RESIDENTS of coastal areas are being encouraged to take precautions against mosquito bites and Buruli ulcers over summer. Acting Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said 363 cases had been reported in 2023, the highest number since the infection emerged in Victoria in 2004. Buruli ulcer is a bacterial infection linked to mosquitos that can cause significant skin damage. The condition can be treated with antibiotics, making early diagnosis and treatment vital. Symptoms for the infection include spots that look like insect bites, ulcers, painful lumps, limb swelling, redness of the skin and is sometimes accompanied by severe pain and fever. State…
Browsing: Mornington Peninsula
A FIRST glance, some of those who volunteered for a beach clean at Flinders thought their efforts might not be needed. But, in line with what the effort’s organisers thought, the beach soon showed it had a flip side: among the 116 kilograms of rubbish collected were chairs, concrete blocks, star pickets, old machinery, fishing tackle and one surfboard. “What a day for a clean-up at Flinders. For a beach that several people thought was so clean,” Mary Iles, of Flinders Community Association, said. “The kids came to help, free beach hand bins got filled and the Sea Shepherd rubbish…
TEN years ago, Australian Academy of Cinema and Televised Arts-nominated cinematographer Anthony Littlechild met filmmaking students, Liam Kelly and Riley Sugars, at the Peninsula Film Festival workshop. Today, between them they have been nominated for two ARIA awards, two AACTAs and multiple international awards. Kelly is an awarded director known best as one of the creatives behind Tones and I’s music videos, including Dance Monkey and Fly Away. “The Peninsula Film Festival is the perfect bridge between a local festival and one that’s also internationally recognised,” Kelly said. “It fosters up-and-coming talent and highlights the best of Australia’s filmmaking community.…
THE Mornington Peninsula-based Australian Welsh Male Choir is celebrating its 50th birthday. Since it began the choir has been overseas – to the United Kingdom seven times, including performances at the Royal Albert Hall, London, to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, the choir is staying home for its 50th, with a concert at Frankston Arts Centre on Friday 1 March 1 and in September will tour outback pubs. “This is going to be an amazing year for our choir. For our 50th birthday concert we have invited guest artists from Wales and it’s going to be a sellout performance,”…
THE largest number of competitors participated in the 38th running of the Portsea Swim Classic on Saturday. Tragically, Simon Weatherill, the 67-year-old former head of the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, died of a suspected heart attack while participating in the classic. Portsea Surf Life Saving Club president Matt Mahon said “thoughts and prayers” were with Weatherill’s family and friends. Tommy Lane, 18, of Brighton, took line honours in the 1.5km classic and 2.5km gold events. Coming second and third in the 2.5km race were Sam Sheppard and Portsea life saver Logan Brandi. Four hours later Lane won the 1.5km…
A group of diehard Australia Day supporters in Mornington will hold their own celebration on Friday (26 January) at Memorial Park in Barkly Street. Their decision to hold a do-it-yourself celebration – including gumboot throwing – follows a decision by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council not to organise an event and community parade at Mornington. The shire’s decision is in line with views expressed by the Premier Jacinta Allan who has cast doubts on Melbourne’s Australia Day parade ever making a return. The state government last year shelved the event for the third consecutive after it was first cancelled in 2021…
By Barry Irving THE Rye Gift continues to go from strength to strength as crowds flock back to the family day after Covid. This year we were blessed with cooler weather ideal for an athletic carnival. A couple of sprinkles of light rain, but there were no complaints from the runners. Again, there were many compliments from the competitors and the Victorian Athletic League officials with regards to the preparation of the running surfaces. Thanks once again to the Mornington Peninsula Shire team of contractors who prepared an excellent surface. The Junior Gift was conducted by the Little Athletics Southern…
AFTER a ten-year hiatus the Peninsula Sotheby’s Portsea Celebrity Pro Am made a huge comeback in 2023, winning Metropolitan Pro Am of the Year at the Victorian Golf Industry Awards. A major event on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Golfing Calendar, the 2024 event was also touted as one of the best social outings of the summer. Proceedings kicked off on 2 January where a crowd of 320 filled the Continental Sorrento. The room included familiar names across the sporting, celebrity and corporate worlds. Pommery champagne, Stone and Wood, and Sticks wines were flowing throughout, as attendees dialled in their…
RISING sea levels will pose a huge risk to the coastlines of the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston this century, according to a state government-commissioned report. The Port Phillip Bay Coastal Hazard Assessment report published last week assessed potential damage to the bay’s coastlines if sea levels rise by 1.4 metres. It listed the area around Martha Cove, the Balcombe Estuary recreation reserve at Mount Martha and the foreshore from Rosebud to Dromana as being at risk of inundation once sea levels rose. Patterson Lakes is one of the areas most at risk on the eastern side of Port Phillip, according…
MANY motorists from the Mornington Peninsula, Frankston and Casey areas are finding it difficult to pay fines for traffic offences. Statistics released by Peninsula Community Legal Centre (PCLC) show that 40 per cent of fines issued in Victoria over the past 12 months were to people on the peninsula (2754), Frankston (16,714) and Casey (35,256). Fines Victoria’s data indicates that the value of fines at the enforcement stage in PCLC’s catchment for 2022 to 2023 was almost $30 million. The average fine debt was $13,000, with some clients owing as much as $70,000. CEO Jackie Galloway said the centre was…
By David Gill* HAVING one person in charge of boundaries and names for wards on the Mornington Peninsula leads to the possibility of the first political gerrymander in Australian history. The electoral structure review panel which is about to announce details of 11 wards on the peninsula was appointed by and is accountable only to the Local Government Minister, Melissa Horne. The new wards will replace the six existing wards and be in place for the October council elections. There is no apparent way of splitting the shire into 11 wards that improves the existing boundaries in the best interests…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Police are ramping up their “lock and leave” message following the many car break-ins at holiday hot spots over the Christmas and New Year period. Acting Sergeant Matthew Young of Mornington police said Acting Sergeant Matthew Young at Mornington police station said that there had been 115 thefts from motor vehicles on the peninsula in December. All vehicles were had been unlocked. Most of the increased offending was occurring in the Rosebud area due to a sharp rise in visitor numbers over summer and increased occupancy of holiday homes and short-stay rental properties. “This increases the number of…
Council ‘a joke’ over Potter show secrecy What an absolute joke the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has become (All clear for transparency hub and Thumbs down for Potter Performance, The News 9/1/24). Clearly, the planning for the Potter event has been underway for some time, shrouded in secrecy, involving details disclosed at a closed council meeting with councillors being asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. Many residents will be totally opposed to The Briars wildlife sanctuary being used in this manner, rightly so and no doubt the reason for the secrecy. If it was good enough for the people in Brussels…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors are being urged to overturn their policy of only asking the state government to reduce speed limits on five or six roads a year. Cr David Gill said council’s adoption of setting such low targets was “our worst road safety decision in my time as a councillor”. His move to have no limit on approaches to the government puts him on course for a head-on clash with council officers who have said making the requests were “too onerous with little recent reward”. Gill says Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne has used the peninsula as…
THREE decades of the Mornington Peninsula’s surfing history are being carried around in a mobile museum. The seven new surfboards in the museum represent the pointy end of surfing – the evolution of boards used and preferred by surfers. Dillon Milenkovic said it had “always been a dream” to order new surfboards from all local manufacturers “and see what eventuates”. His wish was granted through a $10,000 “creative arts” grant from Mornington Peninsula Shire and a decision to focus on the history of surfboard making and design. The craftmanship and innovation shown in the completed “new but old” boards is…
ANYONE who has ever struggled with their weight will know the emotional rollercoaster involved in the weight loss journey and the importance of being supported. The Mornington-based healthy eating group, Take Off Weight Naturally (TOWN), celebrates its 25th anniversary in February – a quarter of a century of helping people stay healthy and manage their weight. The not-for-profit group has more than 40 members who meet at Mornington Bowls Club on Wednesday mornings, providing friendship and support in a non-judgmental environment. TOWN clubs encourage weight loss by promoting a nutritionally balanced diet and giving encouragement and practical advice on how…
THRILL seekers are being told not to jump off the rocks into the bay at the Pillars, Mount Martha. The safety advice follows two recent incidents where jumpers have been seriously injured while attempting to jump. On Friday 12 January a person was airlifted to the Alfred Hosital with suspected neck injuries. One week earlier a 20-year-old man was taken to hospital with neck pain after attempting a jump and being rescued by emergency services. Just weeks before that a 12-year-old girl attempted a pin jump from the cliffs and broke both legs and her ankle. She was being filmed…
YOUNG people and the “wider community” will be able to choose one of three Aboriginal names for the yet to be completed $13 million southern peninsula youth hub at Rosebud. The name will be chosen from three suggested by the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation: Tounnin Wominjeka (warm welcome); Umarko Wominjeka (all, everyone welcome); and Kartnuk Bullito Wongonon (joy everywhere, all about). The hub is expected to open in November and the shire will later this month and in February seek the opinions of youth groups and schools. In a report to council’s 19 December public meeting, shire officers said…
PARENTS are being urged to be alert to the symptoms of meningococcal after a recent case in Frankston and another believed to be on the Mornington Peninsula. The mother of 18-year-old Lachy Wright posted on a Mount Eliza Facebook site that her son had complained of a sore throat two weeks ago and within 48 hours was fighting for his life and placed in a medically induced coma. Lisa Wright said her son was rushed to Frankston Hospital where he was diagnosed with meningococcal disease and given a five per cent chance of survival. She said the doctors and nurses…
THREATS to the sustainability of Western Port’s ecosystem and its international importance as a destination for migratory birds have led to the federal government knocking back plans for a terminal to assemble wind turbines at Hastings. The announcement by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on 18 December will be a blow to the state government which allocated $27 million in its 2023/24 budget for the offshore wind turbines to be built at Hastings. However, the state and the Port of Hastings Corporation had acknowledge the need for an environmental effects statement (EES) process before the terminal could be built. Plibersek said…
POLICE are urging visitors to the Pillars at Mount Martha to be aware of the dangers of jumping from the rocks after a man was injured on Friday 5 January. The man, in his 20s, is believed to have been injured while jumping off rocks into the sea at the Pillars, a popular tourist spot that was once closed due to the risks involved and the high number of accidents. Emergency services and paramedics rushed to the scene about 4.40pm where they treated the man for neck pain and took him to Frankston Hospital. He was believed to be in…
MORE than 600 cats and nearly 100 dogs were euthanased by Frankston Council’s contracted animal shelter in the first six months of 2023. Between 1 January and 30 June, RSPCA Peninsula in Pearcedale admitted 874 cats and 160 dogs resulting in 69 cats and 21 dogs being euthanased. Mornington Peninsula Shire’s animal shelter and pound put down 38 cats and four dogs – it admitted 210 cats and 228 dogs. The latest statistics on the fate of animals who enter shelters and pounds released by Animal Welfare Victoria show the Lost Dogs Home Casey, which provides animal shelter services for…
Secrecy over Potter show highlights council failings There is no doubt about the huge public opposition to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council secretly giving The Briars wildlife reserve over to Warner Brothers/Fever for two months to conduct their Harry Potter show. Secretly doing a deal with a multinational entertainment group to stage a major event that will dramatically affect Mount Martha residents and pose huge environmental problems for The Briars slaps in the face of the “transparency and consultation” that we expect from our councillors and council executive. The public only found out about it when tickets went on sale four…
THE sound of singing is ringing through halls around the Mornington Peninsula as more people seek social connection through community choirs after years of COVID-related withdrawal. Singing together has long been recognised as a way to facilitate social bonding, but it is also known for improving mental health and happiness. The musical director conductor of new community choir, Vox Peninsula’s Jill Linley, said singing together had many health benefits and gave singers a social outlet some might otherwise not have. “It’s great for the soul, and people get so much joy out of it – plus we perform in the…
MORE than 13,000 people had signed a petition by last weekend to stop an interactive walk-though Harry Potter event at The Briars wildlife sanctuary, Mount Martha. Residents, visitors and wildlife advocates fear Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s decision to allow Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience in a wildlife sanctuary will harm animals and the environment. Up to 3000 visitors are predicted to attend the event nightly during April and May. The petition started by Save Our Briars Sanctuary (SOBS) urges council to move the event away from the wildlife sanctuary. Thousands of tickets have already been sold and late last…
DIVISIONAL Response Unit members from Southern Metro Region have seized firearms and drugs from a rural property on French Island. Detectives went to the Mosquito Creek Road property on Thursday 4 January at about 8.30am, as part of an investigation into the illegal possession and use of firearms. A 36-year-old man was arrested before warrants were executed by detectives with support from the Dog Squad and Water Police. A search of the property uncovered 11 firearms, a large quantity of ammunition and alleged methylamphetamine and cannabis. The French Island man has been charged with various offences including unlicensed person possess…
POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding an assault in Sorrento on Saturday 23 December 2023. It is believed a male victim outside a venue on Ocean Beach Road was “coward” punched and knocked to the ground about 12.11am. It is also believed that the victim may have sustained a mild concussion and other potential facial injuries. Police are hoping to locate the victim to assist with further investigation into the matter as no reports were made on the evening. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au First published in…
POLICE are investigating an incident in Tootgarook involving illegal fireworks and flares on New Year’s Eve that caused significant damage to a house and left a 57-year-old woman trapped inside. Tootgarook carpenter Jon Croft is being hailed a “hero” after he raced to the burning house in Alma Street just after midnight to help the disabled occupant escape through a front window. Croft was walking with his wife Amy just after midnight when he heard fireworks and flares being let off and soon after heard calls for help coming from a house. Croft told the media he could see a…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is pressing ahead with investigating a publicly accessible online “transparency and integrity hub” that could cost $200,000 to $350,000. The “selected council data, stories, reports, and curated information” available on the hub follows council’s below average results from last year’s community satisfaction survey. A report to councillors by customer and transformation manager Patrick Dillon said data on the transparency and integrity hub “may” also include “detailed financial records from the council and its stakeholders; asset management data (the shire’s capital works program); procurement data, and more”. “This online hub will allow visitors to explore and visualise data,…
The North and South lifts located at the Marine Drive Underpass, Safety Beach have been closed due to mechanical issues and will remain closed until mechanical repair works and/or replacement can be completed. The upper-level glass foyer doors have also been locked and relevant signage has been positioned. Pedestrians are asked to seek alternative options. Should you have any concerns please email Cambridge Management Services via email at – customercare@cambridgems.com.au or afterhours Martha Cove Security, 03 5987 1010.