SUNDAY may not have been the summer’s best beach day, but that did not deter hundreds of people going to the Pines Beach, Shoreham. Instead of sunning themselves, swimming or going for a surf, the beachgoers were intent on sending the state and federal governments a message: don’t allow power company AGL to moor a floating gas import and processing terminal at Crib Point. Serious concerns about the health and safety aspects of the proposed terminal underlined the festive atmosphere on the beach where protesters were fed information about the 300-metre long “gas factory” along with barbecued food and live…
Day: January 8, 2019
PENINSULA ONE day cricket has returned to MPCA after the Christmas break with a bang, with some big scores bringing in the new year. Long Island kicked things off positively, with opener Aaron Paxton batting brilliantly to put together an innings of 89 runs. Paxton was eventually dismissed, but number 4 batsman Michael Burke followed up with a well taken 65. Long Island finished up at a total of 5/203 at the end of their 40 overs. Crib Point put together a decent total in their run chase, but eventually fell sort. They finished at 7/179 off their 40 overs.…
SOCCER THE seventh staging of the Wallace Cup and a glut of pre-season matches are top of the local soccer agenda. The 2019 Wallace Cup will be hosted by Baxter and will take place on Saturday 2 February. The annual event is a celebration of the local game and honours Stephen William Wallace, Langwarrin life-member and former club president, committeeman, coach, player and Bayside League referee who died on 19 July 2011 at the age of 54. Event organiser and Langwarrin president Tanya Wallace was disappointed recently when Casey Comets told her they would not be competing but NPL2 West…
THREE talented juniors from the Mount Eliza Tennis Club will finally get their chance to assist the world’s best tennis players at the Australian Open on Monday 14 January. Having spent the past nine months undertaking rigorous training and testing, Sam McComb, Hope Backx and Sophie Farish will step out onto the court alongside some of sporting’s greats. It’ll be Sophie’s second time assisting as a ballkid at the Australian Open, while 14-year-olds Sam and Hope will be having their first go at the trade. It’s no mean feat to make it through to the final group of 312 ballkids,…
MORNINGTON-based racehorse trainer Rod Grantley has his speedy mare Waterford Sound flying this preparation having claimed three of her past four starts in country Victoria. The eight-year-old mare made it back-to-back victories at her home track, Mornington, on Thursday 27 December and her trainer Rod Grantley has put the success down to the mare thriving with the addition of beach work. “She’s a lovely mare to train,” Grantley said. “We spent a lot of time down at the beach in Dromana with her and I think that is what has helped her through everything and has really helped with her…
JUNIOR and Senior athletes will be out to kick off the New Year with a bang when they line up in the 44th annual Rye Gift and Rye Junior Gift on Saturday 13 January. The Rye Gift and Athletic Carnival is set to lure over 600 professional runners from across Australia down to the RJ Rowley Reserve, Rye (Rye Football Ground) as they begin to build up towards the lucrative Stawell Gift in April. The Men’s Gift and Women’s Diamond will be worth a total of $5,100 and $3,000, respectively, while the junior competitors will run like the wind in…
OBSESSION: Devil in the detail examines our fascination with the meticulous and micro, the real and the hyperreal and brings together a range of historical and contemporary works under three broad themes of still life, portraiture and landscape. The exhibition seduces us with the power of realism and intricate detail and showcases 65 works across sculpture, painting, photography, drawing and video. Long before the onset of photography in the 19th century, painting was the means to realistically capture the world around us, with the technically brilliant artists of the Renaissance set the benchmark for realism. In the late 1960s photorealism…
A GREAT bereavement has been experienced by Mr and Mrs Utber of Mornington road, Frankston, in the death of their little son, Leonard, Harold, aged 4 years, which sad event took place on the 4th inst. Very general sympathy is extended to the sorrowing parents in the loss of their loved one. The funeral took place on Sunday, the Rev. A P M’Farlane conducting the burial service. *** IT is with regret we chronicle the death of Mrs Wilcox, mother of Mr A. Wilcox of Frankston, and one of the oldest residents of Dandenong which occurred at her late residence,…
COLOURFUL glasswear created by Leisa Wharington will be on display and for sale at this year’s Mornington Art Show. Wharington worked from her studio in Merricks North for more than 30 years, that evolved into an open, creative space for jewellers and painters. An annual market was held on the rural property. Glass blower Wharington and painter Julie Niekamp have now transported that same idea over to the new Studio & Co in Marine Parade, Hastings. Although Wharington’s environment has changed, she says her work and creativity has not. The “countless colours, shapes, and ideas” in her natural surroundings feed…
PLANNING minister Richard Wynne has been called on to “abandon his hand-picked committee” to deal with the controversial Kaufland supermarket proposal in Mornington and return decision making to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The minister’s advisory committee, formed under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, is assessing the veracity of the German supermarket giant’s proposed six sites scattered throughout the metropolitan area, including beside the Bata factory at 1158 Nepean Highway, near the corner of Oakbank Road. Speaking in the lead-up to state parliament’s closing for the year, Mornington MP David Morris said the minister’s committee “has been asked to provide…
TWO of Mt Eliza voluntary organisations are involved in a slanging match over tree felling, road-making and land clearing. In June Mt Eliza Association for Environmental Care alerted the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council to what it calls the “unauthorised and uncontrolled vegetation clearing, soil displacement and destruction of native vegetation” by the Mornington Railway Preservation Society at its reserve in Mt Eliza. The environment group’s president Des Berry said the shire followed up the complaint by visiting the site and requesting that any vegetation clearing cease. Mr Berry said the Mornington Railway Preservation Society “ignored this request and continued with…
WATER can be the key ingredient to helping wildlife survive in backyard gardens during summer. “Often people have the belief that when it comes to wildlife it’s an us or them situation but, with some small considerations, we can all happily live together,” Paula Rivera said. Ms Rivera, of Langwarrin and her friend Janet Wheeler, Frankston South, give talks and promote good relations between humans, animals and birds under the name, Living With Wildlife. “You can prevent wildlife ‘dying for a drink’ by having a water bowl and bird bath in your garden,” the pair stated in a news release…
A MAN arrested over a series of burglaries of businesses and churches across the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston over the past four months has been remanded in custody to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court at a later date. The 37-year-old, arrested by Detective Sergeant Adrian Mizza, of Mornington Peninsula CIU, at his Rosebud home last week, is facing 28 charges over 14 alleged burglaries involving more than $60,000. The man appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday on unrelated charges but detectives will apply for the burglary charges to be heard at Frankston Magistrates’ Court. More charges are pending as…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council’s recently adopted Wastewater Management Plan 2018-2023 aims to address the “environmental and public health risks posed by residential and commercial wastewater on the peninsula”. The term wastewater covers liquid waste from toilets, kitchen sinks, showers and basins. The peninsula’s environment is especially affected by wastewater because of the high number of properties serviced by septic tanks. In these cases, householders are responsible for installing and maintaining their own treatment systems. “The shire has the highest number of septic systems of any Victorian council, leaving over 22,000 properties across the peninsula without reticulated sewerage,” the mayor Cr…
A MOTORBIKE rider who tried to do a runner from police ended up getting his friend’s bike impounded, Tuesday 18 December. The incident occurred when Somerville Highway Patrol officers in Lyrebird Drive, Carrum Downs, spotted a motorbike with a false plate “RUNA” attached. The rider allegedly failed to stop and was clocked at more than 80kph in a 50kph zone before being pulled over in nearby Quarrion Drive. The rider, 18, of Skye, was found to have never held a licence and the bike was unregistered. He told police it was a friend’s bike, and that he hadn’t initially pulled…
FOUR men have had their boats seized and are facing various charges for allegedly overfishing squid at the southern end of Port Phillip Bay. Fisheries officers as part of Operation Jazz will allege that the men used a boat on two separate days to take more than the individual daily bag limit of 10 squid. They say the men made several boat trips in one day, taking squid on each trip, which is referred to as multi-tripping. Operation Jazz ran from October to December during the peak squid spawning season when large aggregations gather around the southern end of the…
NEW meeting procedure rules adopted by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council set “a new benchmark for local government”, according to a lawyer. Terry Bramham, of Macquarie Local Government Lawyers, who helped write the new rules, said “the protocol establishes a new benchmark for local government, with [the shire] leading the way”. Adopted at the shire’s Tuesday 11 December public meeting, the Meeting Procedures Protocol 2018 is described by the mayor, Cr David Gill, as being “a more transparent and accountable decision making process”. “I believe that the reforms will make MPSC the leader of municipalities in Victoria regarding open, fair and…
THE outcome of a Mornington Peninsula Shire Council decision on Tuesday 11 December was a foregone conclusion. The agenda item to agree to spend close to $1100 to send Cr Rosie Clark to Canberra was purely for the record and the bureaucratic process. The conference Cr Clark was to attend was held on 27 and 28 November, nearly two weeks before her colleagues were asked to retrospectively agree to the cost. Unsurprisingly they signed off on the expense. Cr Clark’s meals and accommodation came in at just under $500 while her return flights from Melbourne to Canberra cost $573. In…