Author: MP News Group

A MT ELIZA woman must have been in a rush to get to the city early Friday afternoon because she allegedly drove past an unmarked police car on Eastlink, near Thompsons Road, at about 160kph. The 23-year-old was intercepted and found to have a suspended licence due to 79 demerit points as well as outstanding arrest warrants for road-traffic offences. She was arrested and left the scene in handcuffs. Her car was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $979. Leading Senior Constable Greg Wolfe, of Somerville Highway Patrol, urges drivers to “slow down, drive according to the conditions…

POLICE have issued a picture of a man they believe may have smashed a car’s rear side window at McCrae and stolen a woman’s handbag possibly used her credit card to buy alcohol at a nearby supermarket, Monday 28 January. Somerville detectives said the woman parked her car on Point Nepean Road and walked to the beach at lunchtime. Later, she found her car’s window smashed and her handbag missing from the back seat. Police have released CCTV images of a man at the check-out who may be able to assist with their inquiries. Anyone recognising him is asked to…

A COUPLE arrested after a courier’s van was stolen in Mt Eliza while he was making a delivery faced Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Friday 15 February charged with more than 60 theft-related offences. The man, 28, and woman, 27, both from the Somerville area, were found asleep in a stolen car at Black Rock, 2am, Thursday 14 February, before they allegedly rammed a police car, injuring one officer. They were apprehended in Brighton soon after while attempting to flee on foot. The driver of the StarTrack van was at the front door of a house in Boxmoor Court, 1.30pm, when…

A NEW Zealand fur seal that had been resting on the beach at Dromana last week (Seal draws crowd and ‘unwelcome’ attention” The News 12/2/19) decided to move further down the bay and hit the high spots of Blairgowrie, Thursday afternoon. But, not content with sunning himself on the sand, the big fellow shuffled across Point Nepean Road, bringing the busy thoroughfare to a halt and prompting shoppers to call police to direct traffic.  Constable Garry Robinson, of Rosebud police, said he spent 45 minutes shepherding the seal across the road “with a bit of a rest in the middle”.…

POLICE have released images of graffiti “tags” at Somerville Secondary College in the hope they can help identify those responsible. The vandals roamed the school grounds over the summer school holidays and spray painted most buildings. Principal Chris Lloyd said the school’s buildings were defaced regularly. “It is a constant problem here and at the primary school, especially on weekends,” he said. CCTV footage sent to the police had captured vision of those responsible, but Mr Lloyd said he had not identified any current students although a “much older” former student had been recognised, he said. Clean-ups have cost the…

FAMILIES descended from the original French Island Thompsons flocked to the Tankerton Memorial Hall for a 125th reunion. More than 230 family members from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria took the ferry across from Stony Point and were picked up by bus on the island, Sunday 3 February. Some came across from Corinella, with their vehicle on the barge, and planned to stay several days to catch up with family members from further afield. The day capped off 18 months of planning by organisers Joan Shepherd, Lois Airs, and Carol Lake – grandchildren of…

HASTINGS police are keeping an eye out for riders of illegal “monkey bikes”. Acting Sergeant Scott West said the mini-bikes were “becoming an issue” as they posed a danger, especially to pedestrians in public areas. “We all remember the tragedy of the woman struck and killed in Carrum Downs a few years ago and we would hate for something like that to happen again,” he said. Police are coordinating resources and gathering data to back up a campaign against monkey bike riders. The riders potentially face a raft of charges, including careless riding, riding an unregistered bike, dangerous riding, riding…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire marked World Wetlands Day (Saturday 2 February) with a boat trip in Western Port for “key decision makers across local government, industry, and environmental advocates”. The trip enabled the passengers to “explore one of the peninsula’s most internationally significant regions”. The Western Port Ramsar wetlands near Hastings is part of the United Nations (UNESCO) declared special biosphere reserve of the Western Port catchment and is one of only nine biospheres in Australia. The shire’s boat trip preceded the release this week of new research showing Western Port is increasingly vulnerable to pressures from population growth, urbanisation, run-off…

BLAIRGOWRIE boxer Jayde Mitchell returns to the ring on Saturday 30 March for the final send-off of one of Australia’s greatest boxers. The current world number nine super-middleweight boxer, Jayde Mitchell, will line-up on the undercard of his sparring partner and former world champion, Sam Soliman, who will step into the ring for the final time. In a phenomenal career spanning more than 20 years, Sam Soliman will bow out against another former world champion, Manny Siaca, at the Melbourne Pavilion. While Mitchell’s opponent is yet to be confirmed, he said to be on the final card of one his…

MORNINGTON has a new up-and-coming racehorse trainer in its midst with the former New Zealander Joe Waldron setting up base opposite the racecourse late last year. The former travelling foreman for champion New Zealand trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman has been training in his own right in New Zealand for the past three seasons but decided to make the move in search of greater prize money. Along with the majority of his client base in New Zealand being from Australia, Waldron has embarked on his next chapter of his training career which now sees him own a 40 box…

FRANKSTON Australia Clay Target Club (FACTC) shooters made their way to Brisbane for the ISSF National Trap and Skeet titles on Monday 14 January. Some of Australia’s best showcased their skills and put some stellar scores on the board in what was a full field in the Trap events as well as the introduction of the Trap Mixed Teams events. FACTC landed some top shots to return home with eight National and Commonwealth title medals across the trap and skeet competitions. Commonwealth Games gold medallist and FACTC member Laetisha Scanlan led the way in the Ladies Trap qualifiers shooting a…

A FIBREGLASS cabin cruiser (pictured) was stolen from Westernport Trailers in Marine Parade, Hastings, over the Australia Day long weekend. Detective Tony Woolcock, of Somerville CIU, said offenders cut the padlock on the front gate and drove off with the $40,000 2004 Mustang 2400 boat. It is blue and white and the registration number is Q0710.  Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 12 February 2019

TWO fires started when “sparkler bombs” were set off in a Mornington park last week are being investigated by police. Detective Leading Senior Constable Alex Montgomery, of Somerville CIU, said youths taped the sparklers to aerosol cans and lit them in a playground in Tallis Drive, 11pm, Tuesday 5 February and 6.30pm, Wednesday 6 February. The resulting explosions scorched timber edging and a tree in the park, opposite Mornington Secondary College, on days of moderate fire danger. There is no CCTV footage but youths were seen in the area. “It is a bit concerning that the explosives were set off…

During the holidays, 85-year-old grandmother Joy Gray (nee Bird) and her family visited Point Nepean National Park, Portsea. Ms Gray told park rangers that she had some recollection of a personal history in the area, but did not know much more than that she had been born in Gunners Cottage. In 1933, Ms Gray’s father Ernest William Bird was the army cook for Fort Nepean. He lived in Gunners Cottage with his wife Victoria Blanche Bird and five children – Ray, Jack, Alan, Teddy and Joy. The family’s relationship to Point Nepean is now assured with references to the Bird…

A rubbish dumper has been fined $3509 plus $420 costs for leaving “renovation materials” on a roadside at Tootgarook. Mornington Peninsula Shire says the fine levied by Dromana Court backs its “zero-tolerance approach” to illegal rubbish dumping. On 10 January, a peninsula resident was found guilty of aggravated littering, sentenced with conviction, fined $3509 and ordered to pay council’s $420 clean-up costs. The shire says the offender was “caught in the act unloading renovation materials from a trailer at a Tootgarook roadside”. Illegal dumping can incur penalties of up to $9500. “Council spends more than $700,000 at a cost to…

DUNKLEY MP Chris Crewther has said he would be “happy to support” a trial of a cashless welfare card system in Frankston. The system being trialled interstate sees 80 per cent of money from Centrelink payments received by welfare recipients placed onto a card, where it cannot be withdrawn. The money on the card also cannot be used to buy alcohol or on gambling products. The card has been trialled in four regions across Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. Mr Crewther said “the program helps kids get their school books and makes sure money is not used on drugs…

UNSUCCESSFUL Liberal Party candidate for Frankston Michael Lamb , left, has been suspended from his position with Victoria Police after being charged with disclosing police information without reasonable excuse. Mr Lamb has been suspended with pay, and will face charges over four separate incidents that allegedly occurred in 2018. A Victoria Police statement stated that “a police officer has been charged with unauthorised release of information by Professional Standards Command. “The Senior Sergeant from Southern Metro region has been charged with four counts of disclosing police information without reasonable excuse.” Mr Lamb was comfortably defeated at the 24 November state…

Social researcher Hugh Mackay wants a “radical culture shift” in Australia towards compassion to minimise the damaging consequences of social isolation, renowned social researcher. In his 2019 Australia Day Address Mr Mackay said looking after our neighbours was a good starting point. The Officer of the Order of Australia recipient says the biggest social challenge the nation faces is “preserving our social cohesion”, as we focus on ourselves rather than showing greater responsiveness to those around us. Mr Mackay will be in Mornington this week to discuss his thoughts outlined in his latest book, Australia Reimagined. “We are facing some…

Eyes on the prize: Charlie Hollow, 10, gets ready for the National Hopes Challenge and the Melbourne Open. Happy with that: Georgia Hollow, 7, practises her table tennis prior to the Melbourne Open. Pictures: Supplied UP-AND-COMING table tennis siblings, Georgia and Charlie Hollow, headed into Melbourne for the Melbourne Junior Open and the National Hopes Challenge on Monday 21 January. The Mornington Peninsula table tennis juniors competed in the under-11s singles and doubles competitions at the Melbourne Open where they returned with some top results. Georgia, who is just seven-years-old, finished third in the under-11s Girls singles while her brother, Charlie,…

THOUSANDS of spectators flocked to the Emu Plains Reserve, Balnarring on Saturday 26 January for the Balnarring Picnic Racing Club’s traditional Australia Day meeting. A field of seven took to the track for the highlight of the club’s season, the Balnarring Cup, where Cranbourne-based trainer Cindy Alderson took out the main event with her low-flying mare My Clementina. Ridden by Maddison Morris, My Clementina scooped the prize to become the new ‘star of the picnics’, winning five straight picnic races – a maiden, Trophy 1, Trophy 2 and two Open Cups, which included the Healesville Cup at her previous start.…

PENINSULA Boxing will be out to kick off the year in style when they line up in the inaugural Wild Fighter promotions card held at new boxing venue The Timber Yard, Port Melbourne on Saturday 23 March. Commonwealth Games silver medallist and unbeaten cruiserweight boxer, Jason Whateley (2-0, 1 KO), is set to headline the card in his third career fight as a professional. His opponent is yet to be determined but it’ll be Whateley’s first time entering an eight round match-up. Fellow Peninsula Boxer, Lochie ‘Bubba’ Higgins (4-2, 2 KO), is also locked in to fight the “tough as…

FOR the very first time in Australia, and direct from Music City, U.S.A, the hit musical production Nashville Live delivers the energy, glamour and magic of a night out in the home of country music directly to you and totally live! Nashville Live takes you back to the world famous Grand Ole Opry, through the history of country music from golden greats like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, through to the contemporary platinum selling sounds of Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks and many more. Nashville Live is a celebration of the legends of country music and the…

MISSION Songs Project is an initiative to revive contemporary Australian Indigenous songs from 1900 to 1999, focusing on the Christian missions, state run settlements and native camps where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were relocated. Searching for the family songs that were sung around the kitchen table, Jessie Lloyd explores the day to day life on the missions, settlements and reserves through music. From cultural identity to love and loss, these rare songs consist of almost forgotten stories that can now shed light into the history of our Indigenous elders, families and communities. Performed as a vocal quartet, Jessie…

MUSIC of the Night is an enchanting musical and visual spectacular presented by highly acclaimed multi award winning international pianist Joseph Fimmano. Joseph is joined on stage by the elite of Australian entertainment, stars of musicals and the concert stage, and the ultimate in Australia’s musicians with the Music of the Night Orchestra. Joseph debuted on Australian TV with his winning performances on piano accordion on Johnny Young’s Talent Time in the late 70s and has since matured into one of Australia’s finest performers. Music of the Night is a tribute to the musicals, opera and the beautiful melodies of…

SARAH Blasko, Tia Gostelow and Jackalope’s Rare Hare confirmed for Victoria’s favourite food, wine and music gathering off the back of a sell-out event in 2018, The Peninsula Picnic returns on Saturday 30 March, 2019 with an unprecedented line-up of Australian music acts, local restaurants, wineries and producers, bringing together the best of the peninsula to the one location, for one day only. Lead by indie rock five-piece The Rubens, playing alongside beloved song writing legend Sarah Blasko, indie prodigy Tia Gostelow, Latin outfit San Lazaro, and up-and-coming folk artist Fraser A. Gordon, music lovers will be wooed by the…

This year’s Mornington Art show, presented by the Rotary Club of Mornington and ending on Australia Day, is being seen as the best show in its 47-year history with 15 per cent of works being sold. More than 860 art works, including paintings and photographs, were hung for sale and public viewing. The paintings by Mornington Peninsula, Victorian and interstate artists covered a range of media and genre. Several of the 42 photographs and works by VCE and other students were also sold. Rotary club member and one the show’s organisers, John Renowden, said selling 15.2 per cent of works…

POLICE would like to speak to any visitors to the Flinders blow hole and other back beach areas who saw a suspicious man loitering on Australia Day. He is believed to have broken into cars in the area. Police particularly want to speak to those who saw the man at the blow hole car park, 11.30am-12.30pm, Saturday 26 January, and who reported his behaviour to the park ranger. Anyone who saw a suspicious man at the Bushrangers Bay, Ti Tree Creek or Flinders Ocean Beach car parks on that day should also contact police. Leading Senior Constable Greg Wolfe, of…

TWO girls aged 17 were capsicum sprayed by police at Mothers Beach, Mornington and charged with being drunk and disorderly at 8.15pm on Australia Day, Saturday 26 January. The girls, of Mornington and Bittern, were taken back to Mornington police station and their parents called to collect them. They will be summonsed to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court. Sergeant Chris Stock said up to half a dozen girls drinking on the foreshore became belligerent when ordered to hand over their alcohol by police. The foreshore is an alcohol-free zone. He said an officer had a radio wrenched off a jacket…

THE Australia Day Long Weekend was a busy one for police in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula, with Operation Amity focusing on speed, fatigue, impaired driving, distraction offences and seatbelt compliance. Over the four days – Friday 25 January to Monday 28 January – police breath-tested 1161 drivers and drug-tested 38 drivers. Of these, 14 drink drivers and six drug drivers were charged. Police also detected 23 disqualified or unlicensed drivers and fined 116 drivers for speeding. Twelve drivers were charged with disobeying traffic lights and 33 were caught driving unregistered vehicles. Three vehicles were impounded. Police also focused…

THE driver of a freight train was taken to hospital after being hit on the upper body by a rock thrown by “young people”, 9pm, Wednesday 30 January. Hastings police said the train was travelling south from Leawarra station towards Baxter when the incident occurred. The driver continued on to Tyabb train station from where he was taken to Frankston Hospital in a stable condition. Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Luba Grigorovitch said on Radio 3AW the unprovoked attack was unacceptable and put the safety of both the train’s driver and its passengers at risk. “No one goes to…