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…
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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…
THE recently completed mural in Hastings at Ritchies IGA on Salmon Street by Julian Clavijo has won bronze as the 2022 Australian Street Art Awards’ Best External Mural. The 40-meter Painting Our Future mural was commissioned by Mornington Peninsula Shire to raise awareness and inspire community action on climate change. The Australian Street Art Awards, established in 2018, recognise destinations using public art to engage their community while also attracting visitors and boosting their economy. First published in the Western Port News – 15 February 2023
THE inaugural Flinders Fringe Festival – a three-day creative arts festival to celebrate the diversity of the Mornington Peninsula’s art scene, will be held 17-19 February. Artistic director Melissa Jackson is one of the instigators of the event, along with a team of artists who aim to showcase local established and emerging artists. “Following a tough two years for the arts, the festival is set to showcase and support local artisans and performers with a new platform to share their craft,” Jackson said. Shen said there would be more than 30 events and a mixture of free and ticketed activities…
HASTINGS Bowls Club is abuzz with warm chatter on the first Friday of each month as locals attend Scones on Hastings. And Friday 3 February was no exception with more than 50 attending the first Scones on Hastings for 2023. In the wake of the pandemic and being isolated in lockdowns a group of locals, with the support of the Hastings Bowls club, decided to hold a welcoming morning tea serving Devonshire teas and coffee to help bring people together. This has now been running for more than 12 months. Even though the cost is only $2 for tea or…
AN inspirational eco agricultural movement on the Mornington Peninsula could be shaping the way forward for collective arrangements between farmers and the sustainable sharing of resources, knowledge and land. A small group of eco farmers have already taken up the ultruistic offer by a Main Ridge couple to share their 89 hectares (220 acres) over two properties and the hunt is on for other regenerative-focussed farmers who want to care for and protect the land and water resources. Beth Phillips and her husband Andrew Phillips, a co-founder of Camp Australia, are developing the Uncommon Folk farm – a model of…
THE 2023 Peninsula Film Festival went off with a bang on the weekend with over 800 attendees, enjoying a great night of entertainment. Proceedings kicked off with a musical showcase from local schools, followed by a performance from emerging superstar, Matilda Pearl. Festival patron Fred Schepisi praised the quality of the films, saying it was that the best bunch yet. And the winners of Peninsula Film Festival 2023 are: First place from @lexusofbrighton VICTIM by Robin Summons. Second place: HATCHBACK by Riley Sugars. Third place: ASSETS by Charlotte George. Also from ASSETS Best Actor (and writer of ASSETS) Miriam Glaser.…
THE incredibly moving story of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru in the Pacific – Australia’s biggest single maritime loss of life – was thrust into the spotlight again recently with the unveiling of a memorial seat in Mornington and a story board dedicated to those who died. The allied torpedoing of the Japanese prisoner-of-war ship on 1 July 1942 was an immeasurable tragedy, but one that somehow largely got lost in the horrors of the war. Unbelievably, the event is not something many Australians today have much knowledge of. But that will all change if the incident becomes part…
VICTORIAN Maritime Centre volunteers are inviting visitors and residents to discover a slice of Australia’s exciting naval history, and get a chance to see hundreds of exhibits that represent the region’s seafaring past. Despite the loss of the Otama submarine from Western Port last year, the centre’s secretary Rosie Kendall says there were still plenty of reasons to stop at the not-for-profit museum, from torpedoes to artillery and an underwater mine. There are also other vessel exhibits and a good collection of artefacts and memorabilia from the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Merchant Navy. Kendall says some people may…