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THE natural beauty of Bushrangers Bay belies the dangers that await unwary or inexperienced swimmers. Pictures: Keith Platt
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Drowning forces backflip on beach advice Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au WARNINGS about the pressing need to understand and appreciate the dangers of ocean beaches is the message emerging from a day of disaster on the Mornington Peninsula last week. A 45-year-old woman drowned at Bushrangers Bay, near Cape Schanck and a man, 80, died while swimming in Port Phillip at Tootgarook. The woman and five others were pulled from the water after being swept off rocks by waves at Bushrangers Bay about 3.30pm, Wednesday 13 January. The drowned woman, Aida Hamed, was described as a “true angel” and much-loved staff member of the Lalor post office, by Australia Post. Her group also included a 47-year-old woman, a 19-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl, as well as two men, aged 28 and 47, who bravely jumped in to rescue them. They, and the three
women, were pulled from the water by the Police Air Wing, Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Air Ambulance as well as the Water Police and local police in an hour-long rescue effort. Senior Constable Adam West, of police media, said the five survivors were taken to the Frankston and Rosebud hospitals for treatment. He said police would prepare a report for the coroner on the dead woman. Bushrangers Bay, below Boneo Road, is unpatrolled by life savers and remote, making it hard for emergency services to access it if trouble occurs. It is described by beachsafe.org.au as “moderately safe for swimming when waves are low, however stay on the bar and clear of the rocks, and rips against the rocks”. Tourism Australia’s contentious reference to Bushrangers Bay as being “moderately safe when waves are low” in third party promotional material has been pulled since the tragedy. A spokesperson said the reference to cooling off in
the water “at low tide” was in line with advice from Life Saving Victoria that Bushrangers Bay is “moderately safe when waves are low” but that the advice had since been removed. The visitmorningtonpeninsula.org website says: “Swimming is not recommended at [Bushrangers Bay] as the beach is unpatrolled and often hazardous due to strong rips and large waves.” Life Saving Victoria is urging all Victorians to be vigilant around water this New Year period, with the number of state recorded drownings at 38 since 1 July last year. Five – including the two last week – have been on the Mornington Peninsula. This figure exceeds all drowning records for the period 1 July-28 December and surpasses last year’s total of 34 drownings. This time last year a man also drowned while swimming with a friend at Bushrangers Bay and, in 2017, seven people were swept off rocks at the remote beach by a large wave, with a man later airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
GALLERY TALK As the largest public gallery in the South East region of Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery has a vitally important role in making art accessible to everyone in our community. Entry to the Gallery is now free and we are excited that by removing entry fees, anyone can walk into the MPRG and experience the best contemporary art from across Australia for free. There are many roles of a public gallery including delivering inspiring visual art experiences which are relevant and accessible to the whole community. We also develop and care for a large art collection of over 1800 objects and deliver engaging education and public programs for people of all ages. As we cautiously head into 2021, we are looking forward to presenting a diverse range of exhibitions that celebrate the amazing work of the artists in our program. You can view our 2021 exhibition program on our website – under Future Exhibitions. The 2021 exhibition program includes feature exhibitions by local artist Lauren Guymer, local indigenous art centre Baluk Arts, and The Overwintering Project which focuses on Westernport as an internationally significant shorebird habitat. We are also looking forward to the Spring Festival of Drawing in September where we are commissioning new wall drawings in the gallery featuring 11 leading contemporary artists and a program of workshops and special events for children and adults. Sign up to our e-newsletter through our website to receive monthly updates about our programs.
Right now, you can see the 2020 National Works on Paper exhibition featuring leading artists from across Australia working in the fields of drawing, printmaking, digital prints and paper sculpture. From over 1200 entries from around Australia, 74 works were shortlisted and are on display in the Gallery until 21 February. Check out our free online workshops with master printmaker David Frazer on the fundamentals of linocut printmaking or Hubert Pareroultja’s Mastering Watercolour Workshop. You can use your own materials or purchase an Art Box from the Gallery Shop, containing the materials required. You can watch our free online workshops any time that suits, pause and rewind, and come back and re-watch and create as many works as you like. Our popular Young at Art program for preschoolers is going weekly in 2021. Book in now for a Tuesday session, starting 2 February. Numbers will be limited at 10. Young at Art introduces under 5s to the wonder of art with a hands-on creative activity, a tour of the exhibition and an arty storytime. A take-home art materials box will be supplied with each session.
Visit mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au
Danny Lacy Artistic Director Senior Curator
Civic Reserve, Dunns Road, Mornington Ph 5950 1580 Frankston Times
19 January 2021
We stock baths, basins, laundry troughs, tapware, mixers, vanities, toilets, shower screens and more!
We look forward to welcoming you to the Gallery in 2021.
www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au
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