Mornington
ALL- NEW
TOYOTA HILUX
Your guide to what’s on this weekend for peninsula families
E T D IV N . SEE MORE DETAILS ON PAGE %Ĉ
An independent voice for the community Your weekly community newspaper covering Mornington, Mount Martha and Mount Eliza For all advertising and editorial needs, call 03
FREE
Tuesday 27 October 2015
5973 6424 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au
Fire alarm Peninsula rated ‘extreme risk’ and ‘catastrophe’ in waiting Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au
In bloom: Jeannette Morris oversees her garden at 4 Bellbrook Court, Mt Eliza, where visitors can enjoy Devonshire teas on their visit.
Open day delight garden lovers FIVE private gardens in Mt Eliza and Frankston South will be open to the public over the weekend 7-8 November. The 5 Gardeners’ Gardens is an initiative of the Anglican Parish of Mt Eliza which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the historic “little white church� on the corner of Koetong Pd and Nepean Highway, Mt Eliza.
THE GRAND MEAL DEAL
Buy a main meal & p to... receive up
$15.95* OFF the th price i off tthe h second main meal
The parish held the event in 2009, 2011 and 2013 and, according to coordinator Lyn Whelan, it was a great success. “What better way to spend a spring weekend on the Mornington Peninsula than by rambling around Mt Eliza visiting five delightful private gardens,� she said. The gardens are open 10am-4pm, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November.
One Stop Bar Shop Home Brew Supplies - Bar Accessories Table Sports and Darts - Gifts for Men Beer Equipment
MAKE YOUR OWN CRAFT BEER AT HOME
Valid to 5/11/15. Monday to Thursday only. Bistro only.
*Applies to meal of least value. Excludes entrees & seniors meals. Excludes online printouts. Not valid with any other discount offer or on public holidays.
Ph 5975 2001 124 Main St, Mornington
Tickets are $25 all gardens/$6 single garden with children free. No dogs are allowed. The gardens are 94 Old Mornington Rd, Mt Eliza; 5 Amesbury Rd, Mt Eliza; 4 Bellbrook Court, Frankston South; 134 Wooralla Drive, Mt Eliza (which replaces 7 St Ives Av), and 4 Seahaze Court, Mt Eliza. Details: Call 9775 3301 or visit mteliza.melbourneanglican.org.au
0RUQLQJWRQ 7\DEE 5G 0RUQLQJWRQ
INVESTIGATIONS into the risk posed by bushfires to the proposed Arthurs Seat Skylift have highlighted the dangers to residents living in or around the precinct. The Mornington Peninsula is regarded as “one of the most bushfireprone areas in the world�, according to the municipality’s official fire management plan. And the towns around Arthurs Seat and its slopes have been assessed as being under “extreme� risk of “catastrophic� bushfires. The Bushfire Risk Assessment Register lists Arthurs Seat and its lookout and escarpment, Main Ridge and Waterfall Gully Central as “almost certain� to burn. The register is part of the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s fire management plan and bases its predictions on the history of past fires in the area. The plan has a list of “Neighbourhood safer places – places of last resort� where refuge can be sought during fires. The list includes Blairgowrie, McCrae, Balnarring, Dromana, Flinders, Mt Eliza, Mt Martha, Portsea, Rosebud West, Rye and Sorrento. There are no refuges listed for anyone seeking shelter from bushfires at Arthurs Seat, Red Hill or Main Ridge. Ironically, the Skylift’s upper station may be the only reasonably safe refuge available. Janet Stanley, a specialist in arson who has been widely quoted by opponents of the gondola ride, believes more tourists being attracted to the area will also increase the risk of bushfires being deliberately lit. “Most arsonists light fires close to an urban setting. Bringing large numbers of visitors to the heavily forested area
close to an urban environment would greatly increase the risk of an arson attack in the area,� Dr Stanley said. Since 1997 there have been three recorded bushfires, which burned between 160 and five hectares but which were brought under control without any great loss to property. Major fires listed in the shire’s fire management plan start from Black Thursday in February 1851 – a statewide fire that saw countryside around Western Port covered by “raging flames� – to January 2008 when a 48ha fire affected private and government land in Boundary Rd, Dromana. Other fires on the list occurred at Flinders, Somers, Crib Point, HMAS Cerberus, Red Hill, Mt Martha Park and Arthurs Seat. The plan does not include a February 2013 fire that began on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Dromana and spread to the historic Heronswood property, completely destroying its thatched roof cafe. A fire that started in a wood yard at Hastings in January 2014 quickly spread into Warringine Reserve, threatening nearby houses and Crib Point. Four weeks ago firefighters managed to control a blaze heading towards BlueScope’s Western Port steel works at Hastings. Although relatively quickly contained, the fire was heading towards the steel works and Esso’s gas plant at nearby Long Island Point, which is listed as a major hazard facility. Last week Nepean MP Martin Dixon warned that the peninsula’s green countryside was deceptive: “Fire authorities say a major fire is now not a matter of if, but when.� Mr Dixon told Parliament he had “a number of worries regarding the fire season this year�. Continued Page 6
R H A ACCOUNTING All tax returns $99 [GST incl]
Bedshed’s
30% OFF
IDE STOREW ! SALE!!
Mornington
Cnr Nepean Hwy & Bungower Road
Ph 5973 6333
Focused on assisting local businesses and individuals.
Call us today Specialising in Small Business, Investors, Accounting, Taxation & Advice t: 03 5975 3631 e: info@rhaaccounting.com.au w: rhaaccounting.com.au Suite 8, 38A Main St, Mornington 3931
Expect to pay around half the price FOR AN APPOINTMENT CALL
1300 230 430
SUITE 6 UPPER LEVEL 38A MAIN STREET, MORNINGTON w w w. d i a m o n d c o c o . c o m . a u