MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is offering a prize for residents’ “ideas and aspirations” for its next budget. The inducement follows the unprecedented backlash the shire faced over its secret decision to allow the wildlife sanctuary at The Briars, Mount Martha, to be used for the sound and light show, Harry Potter: a Forbidden Forest Experience. Despite weeks of saying it was not possible, the shire last week moved the show out of the sanctuary and into the community forest, dog leash-free area (Sanctuary may be forbidden for Harry, The News 13/2/24). Suggestions for items to be included in the 2024-25…
Browsing: Mornington Peninsula
The timber stairway at Moorooduc Quarry has had a new-age facelift. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council last year upgraded the stairs refurbishment project to include the landing of the stair to long-lasting fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP). The fire access to the quarry was also repaired and the two timber foot bridges at the top of the reserve were upgraded with FRP material, including new handrails. The cost, including the fire access track, stairs, and bridges, was $90,000. The mayor Cr Simon Brooks said the project involved labour-intensive work due to accessing the site, transporting materials and removing waste. He said the stairs…
A MORE than 20-year drought has broken for the Rosebud Sea Scouts. Bruce Male was presented with his Queen’s Scout award on Saturday 10 February, the first received by a member of the group since 1999. The presentation made by DRRH Venturer unit leader Sam Blair was the first at the group since 1999. Fewer than five per cent of Venturer scouts aged 15-18 earn the award which involves achieving milestones, completing an adventurous journey, providing community service and leading others to achieve. Male’s achievements included such challenges as a seven-day 100-kilometre mountain hike, leading the only Victorian patrol to…
EARLY voting has begun in the Dunkley by-election. Polling day for the by-election is on 2 March with eight candidates on the ballot – in ballot order they are Nathan Conroy (Liberal), Bronwyn Currie (Animal Justice), Chrysten Abraham (Libertarian), Reem Yunis (Victorian Socialists), Darren Bergwerf (Independent), Alex Breskin (Greens), Heath McKenzie (Australian Democrats), and Jodie Belyea (Labor). Early voting centres have been set up at Lyrebird Community Centre in Carrum Downs, Functions by the Bay in Frankston, and 1st Ranelagh Scout Group in Mount Eliza. They are open from 8.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays (6pm on 1 March), and from…
A SPATE of break-ins around a Mount Martha “hot spot” has residents calling for more intensive policing. In recent weeks the number of houses around the Hearn Road area that have been targeted has put home owners on alert. Mount Martha resident Sonia said residents were sick of the crime and the inability to stop the offenders, who had been caught on CCTV and appeared to be teenagers or young men. “In December, January and this month there have been a lot of properties affected. I know of people in Capri Drive, Shearwater Drive, The Point, Churchill, Stanley, Ponyara Road…
DREAMWEAVERS, a series of short documentary films about three Mornington Peninsula-based women who have suffered adversity and inspire others, will be screened as part of the Flinders Fringe Festival on Sunday (25 February). The series was made by award winning film makers Heather Forbes-McKeon and photographer for The News, Yanni Dellaportas. Gidja Walker, an ecologist and ethnobotanist who has worked for years protecting Earthscapes, overcame discrimination in a male dominated profession. Walker mentors young women entering the world of nature-based learning and an advocate for traditional owner custodianship. Jacquie Beddows suffered a stroke and aneurysm in 2011, aged 50. While…
THE release of the mainly Aboriginal names for Mornington Peninsula Shire’s 11 wards coincides with public approval being sought to name the “brand new Southern Peninsula Youth Hub in Rosebud”, Tounnin Wominjeka. The shire says it decided to use “traditional owner language” for the name after feedback from young people interacting with its youth services department and consulting with the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (Aboriginal names for $13m youth hub, The News 13/1/24). The land council had suggested three suitable names and the shire had since “engaged” with more than 360 young people, with most voting for Tounnin Wominjeka.…
NEW boundaries and nine new names have been announced for 11 single-councillor wards on the Mornington Peninsula. The changes will be used in the October council elections and replace the existing six wards, three of which have more than one councillor. The names of the shire’s 11 wards are Beek Beek, Benbenjie, Briars, Brokil, Coolart, Kackeraboite, Moorooduc, Nepean, Tanti, Tootgarook and Warringine. Briars and Nepean are the only existing wards to retain their names, although each will be reduced in size and represented by one councillor. Briars ward currently has three councillors and Nepean two. The panel rejected changing Briars…
IMPROVISATION has transformed the way composer and performer Anne Norman thinks and feels about music. The internationally renowned shakuhachi player (a type of Japanese flute) is co-running musical improvisation workshops this month and next. Participants will step into the unknown in the acoustic series for strings, wind, percussion, keyboard and voice. A classically trained musician, Norman says she played and wrote music for decades before discovering the freedom of improvisation following a change in life circumstances. “I started working with actors and dancers and, in creating music for them, I found I could use their bodies as my score, and…
THE former site of the Blue Moon hardware store in Red Hill is now a centre to exhibit works by emerging and established Mornington Peninsula artists. The temporary space opened last month and will feature a diverse range of works, including paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, pottery, furniture, jewellery and illustrations. Featured artists include painters Margaret Amond, Mary Schepisi, Charlie and Gee (Gerald) Ryan, Joshua Searle and Michael Leeworthy; photographers Elizabeth Clancy, Oliver Altermatt and Philip Robertson; and sculptors; Jean Sheridan, Amy Leeworthy, Amber Skehan, Emma Cleine, Natalia Milosz-Piekarska and Mark Richardson. The space is managed by volunteers and has no…
Mornington Peninsula Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged a teen after he was found sleeping in an allegedly stolen vehicle in Sommerville early morning Tuesday 13 February. Officers spotted the allegedly stolen white Nissan station wagon in a carpark on Eramosa Road about 3am. Police approached the vehicle to discover a male youth asleep inside. After gaining access to the vehicle, officers arrested the teen. It is alleged that the Nissan was stolen during a burglary in Clyde yesterday. A 16-year-old Korong Vale boy has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, burglary and fail to stop vehicle on…
THE SUDDEN influx of white-winged butterflies on the Mornington Peninsula has some people reaching for the insecticide, but experts say there is no need to be alarmed. The white butterfly invasion has been sparked by recent hot weather and the rapid growth of food source for the butterfly larvae and is occurring all over the country. Some gardeners are taking extra precautions to protect their vegie patches, but the butterflies – also known as cabbage moths – won’t be around for long, and provide a source of food for birds. President of the Filed Naturalists Association of Victoria, Max Campbell,…
JET ski rider behaviour is again being spotlighted after a frightening incident at McCrae beach where a swimmer alleges he was almost hit by a vessel close to shore. Police are investigating the incident in which a Rye man, 69, was swimming with his wife and brother-in-law when the incident happened just after 4.30pm on Saturday, 3 February. “I was only 10 metres from shore and I could suddenly hear a loud engine and feel the swish of the water pass my head, only to look up out of the water and see a fast jet ski pass two metres…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is today (Tuesday) expected to back down on its insistence that the Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience event could not be moved from The Briars wildlife sanctuary. The move follows last Thursday’s announcement that Warner Bros and Fever were “re-evaluating the current location” of the event at the shire-owned Mount Martha property. This week’s meeting has one “Community Strengthening” item on its agenda: The Briars – Event Experience Trail Location. An accompanying report prepared by five council officers was not available Monday morning. The shire was continuing to defend the choice of the wildlife sanctuary…
A BYO picnic with live entertainment in the grounds of St Johns Anglican Church will be the finale at this year’s Flinders Fringe Festival. The entertainment will be headlined by Indigenous singer-songwriter Jess Hitchcock and Kee’Ahn. The community-focussed event will run on Sunday 25 February from midday to 3pm, with tickets at $15 adults and $5 children and concessions. Picnic-goers can take their own food and beverages or buy from the Flinders Pre-School barbecue stall. Curated and produced by Sally Baillieu and a team of volunteers, the fringe finale will start with a welcome to country by Bunurong Land Council,…
IT hadn’t been driven for more than 40 years, but that did not deter the car restoring team at Mornington Men’s Shed from trying to get it back on the road. Three years after acquiring this 1967 MGB, the team has delivered on the task and rebuilt the car and its engine almost from the ground up. President Mark Parritt said about 10 shed members shared their skills and talents to get the car back in shape, with some outside help when special machinery was required. “There are a few of us who have restored cars before, but it’s also…
Shire keeping off the grass Couch grass growing uncontrollably along the Esplanade walk at Mornington where the paid parking trial is underway is almost as tall as a fence. This is just one of many uncontrollable weed patches along this walk. Ratepayers were promised that the paid parking trial was for the upkeep of our foreshore. Really? It certainly proves true that the proof is in the pudding. Mornington Peninsula Shire has made a lot of money from the trial which none of us asked for. The shire is certainly not maintaining anything. The obvious question remains: What exactly is…
By Sarah Russell MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has a track record of failing to consult ratepayers about important decisions. First, it came for older people who use aged care services. Then it came for our beloved wildlife sanctuary at The Briars. In 2022, councillors voted to outsource aged care services to corporate providers, a decision presented to the local community as a fait accompli. Thousands of vulnerable older people were left without home care – some for several months. Then mayor Cr Anthony Marsh said the council wanted “to ensure our residents had a choice and the advantage of a competitive…
SEA scouts from across the Mornington Peninsula will gather in Mornington this Sunday (18 February) as 2nd Mornington Sea Scouts hosts its inaugural carnival day at Scouts Beach. Group leader Dan Power said the day would be packed with water and beach activities and would be a great chance for sea scouts to show their skills on a family-friendly day out. “Our beach carnival will include a number of events – canoe and kayak regattas, beach activities, including beach sprints, obstacle course, sandcastle battle, wading, and more. Each of these activities will be run in rounds via a knockout system…
A PANAMANIAN-flagged liquid petroleum gas tanker that lost its propellor in Bass Strait was forced to anchor for several days until emergency vessels could tow it to Flinders. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has confirmed that the LPG tanker Bougainville lost propulsion on 2 February during pre-arrival main engine testing, and was later found to have lost its propeller. The vessel was then forced to anchor near Phillip Island in Bass Strait until emergency vessels arrived on 5 February to tow it to Flinders. An AMSA spokesperson said the authority was “satisfied that the crew was safe, and that the…
PARKS Victoria is digging up the past at Cape Schanck and giving visitors the chance to see an archaeological dig in action. This weekend’s open day will provide an insight into archaeology at Cape Schanck’s historic light station. Over the past three summers, a dig by the Cape Schanck Archaeological Field School has explored the hidden history of the light station and given student archaeologists the chance to do field work at a place steeped in Aboriginal and post-colonial heritage. “The dig has given archaeology students a rare opportunity to participate in the excavation of a significant site and learn…
IT IS an unfortunate and increasingly deadly fact that the koala breeding season coincides with the busiest times on Mornington Peninsula roads. Since last August 17 koalas have been killed on peninsula roads – half of those in January – although the number is almost certainly higher as not all such collisions are officially reported. Campaigns to protect koalas by the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation (MPKC) group are credited with reducing the number of road kills, although roadside warning signs were not installed until December, three months later than normal. “Our campaign is in its third season, and we have…
MAREE Feutrill was last month made CEO Saltbush Balnarring Beach, a not-for-profit group that provides respite holiday accommodation to families in need and parents with children who have disabilities. Her appointment follows the resignation of Rachel Connor who had been with the organisation for a decade. Feutrill joins Saltbush after spending four years working with remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory developing preventative health programs. She is the former area manager for YMCA Camping, and previously led Camp Manyung at Mount Eliza for two decades where she specialised in camping and outdoor education for people with disabilities, culturally and…
THE Liberal Party has promised to spend $900 million to electrify the rail link from Frankston to Baxter if it wins government. Opposition leader Peter Dutton made the pledge in Frankston on Friday as part of the campaign by the Liberal Party’s Dunkley by-election candidate, Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy. The planned electrification and duplication of the Stony Point line from Frankston to Baxter was abandoned by the federal government after an infrastructure review last year. A business case has estimated it would cost $1.5 billion to electrify and duplicate the train line to Baxter. Dutton said having diesel trains running…
A FURORE over foreshore access has highlighted the divide between conservation and public right of use. A recent decision by the foreshore committee at Capel Sound to prevent “goat tracks” being used for people to access the beach has upset some nearby residents. Eighty-two-year-old Darryl Donaldson, who lives on Point Nepean Road, said he and a few neighbours had come to enjoy immediate access to the beach for “decades” by using tracks through the bush. He did not believe the tracks were causing any damage to the delicate coastal bush environment, where they had existed for up to 50 years.…
A FRESH push for the decommissioned water reservoir in Kunyung Road Mount Eliza to be protected from development and kept as community space has begun in the lead up to the Dunkley by-election. Mornington MP Chris Crewther, shadow minister James Newbury, South Eastern Centre for Sustainability president Steve Karakitsos and Ian Morrison, of Mount Eliza, visited the site on Tuesday 23 January. The MP and candidate had earlier inspected the Beleura cliff path at Mornington which has been closed because of landslides (‘Spy cameras’ on wrong track, The News 30/1/24). The South East Water reservoir land has been handed to…
A teenaged motorcyclist has been arrested after allegedly clocking speeds of up to 160km/h while evading police on the Mornington Peninsula last week, before posting the vision to social media. Police were travelling on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Dromana on Monday 28 January, when they observed a motorcycle with its licence plates concealed, about 1pm. It will be alleged the motorcycle was ridden only on its rear tyre before accelerating at high speeds. Police attempted to stop the rider in McCrae a short time later, however, he allegedly rode off at 160km/h, and began weaving through heavy traffic. It…
THE Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula’s first beach day of the year saw 156 surfers and more than 300 volunteers at Pt Leo on 20 January. Since 2012, DSAMP has been fulfilling its mission to put “smiles on dials” by offering safe, accessible and fun surfing experiences to surfers of all disabilities. Established by Gary Blaschke in 1986, the Disabled Surfers Association of Australia now has more than 19 chapters in Australia and one in New Zealand. “In the 12 years since we started, we have watched our events continue to grow,” DSAMP president Pea Saunders said. “There’s a fantastic…
NO MATTER if she is near or far from home, 21-year-old Kristin Blight is willing to jump on the truck when the need arises. Following in the footsteps of her dad, Blight is a Rosebud firefighter who came up through the Boneo junior ranks. From June to September 2023, her CFA volunteerism stretched even further when she headed to Mount Buller for the snow season and had the opportunity to join the local brigade while working there. “Shortly after I arrived at Mount Buller for the season, Commander Paul Scragg was doing a walk through our building with the brigade…
PENINSULA Health’s call for the community to participate in its FEB 50 Challenge to raise money for Rosebud Hospital was answered loud and clear when it kicked off last Thursday (1 February). The FEB 50 Challenge encourages participants to walk, run, ride or choose the activity they prefer to complete 50 kilometres in February. The campaign started last week with a Peninsula Health-coordinated five kilometre walk from Rosebud Hospital to Rosebud pier and back. Rosebud Hospital is part of Peninsula Health, the major public health service providing healthcare for Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula. The hospital has one acute and…