Day: May 7, 2018

IT is with great sadness that we announce we have lost our colleague, Andrew Kelly, to cancer. Andrew wrote sport for Mornington Peninsula News Group since 2012, but had been a fixture of local football for decades. He called football for RPPFM, and was widely known as the ‘voice’ of footy on the peninsula. Andrew was diagnosed with cancer early this year, and died on Saturday morning, 5 May. Andrew’s family put out the following statement: “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who messaged Toe Punt to support, encourage and send best wishes over the course…

DIVISION ONE A four point thriller between Bonbeach and Frankston Bombers was the standout of a number of tight contests in MPNFL Division One football this weekend. Three goals from former Sydney Swan Trent Dennis-Lane saw Bonbeach narrowly defeat a Bombers side that held the lead at each of the major breaks in the game. With a comfortable 15 point advantage at three-quarter time, Frankston looked well and truly home before a final quarter comeback saw Bonbeach take advantage of Frankston’s poor goal kicking accuracy and end the game just ahead, winning 10.10 (70) to 8.18 (66). The four points…

DIVISION TWO THE top of the ladder clash between Dromana and Chelsea was the headliner of the MPNFL Division Two competition this weekend, in a match that saw two sides both sitting undefeated going into Round Five do battle. The much anticipated contest took place at Chelsea Reserve, and saw the home side start strong to go into quarter time in front by a goal. Despite these early signs of fight, it did not take much longer for Dromana to stamp their authority on the game, eventually running away to a comfortable lead they would hold for the rest of…

SOCCER ADAM Jamieson ended a 10-year association with Mornington when he resigned on Saturday morning. The news rocked the Dallas Brooks Park outfit as it prepared to do battle with visitors South Springvale in their State 1 South-East fixture. Jamieson cited work commitments as the principle reason for his departure. “I have a lot going on with business and I can’t give Mornington 100 percent commitment anymore,” he said. “It’s been my second home for a long period but I just knew that my time had come. “I want to thank the committee for everything they’ve done for me. It’s…

BASKETBALL THE Southern Peninsula Sharks division two Men’s side has suffered their first loss for the season to the ninth-placed Maccabi Warriors in round six of the Big V. What was slightly unexpected, the Warriors clawed their way back after trailing by nine points in the third quarter to sink a last-minute jump-shot for an upset one-point victory (65-64) on Saturday 28 April. The Warriors tied it up with just over two minutes to go and as the Sharks tried to bide their time and throw up an unsuccessful shot, Jared Mintez dished it up to team mate Andrew Sharp…

C. E. GOMM, ranger at Somerville, stated in the Shire Council Meeting that be had impounded Mr Martin’s cow and had been called everything but a gentleman as a consequence. One of the things said was that he was “a dirty loafer for a dirty job”. That people could say such things of his job was no good to him. On the motion of Crs Unthank and Longmuir it was decided that Martin be written to and told that he must make a public apology, failing which further action would be taken. *** TROOPER F. A Gould, son of Mr…

IT’S an impressive line-up at this year’s music festival including national headline acts and a wonderful array of local and emerging talent both in the venues around Main Street and as part of the Saturday and Sunday street entertainment. After their recent sell out show at the Victorian Art Centre, Cookin’ on 3 Burners are heading to the Peninsula for a one-night only event as part of the Mornington Winter Music Festival. Sunday 10th June at The Grand, the Burners with Andrew De Silva, Clairy Browne and Stella Angelico will pump out classic soul sounds from The Big Chill. A…

HOTEL Sorrento by Australian playwright Hannie Rayson is a highly commercial and relatable comedy/drama and familial story for a mainstream audience. This award winning play, which inspired the film of the same name, tells the story of three sisters who grew up together in the seaside town Sorrento. Hilary lives in the family home in Sorrento with her father and 16 year-old son. Pippa, a business woman, is visiting from New York and Meg, a successful writer, returns from England. When the three sisters are reunited after 10 years apart they again feel the constraints of family life. A semi-autobiographical…

A KUNYUNG Primary School pupil is speaking out about what he sees as the evils of factory farming of domestic animals and he wants others to back him in his stand. Grade 5 pupil Noah Kyriacou, 10, said his vegetarian mum, Lucy, had encouraged him in his advocacy over the past four years, and that seeing a preview of the “horrific” animal rights’ documentary Dominion, set him “on the path against factory farming”. “Every second, millions of animals are dying because of humans, and yet eating their flesh is making us unhealthy,” he said. “I have been researching [the topic]…

A PHONE scammer who nearly tricked a Mornington man into handing over his credit card details and paying a bogus $98 “fee” has him hopping mad. Sick of late-night charity and ‘survey’ calls, Wilson Golby applied to be added to the Do Not Call register and was told it may take some time to implement. The register is a free service which can be used to block home, mobile or fax numbers from unsolicited telemarketing calls. On Tuesday last week Mr Golby took a call from a man who referred to his application to join the register, saying he could…

By Barry Morris SCOTLAND’S Loch Ness has its monster and Balcombe Estuary at Mt Martha has its . . . rakali. The elusive rakali is the Australian equivalent of an otter or water rat. While argument still rages about the existence of Nessie, there is no doubt about the rakali which weighs up to 1.3 kilograms, has a distinctive white-tipped tail and lives in burrows or hollow logs on creek banks. Sue Brabander, the former information ranger at The Briars historic property at Mt Martha, is aware of four sightings since 2015 in Balcombe Creek and estuary. “A young family…

EVEN at 90, Hans Bruner is not the type of guy to sit down and take it easy. A member of Mornington Table Tennis Club for the past 30 years, Mr Bruner tests his skills at the tables twice a week and enjoys socialising with members afterwards. “Playing table tennis has been extremely good for me and was instrumental in overcoming a stroke I suffered 18 months ago,” he said. “It’s helped me come back to having an even better life afterwards. “I love meeting the people there and having great fun. I tell them I enjoy hopping around like…

By Barry Irving RYE Junior fire brigade members and 1st Tootgarook Cub Scouts enjoy getting together each year to promote friendship and learn new skills. Recently, the cubs played host to the Sorrento Sea Scout Cub Pack whose members worked towards their Boomerang badges while researching and training with the Rye junior fire brigade. The cubs, aged 7-11, benefited from the leadership and mentoring of the junior firefighters, aged 11-16. The activities highlighted the strengths of the three groups. Afterwards there was fun free time to chat and make new friends. For more information on the scouts call 0438 338…

WITH a state election due in November, the Mornington Peninsula Greens and its supporters are out and about in the environment. A field excursion on Saturday 28 April saw a group tour of the Tootgarook wetlands under the direction of Save Tootgarook Swamp’s Cameron Brown. Paul Saunders, the Greens candidate for Nepean, said the group was “particularly impressed with range and diversity of animals, birds and plants supported by the wetlands, including many endangered species”. “Concerns were raised in areas of the wetlands where VicRoads owns parcels of land that permit a freeway extension from Rosebud to Blairgowrie,” Mr Saunders…

CLASSICAL musician, Sean Ross, echoes claims by the Spanish artist Salvador Dali that his art was influenced by memories from before he was born. Part-raised in Frankston and a one-time boarder at Peninsula Grammar, Mt Eliza, Ross credits his then-pregnant mother’s playing of Tchaikovsky on a cassette player with his “destiny” to write an opera about the Russian composer’s life. “I truly believe my opera was conceived with me, in my mother’s womb, and that it was therefore my destiny to write it. I’d even go so far as to say it was written on the very blueprint of my…

SKYE local Melanie Rees was able to spend every precious last moment with her late husband Joel in hospital before he passed away on Boxing Day last year; but only because of Frankston Hospital’s expanding Oncology service. The 55-year-old sadly lost his battle with aggressive tongue and throat cancer and spent his last weeks on Ward 5FS at Frankston Hospital. “If I didn’t have the support of Frankston Hospital I wouldn’t have been able to spend as much quality time with Joel,” says his wife Melanie. “When Joel was receiving treatment in the city there was an endless amount of…

WORK has started to restore a 150-year-old Anglican church at Moorooduc. The church, built in 1863, had been left unused for nearly two decades before builder Stephen Foster decided it was worth saving. “There would only be a few buildings older than this one on the whole of the peninsula,” he said “It was sold off and locked up about 17 years ago, before that the local comunity would come down to look after it because of how important it was to them. Since then there’s been no maintenance, and it was just about ready to fall over. “It’s a…

A WOMAN who allegedly stole a mobile phone while grocery shopping in Frankston last month is being sought by police. The owner of the phone said she placed it on the counter at a supermarket on the corner of Golf Links Road and Hastings Road, Tuesday 10 April. It is believed another woman and her children who approached the counter to pay for her items, about 5.45pm, picked up the phone and placed it in her handbag. The woman is described as mid-to-late 30s, large build, long straight brown hair tied in a ponytail, with a dark tattoo on her…

PASSING motorists alerted Somerville Highway Patrol police to a woman who they said was “blind drunk”, 4.30pm, Friday 28 April. The police were finishing up dealing with a motorcycle collision on Moorooduc Highway, Frankston South, when they were told a woman who had been driving erratically was just behind them. Police watched as the woman slowly reversed away from the scene, with the driver “clearly struggling to control the car”. When they approached she reportedly argued about undertaking a preliminary breath test before blowing “way over”. On the centre console police said was a small glass of orange juice, vodka…

A SIX-MONTH mosquito trapping program is being conducted by Mornington Peninsula Shire to help eradicate the Buruli ulcer. The measure is part the shire’s $20,000 in-kind support towards the federal government’s $1.5 million research program to help control and better understand the disease. The study is being carried out by researchers from the shire, Melbourne University, Barwon Health and the Department of Health and Human Services. They will look into how the bacterial infection is transferred from the environment to humans. The mayor Cr Bryan Payne said the shire was committed to continuing its research into the ulcer and controlling…

THE state and federal governments are being urged to upgrade old water recycling infrastructure in a move to “drought proof the Mornington Peninsula”. The plan by Mornington Peninsula Shire envisages reusing class-A recycled water from the Eastern Treatment Plant to provide water security for a range of agricultural activities, including wineries, beef production, and agriculture-based tourism. The mayor Cr Bryan Payne said the growth of Melbourne’s population meant existing sewerage pipes could no longer cope with demand. He said they should be replaced with larger capacity pipes with the water pumped to the top of Arthur’s Seat so that it…