Month: January 2019

A MAN, 71, was seriously injured and later died in hospital when the boat he and a woman were riding in capsized off Blairgowrie, Friday 11 January. Police and emergency services were called to the beach at 10am after a passing boat picked up the stricken couple and took them to shore. An ambulance rushed the man to Frankston hospital in a critical condition. The woman was not injured. Senior Constable Alistair Parsons, of the Media Unit, said police were yet to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The investigation was ongoing. First published in the Western Port News – 16 January 2019

A RACEHORSE which threw its rider during a workout at Balnarring beach last week later panicked and swam out to sea and drowned. Regular beach walker Marnee Fraser, who witnessed the incident, said she saw the rider-less horse – later identified as Miss Pandanus, trained by Mick Kent and David Noonan, of Cranbourne – standing distressed and alone near the creek, 8.30am, Tuesday 8 January. “It looked at me and it was a big animal and I’m not a horse person,” she said. “Apparently it had thrown its female rider after its regular rider had called in sick. It galloped…

PROVINCIAL SORRENTO have easily beaten Pearcedale after setting a mammoth target at home at David Macfarlane Reserve. Twin centuries from Robert Wilson and Leigh Poholke set the Sharks up with a huge score of 5/268. The two put together a stunning 159 run fourth wicket stand. Poholke hit seven sixes on his way to his maiden century for the Sharks. Jake Roberts dismissed both batsmen. Pearcedale couldn’t get close and ended up over 100 runs short at the end of their innings, finishing at 8/166. Robin Parslow claimed four wickets and a run out. At Harry MacDonald Oval Baxter have…

SOCCER PETER Blasby is the new goalkeeping coach at Langwarrin. Former Langy star and club vice-president Chris Jones was forced to step down from the post due to work commitments. Blasby has already had a stint as Langy goalkeeping coach as well as assistant coach of the reserves. He boasts a celebrated playing career at Frankston Pines, Albion Rovers, Heidelberg United, Melbourne Croatia (Knights), Morwell Falcons and Croydon and he was selected in Melbourne Knights’ Team of the Century. Blasby is widely acknowledged as one of the best specialist coaches in Victoria and the list of goalkeepers who have benefitted…

THE BALNARRING Picnic Racing Club is set to once again be covered in Australian flags as thousands of people are expected to flock to the Emu Plains racecourse on Australia Day, Saturday 26 January. The Balnarring Cup is the club’s highlight of the season each and every year and will enter its 71st running since Helenette kicked off proceedings in 1948. Balnarring Picnic Racing Club president Terry Mulcahy said the club looks forward to this race meeting every year. “This is the biggest time of the year and the lead up to the Balnarring Cup is massive,” Mulcahy said. “It’s…

SEVERAL young basketballers from the Southern Peninsula Sharks will get straight back into action this month as they head towards two of basketballs premier events for juniors. Up and coming players from under-14s through to under-18s will head towards the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup (ACJBC), held in Albury from January 14-19, and the Southern Cross Challenge (SCC) ), hosted at the State Basketball Centre from January 18-21. While many people were enjoying their extended breaks over the Christmas and New Year period, many young athletes and coaches have been consistently working on their game, for some juniors as much…

AFTER spending more than a decade making sport more inclusive, Frankston resident and Monash University lead researcher Erik Denison is being acknowledged for his hard work with a nomination at the Victorian Sport Awards. Denison has been nominated for the inaugural Peter Norman Inclusion Award for his world-first research which looks into the prevalence of homophobic and sexist language within sporting clubs and how best to find a solution to the issues. The winner of the inaugural Peter Norman Inclusion Award will be announced at the Marvel Stadium, Docklands on Wednesday 20 February along with several other Victorian Sport Awards.…

DO you dream of reliving the good old days? Were you a fan of The Everly Brothers, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, The Bee Gees and The Hollies? Well don’t miss The Robertson Brothers Variety Show featuring Simon Brook McLachlan from the original cast of Jersey Boys. This amazing interactive live Variety TV style Show will have you singing, dancing, laughing and crying! Take a trip down memory lane with The Robertson Brothers, Australia’s own vocal dynamic duo! Oh What A Night….. you’ll have! The Robertson Brothers grew up in a home that appreciated the Variety TV Show. When…

KISSTROYER started in Melbourne in 2001, formed by two brothers Andrew and Stephen Kyriacou. On a staple diet of steady shows and more media attention than most tribute shows could ever hope for, KISSTROYER has grown into one of the largest touring Rock Tribute Act in the Country. Testament to this is the much talked about stage show. Three eras of authentic KISS costumes, over 15 authentic KISS guitars a massive Functional light up KISS logo and stairs withall the blood spitting, fire breathing, Guitar smashing and smoking mayhem that has brought fame to the KISS name over the past…

MISS McKenzie, the boys friend, who takes a kindly and practical interest in the waifs and strays of the Boys’ Home on the Mornington road, on Saturday last 11th int. at 3 pm., gave a treat at the residence of Mr and Mrs . Forster of ‘Beachleigh’. There were a number of visitors present: Mesdames Sharkey and Chapman, Misses Clay, Walker, McDonald, ex-Corp. Syme, ex-Corp Mayor, Mr J.. Porster, Mr Bingham, Lance Corp Hard, Anzac, the hon. Supt. Mr W. Minton. The boys were under the care of the Matron, Mrs Minton and Miss Giddings.  The little orphans to the…

A drink driver has had her car impounded after driving on the wrong side of the Nepean Highway in Mornington this morning. Local officers were patrolling the area about 1.50am when they noticed a car coming towards them on the wrong side of the divided highway. They intercepted the car and gave the driver, a 52-year-old woman, a preliminary breath test. She then underwent an evidentiary breath test and returned a reading of 0.247%. Her licence was suspended and her car impounded with towing costs of $1010. The woman is expected to be charged on summons with drink driving, dangerous…

THE driver of this Peugeot 307 convertible was slugged with a $645 fine for a “substantial load breach” after being spotted carrying an old gate in the back seat along Bittern-Dromana Road last week. The Rosebud woman told members of Somerville Highway Patrol she was planning to use the wooden panels in a renovation project. She said she thought the load was safe as she was “only driving slowly,” police said. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 15 January 2019

A WOMAN in her early 20s was airlifted to The Alfred hospital from Somerville oval last week after the car in which she was a passenger crashed into a power pole. After being assessed she was found to be “not as badly injured as first thought”. Police said the late model Holden station wagon was travelling at up to 100kph in a 60kph zone along Frankston-Flinders Road, in the early hours of Saturday 5 January. They said they were not pursuing the car but caught up to it only after it crashed at the intersection of Bungower Road. The driver,…

THE theft of petrol from a service station on Pt Nepean Road, Tootgarook, in mid-December, was one of a string of thefts and burglaries allegedly committed by a Cranbourne North man arrested Wednesday 9 January. Detectives from the Cardinia CIU, Special Operations Group and the Dog Squad nabbed the 30-year-old in Hampton Park over the incidents which occurred between October-December across the south eastern suburbs and Ballarat. During the arrest the man was injured and taken to hospital under police guard. He faces 38 charges relating to an aggravated burglary at Ballarat East, burglary at a Beaconsfield Upper hotel, burglary…

RYE artist Claire Spring capped off a successful week’s exhibiting at the Rotary Club of Sorrento’s 35th art show last week by selling her “most spectacular painting”: Yachting – Tranquillity on the Bay. She was one of several Mornington Peninsula artists to reap the rewards of exhibiting at what she described as the biggest and most important art show on the peninsula. Other locals to achieve success in the long-running show, held at the Sorrento Community Centre in the first week of January, were John Bredl, who won Best Oil, Joanne Seberry (Best Pastel) and Belinda Nye (Best Painting Under…

Boat owners using Port Phillip and Western Port are being asked to make sure they are not spreading marine pests that can “cause significant harm to the health of marine ecosystems”. Parks Victoria’s Chief conservation scientist Dr Mark Norman said it was vital to protect the state’s marine waters which supported more than 12,000 species of plants and animals, “90 per cent of which are found nowhere else in the world”. “Marine pests are highly invasive animals and plants, usually from other parts of the world that have become established in Victoria and cause significant harm to the health of…

THE staging of the Sufferfest Triathlon at Mt Martha in March is “up in the air” while Mornington Peninsula Shire Council reviews its events policy. Community consultation on the proposed policy closes on Friday 1 February – just weeks before the triathlon is scheduled to run on 23-24 March. However, bookings for the triathlon are being taken on a website that makes no mention of the need for council permission. Last year’s triathlon clashed with Clean-Up Australia Day and required closing of the Esplanade from Mornington to just around the corner from Safety Beach. Shoppers at Mt Martha arrived to…

The judge at this year’s Mornington Art Show is Lynne Mellady, a professional artist of beach and landscapes for over 30 years. Mellady is a pastel artist with examples of her work represented in government collections in Australia and Japan. She has won many awards and has been teaching and judging art for more than 20 years. Cathy van Ee and David Brayshaw are this year’s “feature artists”. Van Ee, who is also a tutor, specialises in portraits and landscapes in oil and pastel. Her career in the arts has included working in the corporate sector in magazine and book…

TOW-away zones and permit-only parking areas are among options suggested by police to control crowds at The Pillars cliff jumping site at Mt Martha. The tougher measures aimed directly at motorists come at the same time that police have confirmed they will not cross the “temporary” fence erected by Mornington Peninsula Shire to enforce alcohol bans. Water Police have been told to patrol beneath the cliffs and monitor boating offences and people drinking alcohol while on the water but will not be enforcing the shire’s proclaimed 200 metre no go zone. The shire’s fence has created mixed reactions among residents…

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…

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…