NEWS DESK Police patrol
with Brodie Cowburn
Car set ablaze by two men TWO men who set a car alight in Cranbourne North last month are wanted by police. Police believe that two men set a car parked at a house on Freshfields Drive alight at around 2.30am on 22 August. One man poured an accelerant from a plastic bottle onto the car before igniting the blaze. The two men fled towards Thomp-
sons Road, and have not been caught. The occupant of the house observed the incident and extinguished the flames with a hose. The exterior of the car is extensively damaged, but nobody was hurt. Images of two men police wish to speak to have been released. They are both wearing hooded jumpers, track pants, and sneakers.
Anyone who recognises the men or with information can call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
TWO men wanted by police in relation to a car fire. Picture: Supplied
Candidates told to be transparent FRANKSTON councillors have called on candidates for the October elections to voluntarily disclose their interests in a bid to boost transparency. At the 31 August meeting, councillors voted to encourage election candidates to decline donations from lobbyists, people who have made or are expected to make applications to council, and people involved in the property development, tobacco, or gambling industries. Candidates have also been called on to publicly disclose donations and gifts within five days of receiving them. Incumbent councillors asked candidates to declare “the name of any company or other body corporate or unincorporated in which the candidate holds an office as a director or otherwise” and “the name or description of any company or body in which the candidate holds a beneficial interest.” Frankston Council will write to the local government minister to ask that those measures be introduced as requirements. Nominations for the 2020 council elections close on 22 September. Voters are expected to receive their ballot packs in the mail in early October.
turn of the millennium. Her works can be seen from the street front at Cube 37 from 31 August to 20 September. Ms Kidd has worked in Melbourne and London. She says that her picture of model Paula Hamilton, taken in 1993, was among her most prominent memories of working in photography. “I was just 24, and photographing such beautifully designed and crafted garments and having a model like Paula in front of the lens set the bar for me,” she said. “She brushed luminous white powder above her cheek bones to reflect the light, a technique I only photographed again as used on the iconic Tania Mallet. I shot 200 rolls of colour transparency film over 2 days.” Ms Kidd is now based around Frankston. To see her works while leaving home for allowed activities, walk past the Arts Centre at 25/37 Davey St, Frankston. MODEL, Roupell Street, London No.4 by Bronwyn Kidd.
Exhibition on display THE works of local photographer Bronwyn Kidd will be displayed at the Frankston Arts Centre this month. Ms Kidd works with fashion and portraiture photography. Her newest exhibition #STYLE is a collection of two decades worth of photos, depicting rapidly changing styles since the
Boarders are not budging during crisis By Cameron McCullough STAGE four restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 have been hard for everyone. Disruption to regular routines and weeks on end without face-to-face contact with friends and family. But spare a thought for the members of one segment of the community who faced an agonising decision because of the coronavirus pandemic - overseas students. Those boarding at Peninsula Grammar, Mount Eliza had to decide whether to return home or remain in Australia for an unknown length of time. “As the coronavirus pandemic gathered steam earlier in the year, it became apparent that students would have to make a difficult decision,” Wendy Lawson, the school's head of girls boarding said. “They could board one of the last flights out to their home countries or stay. But staying meant that they were here for the duration of the crisis and for as long as it took for normal international travel to resume. “The initial decisions made by the students were huge. We then sought to support them as much as possible with the decisions they had made.” It was a difficult time at the boarding school, with open conversations about the best way forward. Would the students, still children, decide to go back to their families, friends, and all they know? Or would they decide to put their education first and stay? Many decided to leave, but 55 stayed. Chip, a year 12 student from Hanoi in Vietnam, booked a flight home, but then cancelled it. “My parents wanted me to go
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Wendy Lawson, the school’s head of girls boarding at Peninsula Grammar and principal Stuart Johnston with three of the school’s overseas students who decided to stay, Chip Nguyen, Kai Ikida and Sarah Lin. Picture: Gary Sissons home,” Chip said. “I didn’t want to risk my studies though and persuaded them that I was safe here.” Sarah, year 11, from Fujian Province in China, has been living at the school's boarding house for 18 months and her parents wanted her to stay. “They knew it was safe for me here. They trusted the school would keep me safe, so I decided to stay.” Kai, year 12, from Japan, had to persuade his mother that it was best for him to stay.
8 September 2020
“My mother wanted me to return to Japan, but my father agreed I should stay,” he said. “As a year 12 student, I knew returning would be very disruptive to my studies, and I really wanted to finish the year.” Returning to Japan would add the extra complication of him trying to return to Melbourne for the start of university next year. Adding to the students' isolation are the restrictions that have mostly kept them confined to the school grounds. Principal Stuart Johnston acknowl-
edges the sacrifice made by the students and the spirit they show. “We cannot underestimate how difficult a decision this was for each student,” Mr Johnston said. “And our school has been fortunate enough to have been entrusted the care of these young students in this time of international crisis. “But, more important than that, is the spirit these students show. Their strength and resilience have been incredible to watch. “They have not returned to the lov-
ing arms of their parents in over eight long months. They have not smelled the familiar scent of the cherry blossoms in Tokyo or walked the busy streets of bustling Shanghai. They have not laughed with friends in the cafes of Hanoi. “Yet in their humility, in their unyielding grace, there exists a profound determination to persist, and an unbreakable unity born of circumstance.”