MORE than 80 women trekked 60 kilometres from Frankston to the Cape Schanck lighthouse for the Women’s Spirit Project’s annual Frank2Schanck walk. Over three days (18-20 November) the group walked the length of the peninsula in all weather conditions – rain, shine, flood and mud – as part of a mission to help women transform their lives through accessible fitness, health and wellbeing activities. For many, the weekend’s walk was a life-changing event, said program manager Jodie Belyea. “So many women achieved personal bests after months of training having never attempted such an adventure,” Belyea said. As part of the…
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By Judith Graley MEMBERS of the Southern Women’s Action Network (SWAN) are compiling the story of the group’s history of more than 26 years of social activism. SWAN was founded by a group of Mornington Peninsula women looking to learn more about the justice issues facing women and working together to bring about social change. Over the years SWAN boasts an impressive roll call of activism. For example, members have campaigned for the release from jail of Heather Osland; organised an Islamic women’s fashion parade; and marched in rallies to promote human rights, to protest against family violence and to…
THE sale of nearly 2000 doughnuts has raised $1600 for the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch. Using the lure of doughnuts to help people with a disability go surfing was the method of choice of members of Haileybury College’s Aikman House. “Haileybury College has supported our surfers for many years before the COVID pandemic, and they were super keen to fundraise again this year,” DSAMP president Pea Saunders said. “Along with fundraising, Aikman House students volunteer their time at DSAMP’s January event at Point Leo where they assist people with different abilities to experience the joy of being in…
RECENT storms and widespread flooding across the Mornington Peninsula have prompted calls for more SES volunteers, after emergency services were stretched to the limit in the most recent flooding event of Sunday 13 November. As the control agency for flooding in Victoria, VICSES volunteers from Hastings, Sorrento, Chelsea and Frankston jumped into action last week when the peninsula was hit by wild weather on the weekend, particularly overnight Sunday. SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said there were 397 calls on the peninsula related to flooding, 253 for fallen trees, 98 for building damage and 36 flood rescues. Wiebusch said…
FINGAL resident Lyndsay Takacs is having fun while paddling toward good health with her teammates from the Dragons Abreast Patterson Lakes Pink Lotus club. Takacs, the club president, said members were from all parts of the south east, and all were breast cancer survivors who wanted to be part of an informal support network. “We enjoy the fitness aspect, but it’s also about the friendship and emotional support, we all have that relation to breast cancer in common; we are all cancer survivors, supporters or partners,” she said. Takacs said the boat they paddle fits 20, but more members were…
THERE’S no doubt staff are hard to find on the Mornington Peninsula these days, but one business owner says he can’t even open his new business. Barber shop owner David Serra wants to open his new business in Main Street, Mornington next week, but not without workers to cut hair. “I’ve advertised for weeks on many places but not one applicant, and we are even willing to offer above award wages,” he said. “We also run a barber shop in Mount Eliza, and the story is the same, although at least we can open that one. “I don’t know where…
MEMBERS of Safety Beach Dromana Men’s Shed have been keeping busy during the COVID years, getting involved in some community projects that make a difference. A replica chateau is now being raffled to raise money for an extension of the Pier Street, Dromana shed. Secretary Denis McKeegan said the model (pictured right) was based on the Hotel Chateau Du Grand-Luce in the south of France, which was built in 1760, and was a classic example of the architecture of the era. Most of the model is made from 3mm MDF, with some intricate details that also include curves and steps.…
RSLs and war memorials around the Mornington Peninsula were a place for solemn reflection on Friday, 11 November, as hundreds of people gathered on Remembrance Day to pay their respects to those who died in the line of duty. Remembrance Day is a memorial day held since the end of World Ward I and commemorates the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts. On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, one minute’s silence is observed and dedicated to those who have died fighting to protect the nation. First published in the Southern Peninsula…
EVERY year since 2002, COVID aside, the residents of Mornington Peninsula have put their running shoes on for the 6.7 kilometre Arthur’s Seat Challenge. In recognition that people are still trying to stay COVID-safe, the Arthur’s Seat Challenge is being run virtually from 1 to 30 November. The charity set up to support the Fit to Drive Foundation, started in 2001 by a group of Mornington High School principals following a series of road deaths of young students. One of the Fit to Drive founders and principal, John Keysers, said that in 1999 road trauma involving the loss of young…
THINK book club, and think literary discovery, conversation, friendship and the odd glass of wine. But why should the adults have all the fun, says a new generation of avid readers and critical thinkers. Mornington mum Danielle Binks is facilitator to a different kind of book club, where a group of grade five students – including her daughter Liliana – get together on the weekend to read books. For fun. There’s no wine, but there’s always snacks, toasted sangers and plenty of in-depth analysis. Binks says she has been impressed by the level of intellectual discourse, where the St Macartans…
BALNARRING Pre School was recently joined by Balnarring Primary School, Balnarring Early Learning Centre and St Joseph’s school to celebrate and honour First Nations’ Peoples cultures by participating in The Little Long Walk. The event is part of the Bundjil Nest project that involves learning about cultures through a variety of experiences. Karen Anderson from the pre school said Steve Parker welcomed the group with a smoking ceremony that involved him playing the yidaki and clapping sticks. The students helped to create banners that they carried on the walk through the Balnarring Primary School grounds to Balnarring village, waving to…
TEN 100-year milestone birthdays were celebrated at a lunch at Mornington Peninsula Legacy Club last Wednesday (2 November). The centenarians included nine of the club’s 20 war widow beneficiaries and two reserve Legatees (who between them have given 71 years’ service to Legacy). Club president Ed Kennedy said the lunch at the club’s premises in Nepean Highway, Mount Eliza, recognised the widows’ longevity and their husbands’ military service. Mornington Peninsula Legacy supports 730 beneficiaries – 16 with a disability and is helping five children through school. In 2023, Legacy Australia will be celebrating its own centenary by holding the Legacy…
PEARCEDALE visual artist Janice Mills says transposing the colours, shapes and images of what she sees and loves onto canvas has always been an important element of her landscape painting. So, when she learned several years ago that her eyesight was fading, she was confronted by a range of fears, insecurities and self-doubts that only people who had trodden that dark road of imperfection will know. “I’ve been painting since I was a child, it’s something I took to naturally and something that became a huge part of who I was,” Mills said. “So, to start to lose my sight…
MORNINGTON Peninsula businesses and residents are again being asked to support the annual Food For All Christmas Appeal. The appeal began in the wake of poverty forums arranged by the former Shire of Flinders in 1991. Apart from individual members Food for All’s management committee includes church representatives and the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Food is collected through churches, community organisations and from Food for All bins in supermarkets. Schools support Food for All by arranging kick-in-a-can days. An average 85 food parcels are packed every Thursday morning at the distribution centre. The parcels contain a packet of…
THE “witch of Rye” didn’t disappoint this Halloween, entertaining dozens of families in Rye with her theatrical antics and best efforts to look scary. District nurse Karen Fleming has drawn on her theatre experience and love of acting to make 31 October a special occasion in Felecia Street for years, putting on performances in her front yard for trick or treaters, or anyone who likes a bit of neighbourly fun. Son-in-law Brad Harris said Fleming loved the show as much as the audience and stays in character from the moment the night starts at 6pm on Halloween until it’s time…
PUT together two friends, unexpected questions, spare time and what could sound like a recipe for a quiz over a very long afternoon has turned into publishing opportunity for two Mount Martha men. Don Kemp has always written poems, but it was time spent fishing and boating with his two sons that prompted one of them, Rob, to suggest a book based around questions youngsters ask. Rather just asking a straightforward question, the Kemps decided to frame it around “With friends like these, who needs an anemone?” Kemp then approached his friend Perry Fletcher with the idea of producing a…
A BUSINESSMAN who spearheaded plastic recycling in Victoria is hoping to turn a tip on the Mornington Peninsula into a multi-million dollar “recycling park incubator”. Urban Mining Industries managing director Edward Meysztowicz said his idea came from seeing the need for a circular economy, jobs creation and sustainability, and realising that the recycling industry could address all three issues. Meysztowicz says his idea will create jobs for the future on the peninsula and support the development of the hydrogen economy by converting waste plastic into hydrogen. The proposal includes relocating Melbourne-based food, plastics and tyre recycling plants to the Tyabb…
THE Anglican Parish of All Saints Rosebud and St Katherines McCrae are holding a raffle of an artist-inspired doll’s house to raise money for Southern Peninsula Community Support, which works directly with the homeless in Rosebud. The Reverend Lynda Crossley said homelessness was a significant social issue in the area, and the raffle was one way to help with support and resources. The doll’s house was donated by her aunt, artist and writer Anita Sinclair, and was inspired by Sinclair’s time in Cornwall during the World War II as an evacuee. Southern Peninsula Community Support runs many programs, including the…
STUDENTS from St Mary’s Primary School, Hastings are taking a hands-on approach to creating a healthy environmental with the help of the wider community. The school is creating an outdoor learning space and permaculture garden that will include a community garden, wetlands and a labyrinth to give students a chance to be “stewards of creation and responsible learning”. Permaculture leader Marissa Egan said the school is hoping to get as many businesses and companies as possible to partner with them to create an award winning “one-of-a-kind garden” unlike anything the peninsula has seen before. “This project supports the development of…
A CELEBRATION was held in Worwong Avenue, Somerville, to acknowledge name changes to the street, reserve and pre-school. Originally, Blacks Camp was used to name a road, a pre-school and a reserve. Mornington Peninsula Shire changed the name from Blacks Camp Road – which was seen as being offensive – earlier this year after consultation with First Nations people and the community. Worwong Avenue, which it is now known as, comes from a traditional name for the location referred to in the 1841 journals of William Thomas, the protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip, who chronicled his life and work…
THE Crittenden family celebrated 40 years of wine making on the Mornington Peninsula on October 18, taking time to reflect on the successes and dedication of founders Garry and Margaret Crittenden. The pioneering couple started the winery in the early 1980s, after horticulturalist Garry decided to combine his love of growing things with his penchant for good wine and bought a greenfield site in Dromana, at the foot of Arthurs Seat. With the help of friends, the Crittendens embarked on their grape growing venture with gusto, planting five acres (2.02 hectares) of grapes in the second weekend of September 1982…
RED Hill artist Michael Leeworthy, pictured, will help budding artists brush up on their skills with a watercolour demonstration class to raise money for childhood cancer research. On the back of a successful fundraiser Leeworthy held in August for the Peninsula Home Hospice, he will donate his time and expertise again on 14 November, running the event through Red Hill District Lions. Leeworthy said the demonstration – to be held at his Red Hill home and gallery – would help demystify the idiosyncrasies of watercolour. “I will explain the best use of materials, paper types, what paint to buy and…
SUNDAY’S Bloody Long Walk on the Mornington Peninsula helped focus the spotlight on a little-known illness that impacts hundreds of Australians every year. The Bloody Long Walk raises money to enable much-needed support to patients and their families and research into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of mitochondrial disorders. The walk on Sunday 16 October raised $370,000 and took participants 35 kilometres along country and coastal paths, starting at the quarantine station at Portsea and finishing at Martha Cove marina, Safety Beach. Leigh Caulfield and his wife Laura, whose 13-year-old son Tyler was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease two years…
MORNINGTON Park Primary school received a visit from inspiring 2020 Victorian Local Hero Josie Jones on Friday (14 October). The school won the visit after being nominated by long-term local postie Sean O’Keefe in an employee competition to celebrate Australia Post’s support of the Australian of the Year Awards. The competition was run to provide Australia Post team members with the opportunity to connect their nominated school or community group with a visit from an extraordinary Australian – a past recipient of their state or territory Australian of the Year Awards. In nominating the school O’Keefe said it is an…
FIVE budding philanthropists, Emina, Stella, Rocco, Florence and Millie, tested their baking talents by holding a cake stall over the school holidays, raising $504 for Rosebud Hospital. The children chose Rosebud because they had all been there at some time and thought it was a wonderful hospital, Sunny Shaw, whose daughter Emina was one of the stallholders at the hospital, said. When it was suggested that they do something to give back to the community in the school holidays five entrepreneurial friends decided a cake stall was in order. Shaw said they investigated some popular recipes and went on to…
AFTER two years, therapy dogs are back at Peninsula Health, and staff and patients are celebrating their return. Jeff and Judy Johnston have started their fortnightly visits to Frankston Hospital and the Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Unit with their golden retrievers, Benson and Sam. Judy said six-year-old Benson and Sam, eight, must be among the most photographed of dogs. “Once it took us an hour to get back to the car from the hospital because staff, patients and visitors would stop us to say hello and take cute photos of the dogs,” she said. “Our last visit was very successful,…
HOMELESSNESS and increasing hardship on the Mornington Peninsula have prompted a south eastern food charity to expand services to the peninsula. Langwarrin-based Sikh Volunteers Australia has started a food run in Hastings, providing prepared meals every Sunday from the Fred Smith reserve car park between 1pm and 2pm. Jaswinder Singh said the charity had recognised the need for support on the peninsula and that it was part of the Sikh philosophy to help people in need. He said the first Sunday in Hastings three weeks ago saw around 40 meals provided, but that had almost doubled every weekend since. “We…
NINETY-year-old Mornington table tennis player Moya Macpherson has no plans of slowing down any time soon. After decades of playing the game, Macpherson, of Somerville, says she enjoys the social and fitness side of the sport as much as ever and is still one of the first to arrive at the Mornington Peninsula Table Tennis Centre every Tuesday morning at 9.30. The club member is proof that age does not have to be a barrier to fun and fitness, and that exercise and social connection are a great mix. Macpherson first played table tennis as an 18-year-old but had a…
SUPPORTERS of Fenton Hall in Merricks North will hold a spring picnic at the end of October as part of a campaign to repair it and obtain a heritage overlay. The picnic will be held midday-2pm Sunday 30 October with attendees being invited to take their own picnic, blankets and chairs as there will be no access to the hall. Merricks North resident Sue Cusack said there was still a lot of work needed to make the hall useable, but supporters hoped it could become a “vital social and entertainment hub for the area”. She said it was pleasing that…
THE inaugural rose-to-rose walk raised more than $400 for the peninsula branch of the Blue Ribbon appeal, as 30 police, staff, and family members walked from the Mornington police station to the Mornington Botanical Rose Garden in Dunns Road. Senior Sergeant Paul Edwards said participants were humbled to be able to pay respects to fallen colleagues and help with the Blue Ribbon appeal. The walkers started from the Angela Taylor rose and plaque outside the Mornington police station and finished at the rose garden, home to the Angela Taylor rose bush. Originally given to Victoria Police by the Taylor family,…