NEWS DESK
Firefighters turn out to farewell former captain A BIG turnout – which included a guard of honour by fire crews farewelled former Somerville CFA captain Rodney Howard Armstrong on Saturday. Flags at the station were at halfmast and the fire bell was tolled once for each of the Mr Armstrong’s years as a firefighter 54 years. Funeral director Edward (Ted) Bull there were 240 mourners at the funeral, with many in lined up along Graf Rd as first a fire truck and then the hearse passed by. Born 31 May 1942 at Mornington, Mr Armstrong died of kidney failure on 4 May, aged 72. In his eulogy, Somerville CFA captain Allan Monti praised Mr Armstrong’s outstanding service, the leadership roles he had played and the recognition he had received in the form of medals and service awards. He said Mr Armstrong was highly regarded as deputy group officer in the Western Port group of fire brigades. Despite suffering ill health over recent years, Mr Armstrong had been a regular at the Somerville fire station, assisting with administrative tasks. Beverley, his wife of 45 years and also a long-standing CFA member, described her husband as “a lovely bloke”. “We had a great life together and I couldn’t have wished for a better husband,” she said. “I was amazed by the number of well-wishers on Saturday.” The couple were married in Mornington in 1969 when Mr Armstrong was an orchardist on his parents’ farm. He later worked at the BP refinery at Crib Point for 20 years and was
Bell tolls: The bell outside Somerville CFA, right, was rung 54 times on Saturday afternoon in memory of long time firefighter Rod Armstrong, above, whose funeral at the station was attended by 240 mourners.
one of the workers on the decommissioning crew. He had a keen interest in steam trains and was a member of the Mornington Railway Preservation Society. “If there was a steam train within listening distance we’d be there,” Mrs Armstrong said. The couple had no children. “Rod blamed shift work,” Mrs Armstrong quipped. “He’d be going to bed when I was getting up.” Mr Armstrong was cremated on Monday and – if Mrs Armstrong has her way - his ashes will be scattered around the fire station in Eramosa Rd. He also leaves two sisters, Kath and Meredith. Stephen Taylor
Port prospects sink as budget fails to provide Continued from Page 1 The authority’s website says round 100-150 vessels are recorded at the port each year, ranging in size up to 100,000 tonnes. However, the reality is that the port has seen a decline in visits by big ships from about 200 in 20102011 to an expected 50 this year. The authority also has “principles” which include caring for the environment and partnering with the community. These principles could go part way to explaining why between eight and 11 of the authority’s staff, including its CEP Mike Lean (on at least one day), were available last to plant mangroves in mudflats near Lang Lang. On Monday five of the authority’s staff were helping on mudflats near Grantville. “In a one line budget entry the Andrews government siphoned off the remaining $80m from our port,” Mr Burgess said. “Even though they said they were going to take independent advice on where to build our state's sec-
ond container port from Infrastructure Victoria and go ahead with it within 12 months of taking government - now just six months away - in this budget they've cynically clawed back the PoHDA money and stopped the work that even the greenest groups thought was of the highest quality and vital. “As the budget surplus is only built on the [abandoned] Commonwealth EWL [East West Link] funding, clearly the $80 million that belongs to this community has gone elsewhere; maybe even to pay not to build a badly needed road.” Mr Burgess said the Labor government’s attitude towards the Hastings area was in stark contrast towards the “hundreds of millions of dollars were poured into badly needed upgrades to local infrastructure and services”. This spending had included $110m for port development; $16.3m for a new Somerville police station; $4m for a Somerville technical college; $900,000 for the Hastings jetty; and $81m for Frankston Hospital.
Tied up: Tugs operating out of Stony Point are being required less and less with the dimnishing the number of large ships using the Port of Hastings. Picture: Keith Platt
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