A CERBERUS naval instructor can look back on an active family history spanning three generations of service. Petty Officer Amanda Garstin, of Hastings, attended yesterday’s Anzac service in civilian attire as she is on leave. A keen photographer, she knew being out of uniform would allow her more freedom to take photos. Since joining the navy as a communications information system sailor in 1999 Ms Garstin has received the Australian Defence Medal, Returned from Active Service Badge, Defence Long Service Medal, Australia Day Medallion, Clasp S Pacific 2006 to the Australian Service Medal, Afghanistan Medal, Australian Active Service Medal with…
Author: MP News Group
PUPILS and staff at Crib Point Primary School have designed and built a practical tribute to the six Word War I soldiers who attended their school. The school’s path project was officially opened at a ceremony yesterday, April 26 with all 150 pupils and 50 members of the local community attending, including Captain Stephen Bowater, of HMAS Cerberus, Cr David Garnock and Toni Munday, historian at the Cerberus museum. The path bears the names of each student and teacher who attended the school during the centenary period, and the names of past pupils who bought pavers as part of the…
By Craig MacKenzie MORNINGTON continued its recent success against Langwarrin with a 2-1 win in their Anzac clash at Dallas Brooks Park on Sunday. Mornington struck in the 5th minute when livewire striker Wayne Gordon stole in behind the Langy defence and toe-poked the ball past teenage goalkeeper James Foster who was deputising for the injured Robbie Acs. The simmering feud between these fierce local rivals burst into open conflict with a melee in the 33rd minute sparked by a tackle involving Mornington midfielder Paul McEvoy and Langy defender Alex Van Heerwarden. McEvoy was shown a straight red card and…
MORNINGTON Peninsula shire is eyeing a share of $1 billion in state government funding to improve road safety. It is aiming to become the first municipality in Australia to align itself with the TAC’s new Towards Zero campaign. Six fatalities in the shire this year are among an average annual 120 serious injuries from crashes. Four locations have been initially identified to achieve Safe System principle measures or better: Point Nepean Rd, Rye: This commercial area has had four cyclist and five pedestrian casualties in the past five years; Balnarring township: Regular crashes here identify the area as “high risk”…
A CREDIT card stolen from a car parked in the driveway of a house in Robin Pd, Rye, overnight Wednesday 13 April, may have been used to buy petrol for a Ford Ranger utility stolen from outside a house in Koonya Av, Blairgowrie, around the same time. Detective Senior Constable Grant O’Dwyer, of Mornington Peninsula Crime Investigation Unit, said the 2015 grey coloured dual cab ute, registration 1EH-3NY, was seen driving into the Woolworths petrol station, Rye, early Thursday 14 April. CCTV captured images of the man police wish to speak to while he filled up, 6.30am. He then used…
A MT MARTHA podiatry clinic is offering to donate one pair of shoes to charity for every pair that is tried on, but not necessarily bought, in its store on Saturday. Dr George Murley said his South Coast Foot Clinic, shop 5 in the arcade at 34-38 Lochiel Av, Mt Martha Village, would donate a new pair of the $250 NAOT brand shoes to New Peninsula Community Caring for every pair tried on by visitors to the clinic and shop 8am-1pm Saturday 23 April. The offer coincides with the launch of NAOT’s winter range. Dr Murley said visitors would also be given…
THIS recent publication, Great courage and initiative – The heroic life of George Ingram VC, MM, by A J McAleer, records the life of George Mawby Ingram who was awarded the VC for his actions at Montbrehain in October, 1918. He was the last Australian to win this award in World War I. George’s family had orchards at Bagshot, near Bendigo, and later at Seville. On leaving school he joined the militia (Australian Garrison Artillery), became a carpenter and volunteered for overseas service when war broke out. He was sent to Rabaul where he contracted malaria and was invalided back…
ANYONE seeking to meet a potential match online should be aware after cars were stolen earlier in the year. Detective Leading Senior Constable Richard Thomson, of Frankston CIU, said people inviting unknown possible love interests into their homes – usually at night – were courting disaster. “The victims are often too embarrassed to come forward after their assignations,” he said. “And it looks like it’s becoming a little bit more common.” In one case in Langwarrin on Sunday 3 January a man arranged to meet a potential love-match in the woman’s home before pinching her car keys and stealing the…
CRIB POINT FNC By Jared Newton DIRTY day at the nest on reunion weekend which was celebrating the 66, 67, 68 three-peat powerhouse side of half a century ago. There were a few moist eyes among the older stalwarts as they came from all over Australia to watch all three teams go down. The under 19s were jumped early and were battling against the tide right from the start but poor kicking kept the Pies in the game longer than they deserved to be. Thirty-two scoring shots to four showed the dominance as Red Hill kicked away in blustery conditions…
HASTINGS FNC THE Hastings Football/Netball Club made the trek down to Sorrento on Saturday to play our rival the Sorrento FNC in what was a massive game for the club. Having not beaten Sorrento FNC at Sorrento since 1984 its always a huge ask to beat this well-drilled football club. But guess what? Our boys came out and played four quarters of intense pressure that hasn’t been seen at the club for a long time. The boys played with spirit and teamwork which was outstanding to watch. In turn that spurred on the supporters to believe it was going to…
A PLANNED burn on the slopes of Arthurs Seat two Sundays ago was designed to lessen the intensity of any future bushfire in the area. “The major benefit of the operation is that should a bushfire occur in the area in the future; it will be less intense, making it more likely that firefighters can contain it before it impacts on people, property and the environment surrounding Arthurs Seat,” forest fire management, metropolitan district manager, Dan White, said. “That’s because the burn has reduced a lot of the fuel that a bushfire relies on to sustain itself. It also complements the…
PENINSULA Health’s adult mental health unit at Frankston Hospital is about to undergo $1.5 million upgrade. Named 2 West, the unit it was built in the early 1990s but has seen little in the way of capital improvements over the past 25 years. The physical environment has been described by clients and their families as “dismal and prison-like”. “The funding announced will provide an immediate improvement to the environment in our acute mental health unit and the safety of clients and staff,” Peninsula Health CEO Sue Williams said. “Our staff do a fantastic job caring for our mental health clients,…
SCIENTISTS are predicting an end to the bumper season of fishing for King George whiting in Port Phillip and Western Port. Surveys have detected poor juvenile whiting numbers in seagrass nurseries in 2014 and 2015. Fisheries Victoria executive director Travis Dowling said natural climate-driven variation in juvenile whiting numbers that settle in the bay was entirely normal, but consecutive poor years would prolong the downturn and make it more noticeable to anglers. “The downturn’s impact will be lessened given that 87 per cent of the commercial netting catch for species also targeted by recreational anglers, including King George whiting, has…
A MORNINGTON coffee company was recently awarded Radio 3AW and Momentum Energy’s Small Business Achievement Award. It was presented on Denis Walter’s afternoon program. Mornington resident Sam Keck started Commonfolk Coffee Company coffee roaster and cafe in 2013. The 24-year-old zoology graduate wanted to introduce people to the concept of specialty coffee and connect them with all stages of its production – from the farmer to the importer and on to the roaster. “The company battled through archaic council planning regulations but, finally, got permission to open up in the Mornington industrial estate – far away from your typical Main…
AN office has been set up on the Mornington Peninsula to help low income earners buy household necessities. The StepUp project is run by not-for-profit Good Shepherd Microfinance, part of the Good Shepherd network. The group will provide loans for those with a Centrelink health care card or pension card or who qualify for family tax benefit A and can prove they have lived at their current address for more than three months. There are no fees, but a low-interest rate is charged. “We have been providing loans around Australia for 12 years,” financial security manager Sally Edwards said. “We’re…
CATS are being given away free by the RSPCA from Thursday 14 April to Sunday 17 April. During these four days, RSPCA Victoria will be waiving its usual $110 cat adoption fee. The organisation has more than 200 adult cats at its nine adoption centres and two RSPCA Pets Place Centres. There are also cats waiting in quarantine (at least eight days before being ready for adoption). During the no-fee period, normal adoption procedures apply, including matching each animal to the right family. Every cat available for adoption is desexed, microchipped and vaccinated. RSPCA Peninsula is at 1030 Robinsons Rd,…
THE historic 75-year-old steam train K163 is ready to fire up this Sunday 17 April for a kids fun run at Moorooduc Railway Station, on Moorooduc Highway alongside Mt Eliza Regional Park (Melway 105/K9). From 10am-1 pm children aged three to 12 will be able to run alongside the locomotive into the station on a purpose built and secure track. Distances will vary with age from 150 metres to 1200 metres. Organised by Mt Eliza Rotary Club, he event will be family friendly with children’s show bags, face painters, balloon sculptors and an animal farm along with food and drinks…
HMAS Sirius has sailed, but her presence off Mt Martha last week attracted many curious onlookers. The Western Australia-based supply vessel proved a drawcard for sailors from naval training base HMAS Cerberus’s engineering faculty who motored out from Rosebud pier on familiarisation tours. The auxiliary oiler was built as a double-hulled commercial product tanker, then named MV Delos, and bought by the federal government in 2004. Renamed Sirius, she underwent modifications, including the addition of a flight deck for helicopter operations. The ship can carry over 34,806 cubic metres of fuel, including 5486 cubic metres of aviation fuel for helicopters.…
FOUR teenagers were threatened with a machete in a failed robbery in Naples St, Mornington, on Monday night last week. The group was walking along Nunns Rd at about 10.15pm after buying take away when they noticed they were being followed. Two youths approached in Naples St and demanded their mobiles and wallets – one raising a machete to his victim’s face, causing a scratch. The victims refused to hand over any property and the offenders fled. Anyone with information should call Detective Senior Constable Andrew Hodgson, of Somerville police complex, 5978 1300 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First…
By Craig MacKenzie MORNINGTON, Strikers and Baxter have won their opening two games of the 2016 soccer season. But Mornington’s 3-1 win at home to Manningham United on Saturday masks the problems Adam Jamieson’s men had in the first half of their State 1 South-East clash. “Manningham missed a penalty early on and they really should have been 2-0 up. They’re a decent side,” said Jamieson. Mornington regained its composure and went in at the break with a 1-0 lead after a sweeping move involving Northern Irish import Sammy Stewart, ex-Manningham midfielder Chris Reid and Shane Tagliaferro with Wayne Gordon…
A POLICE raid in Skye Rd, Frankston, yesterday, resulted in the seizure of 200 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $700,000-$1 million. Car loads of police descended on the property, between Dalpura Court and Onkara St, on Friday morning. Four Vietnamese nationals – one woman and three men aged 22-38 – were arrested and charged with cultivating and trafficking marijuana and theft of electricity. Sergeant Sam Booth, of Frankston police, said another 20 kilograms of marijuana was “cut up and ready to go”. “Community suspicions” alerted police to the presence of the crop, he said. A bypass switch…
PENINSULA Health’s clinical director of emergency medicine Dr Shyaman Menon knows timing is everything when it comes to medical emergencies. Many elderly Mornington Peninsula residents use a personal pendant alarm and emergency button to call for immediate care if they are in medical trouble. Until now, the personal alarm pendant has been limited to use at home, operating through an extra socket to an existing phone line. But this is set to change with a new alarm pendant designed to work anywhere – in the supermarket, at the park, even on the golf course. “This is an outstanding technological development…
DETAILS of each councillor’s spending on allowances will not be released until Mornington Peninsula Shire’s annual report, possibly as late as October. Elections to determine who will fill the 11 places on the shire’s council will be held Saturday 22 October. Attempts to verify the delay in obtaining details about councillor spending with the shire’s communications manager, Mark Kestigian, were unsuccessful late on Friday. A message left on voicemail drew no response by deadline. No statement appeared on the shire website. But, if usual annual report practice is followed, the figures to be released will not be more than a…
THREE Commonfolk Studio artists drew inspiration from the Mornington Peninsula’s natural beauty for their first group exhibition, Safe Keeping. The exhibition combines the work of glass artist Sarah Dingwall, silversmith Kate Macindoe and artist Emma Morgan to explore the concept of preservation as well as their desire to protect an object or moment. “Though we each make our artworks through different mediums, we noticed we all had similar themes to do with nature and preservation,” Morgan said. Inspired by the natural world, the artists’ work reflects their connection with places, memories, ideas and objects through their respective mediums. “We’re really…
RYE Bowls Club has had another successful Pennant season with five of its six sides making the finals series of Saturday Pennant and the sixth one just missing out by finishing fifth. The fours and the fives went down in the semi and elimination finals leaving the ones, twos and threes to bring home the bacon in the grand final. So on Saturday 12 March, the third division defeated West Rosebud with a margin of 10 shots, at Rosebud Country Club Bowls Club and the second division was too good for Village Glen Bowls Club at West Rosebud by a…
FORMER Australian of the Year Rosie Batty will lead a new Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council as part of a state government plan to implement all recommendations of a Royal Commission into Family Violence due to hand down its recommendations this week. Premier Daniel Andrews said the advisory council will have a say on how the Labor state government ensures the Royal Commission’s findings are used to reform the family violence system across Victoria. Ms Batty’s son Luke was murdered by his father Greg Anderson, who had a history of mental illness and violence against Ms Batty, at the Tyabb football…
RPP FM local radio have announced the launch of a new current affairs radio program on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 at 12noon. The half hour program, called Eye on the Peninsula will be presented by Piers Cunningham and produced by Debra Mar. The program will cover local current affairs, developing stories, live crosses and breaking news across Mornington Peninsula communities. Station Manager, Mr Brendon Telfer said, “It’s all about the peninsula and our talented team who will be able to tell important local stories and give them ‘voice’ – we don’t want to rely on the big news agencies defining…
POLITICAL barbs continue to be exchanged over the Labor state government’s rate capping policy, dubbed the Fair Go Rates system by the government, for councils across Victoria. Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins announced last week that the Essential Services Commission will publish its annual rate cap recommendation, based on the cost of inflation, each year. The ESC recommended councils should not increase rates by any more than 2.8 per cent for the 2016-17 financial year, based on the Consumer Price Index and Wage Price Index. Ms Hutchins decided rate rises should be limited to 2.5 per cent based on CPI.…
THE CFA volunteers’ association believes diversity is vital to CFA and its work of protecting the community. Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria District 8 president Eric Collier says being a CFA volunteer is “about commitment, skills and professionalism”. “CFA brigades welcome volunteers of any gender, age or cultural background. The one thing we all have in common is a commitment to serve our communities,” Mr Collier said. “CFA Brigades are from the community and for the community. We want our membership to be as diverse as the communities of which we are part. “The jobs a volunteer can undertake are quite…
Trent Cotchin, Richmond Football Club Captain, will ‘kick off’ Premier’s Active April on the Mornington Peninsula on Saturday, 2 April. Premier’s Active April is part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to promote healthy and active lifestyles and get Victorians to join in the fun of increased physical activity. Trent’s on-hand to run a children’s and parents’ boot camp to get people into the active spirit, then cool off with some fan photos. Launch events will take place at Pelican Park Recreation Centre in Hastings and at Civic Reserve Recreation Centre in Mornington on the first Saturday in April. You can…