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…
Author: Cameron McCullough
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…
IT is nearly a year since 64-year-old Dermot O’Toole was killed in his jewellery store on High St, Hastings. As sentencing approaches for the man who has pleaded guilty to Mr O’Toole’s murder, his widow Bridget O’Toole has broken her silence about the events of that horrific day on 12 July, the profound effect it has had on her family, and her views on the justice system that allowed it to happen. At midday last Sunday, the lounge room of her home was filled with reporters and television cameramen, as Bridget sat – supported by her three adult sons –…
Police have labelled rumours that a man has been trying to “lure” kids near Benton Junior College in Mornington as “a classic case of Chinese whispers”. A Facebook post dated 28 May claimed: “The police were at school today warning teachers and parents that there has been a man approaching and trying to lure kids with him by approaching them playing in the street and from their front fences. He was last seen in Marriott Dve wearing a Muppets T-shirt and a hat, however they don’t yet know his age. Please share with other mums on the peninsula.” The…
FROM her first memory, Gina Poulos was taught to give. A migrant family from Cyprus, she recalls there always being people at their house, and those people never leaving empty handed. “When we arrived in Australia, we settled in Traralgon. I always remember my parents being very generous people and they taught us to always give people whatever we had” said Mrs Poulos. Her father eventually owned rental properties in the area. Sometimes the people renting the houses had fallen on hard times, so when they came around to pay the rent, the family made sure they never left empty…
The News interviewed Tommy Hafey in October last year. The interview, entitled “Hafey: I love people” is reprinted below in memory of a great and gracious man. By Andrew Kelly In the world of AFL Football, there are not many bigger names in the game than Thomas Stanley Raymond Hafey. The man dubbed T-shirt Tommy by the great commentator Lou Richards, has coached at four VFL-AFL Clubs, is one of five coaches to have coached more than 500 games in the history of the game, has coached teams to 10 grand finals and four premierships and has had 18 former…
RUMOURS are swirling that Mornington Peninsula Shire has been engaged in a legal battle of mountainous proportions after a lawsuit was lodged over breach of trademark regarding the use of the name “Mount Eliza”. The legal documents were lodged by the highly litigious International Mountain Trademark Protection Council (IMTPC). The documents demanded the immediate renaming of Mount Eliza and the payment of years of compensation for breach of trademark. The IMTPC, based in Geneva, Switzerland, consists of representatives of some of the largest mountains in the world including Mount Everest in Nepal, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Fuji in Japan…
MEMBERS of the Frankston Choral Society are notified that the next rehearsal will be held on Wednesday, 17th June instead of Monday. *** RUMOUR has it that a local company proposes to open a skating rink at Frankston, and are now negotiating for suitable premises for the venture. *** MESSRS Alex. Scott & Co. will hold their next monthly market at Bittern on Monday next, 15th June, when a good yarding of stock will be brought forward. *** AN auction sale of freehold pro- perty, furniture, etc., will be, held at “Kananook“ Melbourne Road Frank- ston, by Messrs Brody and…
SLEEP is a wonderful thing. It provides time to relax and recharge and escape the everyday grind. But with morning comes reality, and for Hannah Swinnerton, that reality has been one of sheer terror. Getting up each day was difficult because she knew what awaited her at school: heartless, relentless and terrifying bullying. Hannah can’t recall exactly when it started; in her mind it was a constant. For her entire school life, Hannah was bullied. From prep to year 12, Hannah would head off to a certainty no child should ever have to face. Everything suffered. Her grades, as she…
THE weather was terrible– low cloud and driving rain. Marc Perdu and Christian Tiriault, pilots of Spirit of Nouméa, discussed turning back to Adelaide, but they had an appointment to keep. Besides, anyone willing to circumnavigate Australia in a tiny plane isn’t lacking in a sense of adventure. This wasn’t the first expedition undertaken by the New Caledonian men. In 2011, they flew from Paris to Nouméa and in 2012 flew the same route in reverse. This year, it was Australia, with an expedition from Nouméa, counter-clockwise around Australia, and then back home again. “We had clear and sunny weather…
THE letter to the editor in Western Port News (29/5/13) caught the eye of Eve Dellar straight away. The road mentioned is painfully familiar and the topic of the letter even more so. “Today I received a speeding ticket for doing 64km/h in a 60 zone,” the letter began. “The camera that detected me was set up in Stony Point Rd, Crib Point, at 5am on a Monday morning. As anyone who has travelled along the section of Stony Point Rd near Symonds St knows, the road is more than twice the width of many roads, it is straight, flat and I…
The strange rumblings and vibrations that have been experienced by Arthurs Seat residents for the last 20 months seemed to defy all logical explanations. Then came the random opening of garage doors that residents put down to electrical impulses being emitted by passing ships. Only now is Mornington Peninsula News Group able to reveal the real cause of these seemingly bizarre incidents; secret underground earthworks as a team of workers rebuilds Arthurs Seat’s historical chairlift…. underground. Leading engineer on the project, Gary Bufkin, explains: “The chairlift is an emotional issue in these parts. We wanted to be able to recreate…