Author: Cameron McCullough

Three men were in the water for nearly two hours while rescuing a swimmer in rough seas off Blairgowrie surf beach on Wednesday. Police have been told the Hampton Park man entered the water, near the Hughes Road surf beach, while his wife set up their belongings about 4.15pm. A short time later the woman noticed she couldn’t see her husband in the water and raised the alarm. The 56-year-old man was then sighted about 500m off shore in rough conditions, drifting further out to sea. Three men aged in their 20s, from Kew, Armadale and Rosebud West, entered the…

Police have arrested a man following a siege in a café in Rye today. Two women aged 45 and 42 who were inside the café were released from the building shortly before the arrest and have been taken to hospital for observation. The man surrendered himself to police without incident about 3.20pm. The alarm was raised when the man was seen entering the shop, near the intersection of Ozone Street and Point Nepean Road, allegedly armed with a firearm about 7.45am. The area was cordoned off and police began negotiating with the man. The Special Operations group, local police and Critical…

Police were called to a bakery in Rye this morning following reports a man was armed with a firearm. The alarm was raised when the man was seen entering the shop, near the intersection of Ozone Street and Point Nepean Road, about 7.45am. The initial report received by police indicated that another person was in the shop with the man. It has now come to light that there appears to be two people in the shop with the man reportedly armed with a firearm. The area has been cordoned off the area. Point Nepean Road is still closed between Weeroona street…

Two pals will front the courts together after allegedly being caught drug driving in Moorooduc last night. Hastings Highway Patrol and Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section members were running a booze bus operation on the Peninsula Link off-ramp to Bungower Road last night. They pulled over a 27-year-old Rosebud West man who allegedly returned a positive oral drug test. While he was being tested in the booze bus, his 20-year-old passenger helpfully decided to move his friend’s car. Police pulled the Seaford man over and were not surprised when he also allegedly returned a preliminary positive oral drug test.…

Police are investigating the circumstances after a 53-year-old Koo Wee Rup man died while on a fishing trip this morning. Investigators have been told that two men aged in their 50s set off from Tooradin in a fishing boat. It is believed one of the men went to the side/rear of the boat and fell into the water. The other man jumped in to save the man but was unsuccessful. A passing boat located the pair in the water between French Island and Tooradin around 3.20am. They were brought to shore at Hastings with the surviving man from Tooradin suffering…

Three boys are currently in custody following a hit-run collision in Carrum Downs on Wednesday night which left a woman with life threatening injures. It is believed three to five small motorcycles were travelling east through a shopping centre car park on Hall Road when one of them struck the woman about 5.10pm. Investigators were told the small motorcycles failed to stop and left the scene. The 34-year-old Carrum Downs woman was airlifted to The Alfred hospital where she remains in a critical condition. The boys, a 16-year-old from Carrum Downs, a 17-year-old from Seaford and a 15-year-old from Carrum…

Police are investigating following a hit-run collision involving a pedestrian and a motorcycle in Carrum Downs this evening. It is believed three to five “trail bike” motorcycles were travelling east through a shopping centre car park on Hall Road, when one of them struck a woman about 5.10pm. Investigators were told the motorcycles failed to stop and left the scene. The 34-year-old Carrum Downs woman has been airlifted to The Alfred hospital with life threatening injuries. Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit are on scene. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000…

Emergency services have spent the evening at the scene of a crash which claimed a woman’s life in Somerville. Investigators have been told a car was travelling on Western Port Highway when the driver collided with an oncoming vehicle, near the Bungower Road intersection, about 5.30pm. The driver, a 19-year-old Western Australian woman, died at the scene. The male driver of the second car was taken to Frankston Hospital with minor injuries. Tonight’s accident has occurred only three months after another 19-year-old, Olivia Steadman, was killed just a short distance up the same stretch of road. That accident lead to a groundswell…

AS head of economic development at Mornington Peninsula Shire, Shane Murphy assisted in the establishment of many industry bodies on the peninsula. One was the Mornington Peninsula Marine Alliance, a body formed to promote the peninsula’s growing marine sector. When Mr Murphy was made redundant in March, he was soon picked up by the alliance to spearhead the group as executive officer. “I was delighted to get the role,” Mr Murphy said. “Peninsula marine industries are a major factor in our economy, and with the council adopting the Marine Precincts Strategy, the alliance will work closely with the shire to…

Hastings was a welcome port of call last night for a skipper of a stricken yacht, plucked to safety by water police. The drama  began to unfold at about 3pm yesterday an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated on an 8 metre yacht which was having difficulty in 5 metre swells. The Latrobe Valley Air Ambulance (HEMS2) and a fixed wing aircraft were dispatched to locate the stricken vessel and found it approximately 29 nautical miles off Wonthaggi. They were unable to winch the skipper, a man in his 60s from Geelong, from the yacht and called in…

MORE than two years after the brutal murder of Hastings jeweller Dermot O’Toole, the appeal has been heard against the leniency of the 20-year murder sentence handed down to killer Gavin Perry. The hearing, on Monday 20 July, was heard in front of three justices at the Court of Appeal. The majority of the hearing involved often complex legal arguments revolving around the categorisation of the murder as a statutory one rather than a common law murder. Gavin Perry’s legal counsel also argued over the five year sentences for the two other armed robberies he had committed prior to the…

HAIR About Town will be doing their bit to end slavery as part of the annual Style for Life Day later this month. Now in its third consecutive year, the national event will see Hair About Town open its doors to cut, colour or style as many customers’ hair as possible. All proceeds from the day will be donated to not-for profit organisation, Hagar. Hagar is an international charity that works to restore the lives of women and children who have survived severe human rights abuse including rape, paedophilia and modern slavery. With housing and education centres in Cambodia, Afghanistan…

IT was a sea of green in Hastings on Sunday 12 July, as a large crowd braved bitter cold and driving rain to remember Hastings jeweller Dermot O’Toole. Sunday marked two years to the day since his murder and the laneway O’Toole Way that now bears his name stands as testament to a much-loved man whose life was taken by a savage and cold-blooded murderer. There were tears for Dermot, but also laughs as the family reflected on the wonderful times. An air of uncertainty still hangs heavily over the family as they fight for justice for Dermot. Last October,…

A van erupted into flames after a collision on Nepean Highway, Mt Eliza, this evening. Emergency services hurried to the scene after reports of an accident, leaking fuel and and then a fire were received about 5pm tonight. Traffic was thrown into chaos with reports that south-bound traffic banked back to Olivers Hill. Initially, emergency services considered airlifting an elderly man, but he was eventually conveyed by ambulance to The Alfred with back injuries.

IT was just an early morning bike ride to start the day on Friday 6 March. But when Luke Matthews’ was hit by a concrete truck as he was riding along Beleura Hill Rd, Mornington, a frantic battle for life began. Mr Matthews was placed in an induced coma and airlifted to The Alfred. The 34-year-old Mt Eliza man was operated on for head and facial injuries, including the removal of part of his skull to relieve swelling on his brain. Family friend Rowena Beach told The News at the time that doctors were only giving Mr Matthews a 50…

A seven-year-old Girl Guide has been reunited with a family brooch after losing it at the Mornington Anzac ceremony. The 65-year-old brooch holds great sentimental value as it belonged to her great grandmother who passed away very recently. She had worn it as a sign of respect for the day. After it was discovered to have fallen off, a frantic search failed to locate the brooch. On Sunday, Mornington Tadpole Unit Guide Leader, Michelle Dawson, turned to the media for help. After posting it up on Mornington Peninsula News Group’s Facebook page last night, the post reached over 25,000 people. Ms…

The Anzac ceremony at Mornington Memorial Park was a big event for a seven-year-old Girl Guide. Not only did she lay a wreath, but she was wearing a family brooch with great sentimental value. After the wreath laying, and moving among the crowd, the brooch that was pinned to her sash came loose and fell onto the ground. A frantic search was made to find the brooch, but to no avail. Now the Mornington Tadpole Unit Guide Leader, Michelle Dawson, is asking for anyone at the service to recall if they may have seen the brooch, or possibly picked it…

THE Gallipoli Campaign has long been regarded as being the birth of our  nation; the moment the newly Federated Australia proved itself worthy to stand on its own two feet in the dominion of the British Empire. The campaign is also noted for its military blundering; for bad decision making by British generals, sending our troops often to certain death facing insurmountable odds. Indeed, the campaign’s military miscalculations began well before the first Australian soldier set foot on the beaches of Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Turkey, part of the once great but now weakened Ottoman Empire, had been a…

Neville Thompster looks forward to Easter every year, and it’s not because of chocolate. “Ever since I’ve been knee-high to a grasshopper, I’ve never been able to get enough of hot cross buns” said Mr Thomster. Available only in the run up to Easter, he looks forward to a couple of weeks of bliss when he can munch on the spiced fruit buns. Now Mr Thompster is calling on consumer protection laws to be tightened after disaster struck at a recent trip to the supermarket. “I was in a hurry, I admit. I grabbed a pack of hot cross buns…

It is rumoured that India’s Taj Mahal committee of management are preparing to serve the shire with a “cease and desist” notice over the shire’s touted plans to build a replica of the famous Taj Mahal on the peninsula. First touted in The News (“$56m for shire ‘Taj Mahal’” – 24th February 2015), the article stated that the shire were looking at a number of options for housing shire staff into the future, including a “56 million dollar ‘Taj Mahal’ option”. It is believed that the write contains the following demands: That the shire cease and desist from building the…

Furious opposition is being mounted to the rumour that the Formula One Grand Prix is leaving Albert Park, and heading to Mornington. The news surfaced over the last 48 hours after it is believed that Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was seen in Mornington during the Melbourne Grand Prix weekend. “I’m pretty sure it was him”, said local real estate agent Xavier Thurmiester. “He had an ice cream pizza at DOC before heading off in the direction of Beaches to dance the night away. It is believed that local property developer and teeth whitening proponent, Nigel Necker, is behind the…

LAST week’s visit by the cruise ship Pacific Pearl was a shot in the arm for Mornington Peninsula traders and local tourist operators. The P&O liner carrying 1800 passengers docked at Mornington for the second time in a month – this time on a four-day, one-stop visit before returning to Sydney. Mornington chamber of commerce spokeswoman Kim Rowe said a younger demographic made the passengers more independent. “The average age was about 59 or younger and there were buck’s parties on board, girls on girls’ trips – it was a real contrast to last time,” she said. “A lot said…

AN early morning bike ride on Friday 6 March has left a father of three young children fighting for his life. Luke Matthews, 34, from Mount Eliza, was riding along Beleura Hill Road in Mornington at about 6.45am when he was hit by a concrete truck travelling in the opposite direction. Mr Matthews was knocked off his bike and suffered severe life threatening head injuries. The truck driver, a 57-year-old male, from Woodleigh Vale, has co-operated with police investigations. Mr Matthews, who works for ANZ Bank, moved to Mt Eliza from Mentone in 2008 for the open space that Mount…

Compiled by Melissa Walsh THE appointment of Mr C.W. Grant, of Mornington Junction as a J.P. has been gazetted. *** Mr J. Hall, storekeeper at Seymour, visited Frankston last weekend and purchased a building allotment in this locality. *** MESSRS Brody and Mason held their usual monthly market at Somerville on Wednesday last, when there was a fair yarding. *** MR E. Quiggin, one of Shepparton’s leading ironmongers, is at present spending a few weeks holiday at Frankston House. *** THE Shire of Frankston and Hastings are calling for tenders in this issue, returnable on Wednesday next, for sheeting, etc…

THE friends of Mr G. Griffith, of Somerville, will be pleased to learn that he is so far recovered from a severe attack of bronchitis that he is able to return home, after being in a hospital in Melbourne for a fortnight. *** A VERY enjoyable evening was arranged by two very young ladies, Miss Doreen Dove, and Miss Sydney Levine, at Frankston House, on Wednesday evening, January 27th, in aid of the Patriotic Fund. This example could be followed by others. A splendid programme was given, including songs, party songs, recitations and dances. These young ladies are to be…

By Cameron McCullough The entrance to Port Phillip is considered to hold some of the most treacherous waters in the world. The Rip, as it is known, has a large tidal flow through a relatively narrow channel from the bay to Bass Strait, and a high rocky seabed. The waters surrounding The Rip are synonymous with wild water and treacherous rocky outcrops that have claimed many ships since the 1830s when Melbourne was settled by Europeans. One such ship, the Sierra Nevada, was an iron ship of 1523 gross tons. Built at Southampton in 1877, it was 71 metres…

THE family of murdered Hastings jeweller Dermot O’Toole have spoken of their devastation over the 27 year sentence handed to his killer, Gavin Perry. Minutes before, Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth handed down the sentence requiring Perry to serve a minimum of 23 years before being eligible for parole. Ferocious weather had delayed the arrival of Perry in court. When he was finally led in, the 27-year-old was wearing a shabby blue shirt and pink striped tie, slightly askew. He could not make eye contact with members of the O’Toole family or their supporters, as they were obscured by a…

Compiled by Cameron McCullough THE War. At the last meeting of the Frankston and Hastings shire council, the acting president (Cr Plowman) on the suggestion of Cr Ritchie, spoke with reference to the great crisis in Europe. He said most people recognised the extreme gravity of the situation. The crisis was most grave, and at the present juncture one did not know what might occur. In land battles there could be some sort of prediction, and if a serious disaster occurred to the British fleet, we may have war at our very doors. It behoved them all to be resolute,…

On Saturday 12 July, a large crowd braved the winter wet to attend a dedication ceremony in honour of Dermot O’Toole. It was a year to the day since his murder, but Bridget, Trent, Christian and Dale O’Toole stepped out in front of a big crowd to remember their husband and father. A laneway and memorial bench were named in his honour. The rain didn’t abate, and reference was made to the weather being more reflective of Dermot’s country of birth. Crowded in tight the crowd, many dressed in green, listened to speeches about Dermot’s murder and the profound effect…