CONCERNS about fishers causing environmental damage in the Balcombe Creek estuary at Mount Martha are being investigated, following complaints about people leaving rubbish, trampling the bushland, and using the area as a toilet. One resident who walks the estuary boardwalk daily said groups of visitors from Melbourne were fishing at the estuary every day, causing significant damage by walking through the wetland areas to fish and relieve themselves in the bushes. She said she was also concerned about “unsustainable” fishing and claims she had witnessed fishers carrying away large bags of adult and juvenile fish. “I have tried to say…
Browsing: Mt Martha
By Isabel Cassidy HOMICIDE detectives who investigated the murder of 14-year-old Shirley May Collins (pictured), whose battered body was found in September 1953 at Mt Martha, described the murder as “one of the most vicious and sadistic in the history of Victoria”. The investigation was said to be one of the biggest and most intensive manhunts in the history of Australian crime. Shirley Collins was described as a young, shy, smiling and innocent girl. Her father had died and her mother remarried and moved to Queensland. She was one of four foster children living with her foster parents, Mr and…
RESIDENTS have been watching the slow march of nature reclaiming habitat in what was once an explosive industrial site – the Mt Martha quarry. Peregrine falcons use the exposed rock faces as nesting sites while white-faced herons prowl among puddles for tadpoles and frogs. However, the fenced-off quarry is seen as an “asset” by Mornington Peninsula Shire, land that can be sold and developed. Until a few months ago, the shire had allowed the quarry on the Esplanade between Mt Martha and Safety Beach to be used as storage for rocks and soil destined to combat erosion at McCrae. But…
NEW assessments of the durability of imported sand at Mt Martha Beach North may be required in the wake of last week’s storms. Thousands of tonnes of sand were trucked to the site in May 2010 after a series of storms had eroded the beach down to underlying clay and rock. A two-year study commissioned by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries estimated the beach was continually losing sand and would need renourishing in five to 10 years. “Nourishment sand has also been moved to the back of the beach, distributing itself along the cliffs. This increased berm height…
PENINSULA Link builder Linking Melbourne Authority is remaining tight-lipped about the expected opening date of the 27-kilometre freeway between Carrum Downs and Mt Martha. Rumours about the date have been circulating since before Christmas with one Melbourne radio station broadcasting Australia Day long weekend as a possible opening time. On Sunday, a Melbourne newspapers stated “the freeway does not open for at least another week” when reporting that users of Apple Maps on the iPhone had been wrongly directed to the unfinished road. Apple Maps users have been directed to the freeway for more than a month. On Tuesday, Gemma…
THE Mornington Park precinct was marred by rubbish after the hot weekend and looked like a Third World country, says resident Paul Smith. Mr Smith and former chamber of commerce president Scott Crowe are “citizen cleaners” who pick up rubbish in the precinct during regular morning and evening walks. The pair has been calling for improved rubbish collection for several years. “At 8pm on Sunday I visited the precinct while walking my dog. The whole area was absolutely disgusting, littered with rubbish and picnic waste everywhere,” Mr Smith said. “Rubbish bins where overflowing in Mornington Park, the Mothers Beach picnic…
ROADWORKS to repair a landslide on the Esplanade between Mt Martha and Safety Beach are unlikely to be finished until February. VicRoads originally announced the road would reopen in time for Christmas, but now says the contractor “struck rock” leading to a “minor change in the scope of work”. The landslide occurred in July last year, but repairs were delayed for some months because the affected area required preparation of a Cultural Heritage Management Plan to protect Aboriginal artefacts. Two other landslides on the Esplanade in recent years were fixed without the need for a CHMP, despite the entire coast…
MT Martha residents have started a campaign to stop the former quarry in the town being sold for commercial development. They fear Mornington Peninsula Shire is about to start moves to rezone and sell the quarry, which operated off the Esplanade at the corner of Stanley Cres and Fairbairn Ave from 1958 to 1985. It is fenced off and used to store rocks earmarked as fill for erosion works at The Eyrie in McCrae. In an arrangement that would be welcomed by community groups paying rent for using council property, Maw Civil was given free use of the quarry as…
A TRACK leads down to rocky ledges below the site of the latest landslide on the Esplanade between Mt Martha and Safety Beach. The jagged rocks are partly covered by bright orange lichen and the clear water gurgles up and down as a westerly wind chops up Port Phillip. The landslide itself has uncovered what appear to be the remains of a rock retaining wall built into the cliff as well as undermining the bitumen road. It may have also revealed, or swept away, traces of people who lived here long before Europeans set foot on the shores of a…
NATALIE Isarin of Mt Martha is “the face” of this year’s Peninsula Cup. The 23-year-old dental hygienist will have VIP entry to key fashion and race day events and share hosting, trophy presentation and media interview duties on behalf of Mornington Racing Club. Ms Isarin also will judge Fashions on the Field. As the face of the cup she will receive $5000 in prizes, including cash, clothing and hair styling. Ms Isarin said being the face of the cup was a “very exciting opportunity and a real privilege”. “I go to the Peninsula Cup every year, entered Fashions on the…
MORNINGTON MP David Morris has called on the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Jeanette Powell, to help speed up repair of the Esplanade at Mt Martha. Speaking in the parliament, Mr Morris asked Ms Powell for “prompt action [to be] taken to complete a cultural heritage management plan required for road repairs”. It is mandatory in Victoria to have a cultural heritage management plan (CHMP) for works in areas of known Aboriginal cultural heritage. The coast at Mt Martha was used by the Boon wurrung people prior to European settlement and is a registered cultural heritage site. There is evidence of…