Browsing: Feature

IN his 1962 speech at Rice University, John F Kennedy laid down the reasoning for his country’s effort to go to the moon before the decade was out. He stated “man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred”. The quest for knowledge of the vast universe is at the edge of science’s understanding, even 60 years after Kennedy’s famous speech. And it is as true now, as it was then, that the next generation are set to take us further into this great unknown, still determined and undeterred. On Saturday 1 April, 26 Year…

IT started with a simple phone call. A person wanting to book their “guests” into Pt Leo Estate’s fine dining restaurant, Laura. Nothing that would alert the venue’s general manager, Roger Lancia, that anything was out of the ordinary. Until it was mentioned that before these “guests” could visit, a team would need to attend to inspect the property. The inspection happened and the team loved what they saw. It would be a perfect place for their “guests” to come for lunch and a wander in the sculpture park. “Still no names had been mentioned at this point, but I…

HIKER, all-round adventurer and member of Mount Eliza’s 1st Ranelagh Scout Group Tristan Latham was one of 116 Venturers from around Victoria to receive their Queen’s Scout Award from the Governor of Victoria, Linda Dessau, on Saturday 1 April. Only a few Venturers – who are members of the scouting movement aged 15 to 18 – each year attain the Queen’s Scout award, which is the highest award in the Venturer scout section. Latham spent hundreds of hours on service tasks related to the community, leadership, personal growth and outdoor adventure to achieve the award. For Latham and other Venturers,…

THE Dunton brothers from McCrae embody the endless summer dream of pursuing the ultimate wave, the ultimate experience and the ultimate connection with nature. The brothers have just been selected among four surfers to represent Australia in the 2023 ISA World Longboard Championships in El Salvador starting on 7 May. The Australian team of two women and two men will compete under the name The Irukandjis Deadly in the Water, adopted by the national team in 2021. An irukandjis is a small, but deadly jellyfish. The Duntons, Sam, 34, and Tas, 31, were selected through their results in the 2022…

THE team at the Dolphin Research Institute has a lot to celebrate, with the beginning of its research “fellow” program, measurable success of its programs to protect and monitor dolphins, and the continued expansions of its ambassador program with schools. The institute was formed in 1991, with a focus on research on dolphins and whales, conservation in education, environmental leadership for the community, and being a strong and sustainable organisation. A registered charity, it is self-financed from the community, foundations, the corporate sector and government grants, and is about to release its Impact report, documenting key data it has collected.…

A NEW path with mosaic and memorial tiles has been completed at Sorrento RSL in time for Anzac Day, Tuesday 25 April. The work around the memorial was a combined effort by teachers and students at St Joseph’s School, Sorrento, members of Point Nepean Men’s Shed and Sorrento RSL. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 11 April 2023

ALEXANDRA Hunt decided to change careers at 30, and says a paid traineeship allowed her to follow her dreams as a mature age student. Hunt, of Rosebud, who recently completed her Certificate III in Individual Support (CHC33015) traineeship at the Village Aged Care Residence in Capel Sound, secured a permanent part-time position at the village, which allowed her to be paid while being trained. After working as a cleaner for private houses, Hunt says she was ready for a change when she landed the opportunity to return to study. “I had been cleaning private homes on the Mornington Peninsula for…

RSPCA Peninsula has opened a cat and small animal centre at Pearcedale to increase its capacity to care for cats and small animals and reduce the time they take to adopt. The new centre, which opened on Sunday 2 April, was financed by donors, including gifts from the estates of the late RSPCA Victoria president Dr Hugh Wirth AM – who led the organisation for almost 50 years, and long-time supporter Margaret Johnson. The centre has “cat cabins” with concealed spaces, an isolation wing, long-stay facilities, and an adoption wing with “meet and greet” rooms. RSPCA Victoria CEO Dr Liz…

MORE than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander secondary students from 30 schools attended this year’s annual Koorie Youth Summit at the Willum Warrain Aboriginal gathering place in Hastings. The Friday 31 March Culture Matters-themed summit was co-sponsored by the South East Metro Aboriginal Suicide Prevention and Healing Network and financed by Youth Justice as well as long term supporters, the Willum Buckland Foundation. It was the third summit and had “the key aim of connecting young mob around culture”, Willum Warrain CEO Peter Aldenhoven said. “This exciting event involved entertainment, cultural activities, yarning circles, show bags and refreshments,” he…

EVA Barnes is a 19-year-old, who spent time in the Royal Children’s Hospital when she was young. Over the past 10 years she has raised $22,000, because she wanted to give back to the hospital that had helped her. Supported by her grandmother (who taught her how to bake cakes) and inspired by seeing the children in need of care at the hospital Barnes raised the money by selling cakes, potpourri and jams at markets. On 1 April the Sorrento Activity Centre (SPSSC) supported Barnes with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party-themed afternoon, raising $3100 for the hospital. Artist John Bredl,…

THIS year’s Womin Djeka Balnarring Ngargee on the weekend was a family festival that celebrated First Peoples cultures and joined communities together. The festival, held for the first time at the Emu Plains Reserve, Balnarring (Boon Wurrung Country), on Saturday 25 March, is in its sixth year and has continued its vision to be an event where the community can gather to share, begin conversations and walk with First Peoples. The festival is presented by Balnarring Pre-School, joint winners of the 2021 Narragunnawali Award, which recognises outstanding reconciliation initiatives in schools and early learning centres. First Peoples cultures are shared…

AFTER a few difficult years following COVID-19, staff changes and finding a new home in Davies Avenue, Mount Eliza, Baluk Arts has returned to members’ workshops with public access sessions to follow soon. The program series will feature some of the biggest names in Victorian Aboriginal art, including the first session which was with Maree Clarke, a pivotal figure in the reclamation and revival of southeast Aboriginal arts and recent recipient of the 2023 Yalingwa Fellowship. Artforms to be explored in the series include painting, sculpture, weaving, possum skin pyrography, and jewellery-making. There is also a weekly weaving circle which…

SILVA Mcleod describes herself as an “island girl”, a nickname that is suggestive of the now 61-year-old’s idyllic and simple teenage years growing up in a small community in Tonga. Mcleod’s book, Island girl to airline pilot, tells a very different story of ambition, determination and achievement against the odds as the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot. The book, to be released in April and launched on the Mornington Peninsula on 5 May, is part love story, inspirational message, tragedy and feel-good memoir as Mcleod tells of her first meeting more than 40 years ago with Australian…

IN recent times Jack Meaden, Theo Fatouros and Bob Riley have become a playing group in Portsea Golf Club’s Saturday competition, defying their ages with their energy and enthusiasm. Meaden is 95 and lives in Melbourne but has a house in Sorrento and has been a PGC member for 42 years. He was previously a keen sailor and played social golf with his wife Lois but, due to her recent poor health, has joined his mates. A few weeks ago the nonagenarian shot 89 off the stick, breaking his age by six shots. He plays off 26, meaning that he…

MOUNT Martha karter Matthew Basso recently brought home the coveted blue plate trophy after his win in the Victorian Kart Championships (KA3 Junior Heavy class) at the Albury Wodonga Kart Club on the long weekend. The newly crowned Victorian Kart Champion was the fastest in qualifying and lead every lap of each race, and was the only driver in any class to do so all weekend. Basso said all the hard work behind the scenes from his family and support team is paying off as he continues to achieve strong results. Basso took out his first Victorian State Championship win…

ONE of the Mornington Peninsula’s newer residents, musician, songwriter, TV presenter and musical director Phil Ceberano, has opened a band performance program for local teenagers who want to develop their skills. Over the next two weekends, Rock Academy Peninsula will give young people the opportunity to work directly with touring and recording musicians to develop songwriting and performance skills. As well as working extensively with his sister, Kate Ceberano, Phil has a strong background in the industry, having formed and played in many bands including well known Melbourne club band Sexual Chocolate (87-93) and Trentwood, Phil’s original power rock trio…

SOMERS-based Sam Goode has a philosophy of “giving back” and his actions certainly match his words. The carpenter/building company owner recently took his apprentice Josh McCabe and his tools to Lismore to give some non-gratis help to flood victims and get their homes back in working order. One year on from record flooding events many residents were still unable to fully move back into their homes due to lack of essential plumbing, including running water. To help get the repairs happening, Resilient Lismore partnered with the Reece Foundation to bring volunteer tradies to the community to restore essential plumbing in…

COASTREK – Australia’s iconic team hiking challenge – will bring its inspirational formula of fun, fitness, friends, and fundraising to the Mornington Peninsula on Friday 26 May, encouraging more women (and men) to get moving in nature and hike for healthy hearts in support of the Heart Foundation. More than 2500 trekkers will take on a 60km, 45km, 30 or 20km challenge along the peninsula’s picturesque coastlines and hiking trails, starting at sunrise at Cape Schanck lighthouse, and then taking in the natural beauty of Sorrento Beach, panoramic views from Fort Nepean, and coastal bush trails including Farnsworth track to…

TWO men from Queensland are being praised as heroes after rescuing two people at Rye beach who had been swept out to sea after an encounter with an aggressive seal. The ordeal began on Thursday afternoon (9 March) when an elderly woman walked to the end of the pier but was unable to retrace her steps when a large seal blocked her path. Witness Trish Williams said the seal appeared to act aggressively towards the woman, who jumped into the water fully clothed. As the tide began to pull the elderly woman further out, her husband, who had been watching…

BONEO sculptor and organic vegetable grower Andrew Bryant has always had a fascination with the symbiotic relationship between light and humans, creating dozens of works reflecting on that connection. One of his pieces – Perfect Time – has particular symbolism for the veggie farmer at this time of year, with the shadow of the three-metre tall piece literally cut in half when the sun hits it on a right angle on the equinox. The plumber turned sculptor and farmer said his equinox sculpture symbolised the connection people had with light and demonstrated the relationships all life had with seasons. He…

MUSIC and art combine to help Brodie Alserda cope with her daily mental and physical issues stemming from her chromosome deletion disorder and living on the autism spectrum. An exhibition in the foyer of Mornington Library covers part of her output from 2021 to this year and illustrates her interest in marine life. The one picture that does not reflect on the watery world is of an iguana. Now 29, Alserda’s chromosome deletion disorder was not diagnosed until she was 19, although she has been an artist since she was young. The screening, maintained in a global database, showed no…

FREE events, including live performances, drew crowds of all ages to Main Street Mornington on Wednesday 8 March, as Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and Mornington Chamber of Commerce helped the community celebrate and raise awareness of International Women’s Day. All events showcased women performers and women-owned businesses, as well as businesses supporting women and girls. International Women’s Day was also celebrated right around the peninsula by community and business groups and venues. International Women’s Day is a global holiday celebrated annually as a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights,…

THE 6 May coronation of Charles III and his wife Camilla as king and queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth brings back special memories for Mornington retiree Geoff Strongman. As a teenager in the 1st Mornington Scout Group, the now 88-year-old was one of just 14 Queen Scouts representing Australia for the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It was the first overseas trip for the starry-eyed monarchist, who remembers feeling privileged and honoured to have been selected for the occasion, and still cherishes the trip as one of the most eye-opening and transformative events in his life. It…

LEON Cox, of Moorooduc, doesn’t shirk at challenges, so it was no surprise to his family when he announced he would complete a solo swim of the Rottnest Channel in Perth. The businessman and avid swimmer had already completed the swim 19 times as part of a team, so the solo trip was the next obvious step. On the last Saturday of February Cox took eight hours and 24 minutes to swim the 19.7 kilometres – along with 2700 others who kicked off in groups every 10 minutes. Cox said he had been thinking about the swim for 20 years,…

DROMANA Fire Brigade has named a further two of its vehicles after long-serving past and present members. Robyn Desmond has been a Dromana brigade member for 31 years, was one of the first female lieutenants in a Victorian urban brigade and the first female deputy group officer in CFA’s District 8. Her husband Captain Timothy Desmond describes her as “a bit of ground breaker”, although Robyn says she is just doing her job. She has been the Dromana brigade’s president since 2008. The unveiling of the naming of the Dromana car and recognition of her more than 30 years’ service…

MEMBERS of parliament were at Devilbend Reservoir for this year’s first input of fish stock with the release of catchable size brown trout. Outdoor Recreation Minister Sonya Kilkenny and MP for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh watched the release of 500-gram trout which, unless caught, could weigh one kilogram or more within a year. The reservoir near Moorooduc had been stocked with nearly 250,000 brown and rainbow trout since 2010, some of which now weigh two kilograms or more. The MPs said stocking Devilbend with fish was “another tourism drawcard” on the Mornington Peninsula. Devilbend is also one of the few…

A SEAL at Stony Point treated interested onlookers to an insight into its approach to preparing and eating a meal. Bashing the raw material – in this case the carcass of a tuna – seemed to be the main approach. There was no delicate, quiet appreciation of what was on offer. A lot of splashing and throwing the food around appeared to make it both more tender and easier to break up. Photographer Gary Sissons thought the remains of the tuna had probably been thrown into the water after being caught, brought ashore and filleted. Although the seal appeared to…

LORD Sebastian Coe and Herb Elliott joined Mornington Peninsula Shire Council mayor Cr Steve Holland and CEO John Baker on Sunday at Portsea for the unveiling of a memorial plaque in honour of athletics coach Percy Cerutty. Cerutty was awarded the plaque in the posthumous category of Legend by World Athletics for his “outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics”. The unveiling at the Percy Cerutty Oval, Portsea coincided with the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst 18, 19 February. Cerutty MBE was an Australian athletics coach in the 1950s…

ALTHOUGH ignorant of the fact, an octopus found on a Rosebud beach is part of an effort to “inspire the world to explore and enjoy our oceans [and] to protect and respect them”. A short film by Sheree Marris woven around her finding of the octopus is one of seven on the program of the Ocean Film Festival World Tour. The film festival has been shown annually in 14 countries since its inception 10 years ago. This year’s 10-year anniversary program runs for two and a half hours and starts with Victorian Andrew Englisch’s attempt to cross Bass Strait on…

THERE was a reunion of sorts on Saturday (25 February) when Sorrento-based couta boats sailed alongside their counterparts from Queenscliff. Sailors from both sides of Port Phillip came together for the first time in several years to compete in the two-day Couta Boat National Titles. The fleet of boats from Sorrento sailed the 12 kilometres to Queenscliff to compete races organised between the Couta Boat Association, Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, Queenscliff Lonsdale Yacht Club, and the Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club. Couta boats were developed for these waters at the start of the last century and during the 1920s and…