Kay said working in the construction industry was a real “eye opener” for her as she saw copious amounts of waste with no…
AN emergency service worker is reaching out to first responders and veterans who have experienced trauma, offering a free, ocean-based program for “post traumatic growth”. Operation Soul Surf is the brainchild of Sergeant Barry Randall, who is based at Forest Hill police station, but has brought the program to the Mornington Peninsula. Randall said the program provides opportunities to people who have suffered trauma to experience the healing power of surfing and the ocean. “I founded OSS in 2021 and have put 50 current and former first responders and veterans through our program,” he said. “I have booked out courses…
CONSTRUCTION has begun on one of Australia’s first shared-roof intergenerational care centres that will provide life-changing interactions between Mornington aged care residents and children. Early childhood teachers Anna and Fiona Glumac say the concept of mixing older people with younger ones was inspired largely by their late grandmother Mary, who spent the last year of her life in residential aged care. In 2017, the Glumac sisters were so moved by a documentary on an intergenerational care centre in the US city of Seattle, they decided to bring the same model of care to Australia. They created The Herd, a name…
LANGWARRIN soccer club is still celebrating the Socceroos’ qualification for November’s World Cup finals and the pivotal defence role played by its former player Bailey Wright in the win over Peru on penalties last week in Qatar. The Socceroos’ defender was making his 25th national team appearance and is now vying for a spot in the 23-man squad for the finals. Langwarrin technical director Gus Macleod gave Wright his senior debut in 2009 when the teenager was 16 years old and has followed his career closely. “He’s come a long, long way from the wee five-year-old who started playing for…
A TEAM effort to filter storm water before it enters Port Phillip at Rye has been recognised with an “infrastructure excellence” award. Before entering the bay, the water is collected in a foreshore bio infiltration basin, or wetland. The project overcame problems involving sand movement, high tides, storm surges and high groundwater levels to naturally filter the stormwater before it reached the bay. Benefits include improving the water quality and biodiversity and a boardwalk to improved beach access. This project, started after talks between Mornington Peninsula and Rye Community Group Alliance, was paid for by the shire, the state government…
THE behaviour of whales in Port Phillip and Western Port appears to be changing. Data collected by the Hastings-based Dolphin Research Institute includes a blue whale being recorded in early June near Portland. The sighting was the on record as they usually leave those water in autumn. Questions are being asked about the effects of climate change on whale habits when the Portland sighting is competitive pods of male humpbacks appearing in Port Phillip and a humpback whale song recorded near Port Phillip Heads. DRI Executive director Jeff Weir says these “are things that would normally occur in the sub-tropics”,…
CURLY-haired Somerville resident Emily Cullen has always been complimented on her luscious, strawberry-gold locks. But the peninsula shearer didn’t bat an eye when deciding to cut a good portion of it off to help people who have lost their hair to cancer. After hatching the plan to sell her hair to a wig-making company, Emily put the call out on social media to see if anyone wanted to join her, and before she knew it old school friend Natalie Trotter answered the call. It had been a decade since the former Frankston High School chums had last met, but the…
MOUNT Martha resident and former Voices of the Peninsula candidate for the federal election, Claire Boardman, has been honoured in the Queen’s Birthday list with a Public Service Medal for her outstanding contribution to public health. Boardman is recognised as an Australian leader in the field of infection prevention control. She is currently deputy public health commander and executive director of the Victorian Department of Health Infection Prevention Control Advice and Response (IPCAR) unit. Boardman said she was honoured to be recognised for her 20-year commitment to public health management and work in improving health outcomes for whole populations. Although…
MORNINGTON Yacht Club member and Sailability volunteer Krista Bailey has been given the Shine on Award from Mornington Rotary Club. Bailey, a keen sailor, contracted a form of dystrophy in her teens but did not let that stop living her best life, and she went on to raise three children. Her condition has deteriorated, and she now needs a wheelchair, but even that hasn’t dampened her zest for life. Bailey started learning to sail in 2004 and became proficient enough to compete at state and national levels and be part of the winning teams. She now helps others to sail…
FOR 29-year-old, Rye mother-of-two Mariah Kendle, the option of being able to study nursing and give her family a brighter future seemed out of reach until she heard about the options for study available through TAFE. After completing a course in individual support and being named trainee student of the year, from Chisholm TAFE, she is now well on her way to a nursing degree. Kendle, whose determination to succeed made her stand out from the crowd at the Rosebud campus where she studied, credits staff for motivating her to complete her studies and define her goals. “Studying a course…
RYE skateboarder Lilly Sherriff in three years has achieved a level of fan that many merely aspire to. At 11, she is already a wizard in the bowl, a long way from the eight-year-old whose first board was picked up at a garage sale. It didn’t take long for Lilly to demonstrate a natural ability on the board, gliding the concrete ramps like they were rivers of water and flying high on the momentum. Friends and family were impressed, and pretty soon her reputation grew around the state, and then the country. Who was this tiny girl skateboarder appearing mid-air…
MOUNT Eliza North Primary School student Ella Seaburgh will compete in the School Sport Australia Championship as part of the 11 to 19 years and under Victorian team in Queensland in September. The 12-year-old participated in a structured trial process to be selected for the aquathon/triathlon. She is dedicated to her sport, competing as a nipper every summer at Mornington Life Saving Club, training in open swimming, boarding and beach running. During winter she continues with her swimming (in the pool) and running and plays netball and football. Ella is hoping to raise around $2000 for the trip, which includes…
THE Alpaca Pavilion at Red Hill Showgrounds took on a new look last week when it was transformed into an entertainment venue for Spark Youth Dance Company’s performance of Satellite. The show on 28 and 29 May, took audiences on a journey through a series of eight dance works by seven emerging young choreographers. The visually energetic work was only the second performance to be staged at the pavilion, but audience members said the aesthetics worked well and enhanced the quality performances. Every year Spark Youth Dance Company produces a series on new dance works by young people aged 8…
SHOPPERS on the peninsula are set to experience Woolworths’ newest supermarket at Mornington Central, which has an expanded fresh food experience, convenient shopping options and value at the heart of its offering. The multi-million dollar investment into the opening of Mornington Central Woolworths on Thursday 9th June, represents the supermarket’s commitment to the community and brings an employment boost with 65 brand new team members. Mornington Central Woolworths will showcase an extensive range of Australian fruit and vegetables, artisan style breads baked freshly each day from the full-scratch Bakery, 100% Australian beef from Aussie farmers and trade qualified Butchers and…
SIX Mornington Yacht Club sailors are among 18 recipients of Victorian Institute of Sport’s Victorian youth scholarships for 2022/23. The scholarships are awarded to athletes based on national and international performances. The club’s marketing chair Peter Davey said the club’s strong representation was testament to its successful training and development program. He said three of the six will now become a part of the Australian Sailing Futures Program, which recognises their potential to become Olympic sailors in the next four to eight years. Recipients have access to coaching support and the training program includes regular gym work, medical and physiotherapy…
LANDSCAPER Jay Shelling believes that every young person deserves a chance and a job, no matter what their life story has been. Shelling has started a not-for-profit outreach service for young people called Street Peace, with the aim of guiding disenfranchised young people into lives of purpose and hope. That path may seem out of reach for many disconnected and at-risk youth, but Shelling makes the goal of a roof over their heads and a job achievable through employing young people in his landscaping business on the Mornington Peninsula and in Frankston. Shelling said it was one way he could…
ST JOSEPH’S Primary School students made important steps towards a healthier future on Friday 20 May by participating in National Walk Safely to School Day. The day aims to raise awareness of the health, safety and environmental benefits that regular walking (especially to and from school) can provide for children’s long-term wellbeing. Apart from the physical benefits, regular walking also has a favourable impact on children’s cognitive and academic performance. Now in its 23rd year, the annual event has joined forces with National Road Safety Week (15-22 May). Principal Monica O’Shannassy joined students, teachers and parents on the walk, and…
JAN Wilcox’s story of anxiety over COVID, getting older and what the future held will be familiar to many women in their 50s and 60s. The 62-year-old Rosebud resident’s life was plunged into turmoil when COVID hit, and she wasn’t sure whether her job was secure or where she would end up. Ascending into a journey of self-fulfillment, Wilcox had quit her job and sought out a new career path. Except, one month later, the whole world was at a standstill thanks to lockdown. But her story of triumph over the dark forces of anxiety and ageing is uplifting and…
WHEN paramedic of 40 years Will Barger’s body started badly behaving six years ago, the then-57-year-old initially thought old age was catching up with him. “A few times I noticed I had trouble heaving myself out of seats, and even walking was tricky in some instances, especially negotiating footpaths that were not even,” he said. “On a couple of occasions early on my knees just buckled under me, and while I put it down to ageing, I knew it was more than that … my grip was also gradually getting weaker so that I started having trouble grabbing and picking…
By Pippa Salmon “WHAT are you lot up to? Have you spotted anything yet?” Wearing bright orange vests, chunky binoculars and big grins (or looks of intense concentration), the Dolphin Research Institute (DRI) interns are easy to spot. I happen to be one of them. Every week we spend a few hours down by the beach, straining our eyes to see dolphins. And every week, regardless of what we spot in the water, we hear at least one dolphin story. “They always come when it’s calm; I think the rough water stresses them out.” “I was on a paddleboard once…
PENINSULA Transport Assist wants more volunteer drivers to join the low-cost service that gets clients to where they need to go. The service, established in July 2013, was started to tackle chronic transport disadvantage and related social isolation both on the Mornington Peninsula and in Frankston. The target clients are people who cannot get to medical or social appointments and fully engage and participate within their community. While the service costs about half the price of a taxi and for medical appointments clients are personally escorted to the destination and back. PTA president Nick Jones said volunteer drivers pick up…
MOUNT Eliza illustrator Karen Erasmus’s new children’s picture book brings to life the heart-warming and true story of runaway greyhound, Albert. In her second illustration project with Gippsland author Kylie Miller, Erasmus has created colourful and engaging images of Albert’s chaotic adventures as the anxious, adopted greyhound overcomes his fear of cats to find a safe home, a warm bed, and a family of his own. The book, Albert, The Greyhound Who Loves to Run is about a two-year-old greyhound who jumped the fence at his Gippsland lakes home after being spooked by the family cat a day after his…
THE first of 36 orange-bellied parrots bred in captivity have been released into the wild at Western Port and Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula. The endangered birds are expected to join a 100-strong flock of previously released parrots. Experts predict this autumn will see a flock of about 140 orange-bellied parrots migrate to Victoria from Tasmania, the largest number in 15 years. The parrots are reported to have had a successful breeding season in the wild and other captive-bred birds were released in spring and late summer. The species has gone from being at imminent risk of extinction, with…