Day: January 25, 2016

“DROMANA Pier has exceeded its expected lifetime and, despite recent repairs, will need to be demolished in the next eight-10 years, perhaps even less.” That’s the view of Save Dromana Pier Committee chairman Ray Barnard-Brown and the unpleasant prospect faced by the group’s members who are determined that a new pier replace the existing structure when it is demolished. Members of the Association for Building Community in Dromana believe that the new pier should be designed to strengthen its public appeal. They believe that a sound, improved pier is vital to the future of Dromana and is conducting a survey…

GUNNAMATTA Surf Life Saving Club has received $5000 from the federal government’s Beach Safety Equipment Fund. The fund assists lifesaving clubs to buy rescue equipment and first-aid supplies for rescues over the summer season. The club’s 90 active members celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend. Vice-president Ray Webb said the money would be used to replace worn rescue and patrol equipment. “It will also enable us to replace the motor in one of our inflatable rescue boats,” he said. The also will enable the club to spend other funds on training and to run nippers sessions. “This equipment will assist…

TWO men have been arrested and are expected to be charged on summons with arson after setting fire to a caravan on Arthur’s Seat Rd, Arthurs Seat, 10.40pm, Tuesday 19 January. The 46-year-old, from Seaford, and 25-year-old, from Frankston, allegedly torched the single axle van, with flames spreading to nearby bushland. Rosebud CFA crews managed to limit the extent of the fire – their job being made easier by damp conditions and lack of wind. Arthur’s Seat Rd was blocked off as a precaution against falling branches until mid-morning Wednesday. Detective Sergeant John Coburn, of Somerville police complex, said police…

DETECTIVES are searching for a firebug after Monday afternoon’s Crib Point fire storm and have spoken to two men, although no charges have been laid. The alarm for the first fire was sounded about 1.30pm – nearly the same time and place of a fire one week earlier. Embers from that fire on The Esplanade have been blamed for starting the more devastating fire which destroyed one house and six outbuildings. “Police are investigating the Crib Point fire as an arson attack,” Mornington Peninsula Southern Metro Region Inspector Karen Nyholm said Friday afternoon. “This is an insidious crime that has…

AUSTRALIA Day has special meaning for long-standing Red Hill couple Royal and Roy Setter, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on the nation’s birthday, 26 January 2016. Royal Elaine (nee-Powell) and Roy George Setter married at St Peter’s Church of England, Frankston, on 26 January 1946, and moved into the family home in Paringa Rd, Red Hill South soon after. There they stayed for the next two years while building their own home just up the road. The couple worked hard on their orchard before retiring in 1982, building a new home in Red Hill where they now live. The…

SUB-DISTRICT DROMANA maintained its dominance in MPCA Sub District cricket, picking up a solid 29 run win against Balnarring. With its season on the line, Balnarring resumed on day two at 1/42, chasing 193 for victory. At that stage of the game, the pendulum was certainly swaying in favour of the Saints. However, an early run out of Mark Walles on the second day put the Saints on the back foot. Tom Hilet was also run out when he was cruising with 23 runs. Dromana was taking advantage of the luck in the match. Aaron Kaddatz continued his dominant season…

DISTRICT DELACOMBE Park failed in its attempt to pick up an outright victory over Seaford Tigers on Saturday in MPCA District cricket but is still a smoky to play finals. The Parkers were on the verge of victory after the first day’s play after scoring 175 and then having the Tigers in real trouble at 5/72 at the end of the day. The Tigers made just five more runs before being bowled out for 77. Shane Deal claimed 4/21 and Andrew Stapleton 3/23 for the Parkers. Delacombe Park then made 99 in 35 overs with Rowan Charles top scoring with…

PROVINCIAL CRIB Point are eight points clear in second place on the MPCA Provincial ladder after picking up an outright win against Baxter on Saturday. The Magpies headed into the second day of the clash having already won the match after bowling out Baxter for 88 on day one. Resuming at 7/179, the Pies added just 12 more runs before Baxter were back out to bat. Ricky Thompson top scored for the Magpies with 45, which included three fours and two sixes. The second innings didn’t fare much better for Baxter. In fact, it was much, much worse. The visitors…

SOMEWHERE back in 1996, a stupid conversation took place between four young blokes in a dusty oil shed on the trucking yards of Port Melbourne’s Dallas Crane Transport that went something like, “so ya reckon we could do this for a living?” Almost 20 years later, Dallas Crane have become a not only a lauded constituent of the Australian rock ‘n roll scene, but a trend-proof mainstay that continues to exhilarate audiences wherever they bloody well set foot! Some used to call them, “Australia’s hardest working band,” playing their guts out to anyone who’d listen, in which most cases was…

MR Jas Croskell, a very old resident of Frankston, departed this life last week at the ripe age of 84 years. An extended notice will appear in our next issue. *** THE “Wattles” Club will give one of their popular socials and dances in the Frankston Mechanics this (Saturday) evening, the proceeds being devoted to the fund for sick and wounded soldiers. *** ON Monday next (A.N.A.Day) a grand fete will be held at Tyabb in aid of the Red Cross funds. The Hastings Band will enliven proceedings during the day, and the ladies have made special arrangements to have…

ABOUT 200 jobs will be lost in Mornington and Carrum Downs with closure of the Masters “home improvement” stores. The demise of the Woolworths-owned Masters chain comes as no surprise, considering its much-publicised failure to gain market share. Each store employs about 100 staff – full-time, part-time and casual. A Woolworth’s media team on Tuesday said the Masters stores would “remain open as normal for some months to come”. “What we’ve announced is we intend to exit the business.  How we exit, which will either be through the sale process or a wind-up process, has yet to be decided and…

COMMUTERS travelling on the Frankston line faced frustrating service cancellations and delays during the early morning weekday peak hours of 7-9am last week. Several scheduled train services were cancelled at short notice and customers were quick to vent their anger at delays on social media. Metro Trains spokeswoman Sammie Black said an incident involving a person being struck by a train late on Monday afternoon “had a knock on effect” throughout the week. “We understand it inconveniences customers and our aim is to ensure everyone gets to their destination while delaying the smallest number possible,” Ms Black said. Delays on…

TWO high-profile politicians may face off for Liberal Party preselection as candidate for the Dunkley electorate in this year’s federal election. Donna Bauer, the former Liberal state MP for Carrum, and Cr Paul Peulich, a former mayor of Kingston, could be set to contest the party nomination for the seat of Dunkley which includes the suburbs Frankston, Langwarrin, Mt Eliza, Mornington, Seaford and Skye. Labor’s Sonya Kilkenny narrowly won the Carrum contest in late 2014’s state election by a margin of just over 500 votes ahead of Ms Bauer. An electorate boundaries shift in 2013 after an Electoral Boundaries Commission…

THE launching of the Volunteer Marine Rescue’s latest vessel, Darbyshire III, at Mornington on Sunday last week, is a boost to water safety and a tragic reminder of how the service came about. The Noosa Cat 3000, a nine-metre, state-of-the-art vessel, was officially launched by Sue Darbyshire, the widow of the man who gave the boat its name. Paul Darbyshire drowned within sight of the shore in 1980, prompting a public push for better safety measures for bay users. So moved and upset were Mornington police – two were among those watching the drama from the clifftop – that they…

COFFEE has become such an integral part of our lives that many people can’t do without it. But the influx of cafes has put a lot of pressure on specialty coffee roasters, as an increasing number of consumers insist on specialty products. “The biggest issue has been finding highly trained roasters or baristas capable of meeting expectations,” Sam Keck, who runs Commonfolk Coffee Company, a wholesale coffee roaster and cafe in Mornington said. “Bizarrely, there is still no roasting or barista apprenticeship.” The absence of any formal training in the coffee arts was brought home hard to Leigh Williams who,…

A CLOSE watch is being kept on power boats and jet skis to protect seals and other animals in Port Phillip. An increase in patrols by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning along the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula coastline follows rare visit to the region from an Antarctic crab-eater seal and the return of Australian fur seal Arcto to Dromana. The crab-eater seal was only 11th of its kind spotted in Victoria since 1856 and the first since 1999, while the bull seal Arcto was back at Dromana for the third year running. With peak boating season in…

MORNINGTON’S Mikaela Lawrence has her sights set on joining the top ranks of race-winning jockeys. Already working for Mornington-based trainer Sam Pritchard-Gordon (P-G Racing), Lawrence has now joined Racing Victoria’s apprentice jockey training program. “Mikaela, 21, is the oldest of four students selected for the program’s first year class, and has fought hard to earn her position in the high performance program, having not come from a horsey background,” Racing Victoria’s media and communications officer Daniel Miles said. In announcing Lawrence’s induction into the elite jockey training program, the P-G Racing website described the 49 kilogram apprentice as “a great…

A WOMAN stuck on a cliff at the former Moorooduc quarry, Mt Eliza Regional Park, Tuesday morning (19 January), may be lucky to escape a fine for breaching “No dogs allowed” signs. A sign clearly displayed near the fall site states: “Environmentally sensitive area: No dogs, no bikes – penalties apply”. The woman and her German short-haired pointer, Mailey, had to be winched to safety after slipping 15 metres down the quarry face about 10am Tuesday. They were on a ledge for about 90 minutes. A friend alerted rescue crews who assembled up top and prepared to bring her back…