NEWS DESK
Journo’s early days remembered Liz Bell liz@baysidenews.com.au DUSTY dirt roads, sun-soaked weekends at the beach and wet winter days at the football are memories that encapsulate 1960s suburban Frankston for political journalist and former The Age associate editor Shaun Carney. Life was simple and predictable; children still walked shoeless to the beach and didn’t come home until dinner was on the table, and the infectious sense of community pride was reflected in friendly neighbourhood banter and well-kept gardens. A highlight of the year was the much-anticipated Australia Day procession down the main street, where people waved flags and stood together in a show of unity and suburban pride. “Frankston back then was full of new housing estates and was very blue-collar, very Anglo-Celtic and full of ‘nuclear families’ with conservative values and a strong sense of self,” Carney said. Carney reveals some of these childhood memories in his forthcoming book Press Escape, a beautifully crafted memoir and social commentary about growing up at the beginning of the television age, navigating family secrets, his daughter’s struggle with cancer, and the changing nature of journalism in the digital age. Born in Frankston, brought up in Seaford and educated both in and out of school in The Pines, by the time he was in his early 20s Carney was itching to get out of suburbia to see
the world and pursue his childhood passion to be a journalist. But he has never forgotten his roots, and remembers those earlier days with fondness, exploring Kananook Creek, wandering barefoot across the highway to the beach, and staying well clear of “sharpies” at the then Monterey High School. “Those days as a young, carefree kid in Frankston were days of freedom and the beach and football, and we were pretty happy with that,” he said. “I’m a proud product of Frankston, I suppose you could say Frankston made me – it certainly shaped who I was as a person and a writer. “But as I reached my 20s, I wanted to get out and experience a more exciting life as a journalist, so at the embarrassingly late age of 22 I left home and headed to the city,” he said. In his last year at Monash University at the end of the 70s, Carney began his journalism career with a cadetship at The Herald, moving on to The Age after eight years, where he became a columnist, and then associate editor from 1997 until his departure in 2012. His memoir is filled with imagery and flair, and he manages to capture the quirkiness of quintessential suburban Melbourne as he covers everything from life in the “frontiers” of Seaford and Frankston, to the Blues playing the Pies at Princes Park and the raucous newsrooms of the 70s. It is at times funny, insightful, and heart-warming. Carney said he wanted to write something that reappraised his public and private roles – as a son,
Vale former mayor Marianne Meehan
Homecoming: Shaun Carney grew up on and alongside the beaches and football ovals of Frankston. Picture: Gary Sissons
a father, and a journalist. He reveals the struggles of watching his brave 12-year-old daughter endure chemotherapy, and explores the shifts in Australian television, music, news and politics across the past 50 years. Back in Frankston last week, Carney said he remembers a community
in the 60s and 70s full of hope and pride, with lots of nervous but excited new arrivals from the UK, and a strong sense of new beginnings. Press Escape by Shaun Carney, published by Melbourne University Publishing, is available to buy now at all good bookshops.
A FORMER mayor of Frankston passed away last week. Ex-councillor Marianne Meehan, who served on council for five years between 1987-1988 and 1990-1994, died last Tuesday (18 October), aged 76. A death notice published in the Herald Sun stated she “passed away suddenly and peacefully surrounded by her family” and thanked staff at The Alfred hospital for their compassion and care. Frankston Council CEO Dennis Hovenden said Ms Meehan was well known and respected within the community. “Following her time in council, Marianne continued her support for the local community in her work with local community groups and organisations such as the Lions Club of Karingal,” Mr Hovenden said. “On behalf of Frankston City Council, I would like to offer my condolences to Marianne’s family and friends during this difficult time.” Gail Dudeck, a Frankston councillor alongside Ms Meehan in the 1990s, said she had been a mentor. “Marianne was the only Councillor to be voted in for two terms, in 1993 and 1994, as mayor,” she said. “Marianne ran a tight meeting and saw us through the difficult times of getting the Frankston Arts Centre opened in 1995. “I will miss the monthly lunches, over 15 years, I enjoyed with Marianne and former mayors Diane Fuller and Valerie Ogier.” Funeral service details are expected to be announced this week.
Elections outcome revealed week after votes in Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au THE results of the weekend’s council elections will not be known until more than seven days after polling day. Voters had until 6pm on Friday (21 October) to complete and return ballot papers to the Victorian Electoral Commission to be counted but the election overseer will also count any votes received before midday on Friday 28 October to account for any postal delays. Frankston Council votes will be tallied by computer count. Provisional results are expected between noon on Friday 28 October and Sunday 30 October and will be listed on
the VEC’s website. Results for all elections are provisional until the official declaration of results, between Monday 31 October and Friday 4 November, for all council elections across Victoria. Elections to vote for councillors to represent the community at councils in Victoria are held every four years. Thirty-five candidates ran for nine seats on Frankston Council. There were initially 36 candidates but John Billing retired from the race “for personal reasons”. The VEC issued a media release last week stating “two candidates have been removed from the 2016 Victorian council elections as a result of enquiries by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate”.
Mr Billing, group manager of Frankston’s volunteer Beach Patrol, told The Times he had been contacted by the VEC about a problem with his registration as a candidate earlier this month and had decided then to withdraw from the election. A later media release last week by the inspectorate confirmed Mr Billing “retired voluntarily” from the election and was not forcibly removed. “It’s a shame because a lot of people told me I’d be a good councillor,” Mr Billing said. He said he would be eligible to run as a council candidate in future elections. Poll positions: Candidates are hoping to win enough votes to make decisions in council chambers over the next four years. Picture: Gary Sissons
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Frankston Times 24 October 2016
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