NEWS DESK Dredging launched DREDGING is about to start at Rye and Sorrento to make sure boats can safely access ramps and piers. The dredging will deepen the channel at Rye and around Sorrento boat ramp’s southern pier. The six weeks allocated by Mornington Peninsula Shire for the works is aimed at minimising the impact on recreational water sport users, as well as taking account of weather conditions and the migration of the spider crabs. An environmental management plan has been developed to minimise impacts on the environment. Sand dredged at Rye and Sorrento will be used to replenish nearby beaches. The shire says the dredged sand may “have a slight odour due to organic matter” and that its dark grey colour will be bleached by the sun. Details: mornpen.vic.gov.au/dredgesorrentoandrye
Building ‘missing link’ in station’s future Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au
The write time LITTLE Stories Big Ideas is a writing competition for secondary school students which aims to encourage them to get off their devices and get creative. The competition is the brainchild of Joe Novella, who saw the need for a platform allowing young people to express their views on the world they live in through their writing. “There’s a lot of ways we reward and recognise our sporty students, and even our maths and science students,” Mr Novella said. “But there are very few ways that students with an interest in creative writing can express themselves and be recognised.” The judge and director of Little Stories Big Ideas is Rebecca Fraser, the inaugural winner of the Mornington Peninsula Mayor’s Short Story Award. Little Stories Big Ideas runs each term and is free to enter. Entries for Term 3 close Friday 1 October. Details: Visit littlestoriesbigideas.com.au or Facebook @littlestoriesbigideascomp
Flat-pack: Mornington railway volunteers have received the former city-bound Cheltenham railway station building which was trucked down to Moorooduc. Pictures: Supplied
Too many workers face this every day It’s never ok
worksafe.vic.gov.au/itsneverok
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Mornington News
28 September 2021
IT WILL be “tickets please” from a real station when the old Cheltenham railway station building is erected at Mornington Railway Preservation Society’s base at Moorooduc. The 140-year-old timber structure was recently trucked down to Moorooduc in flat-pack form where it will be assessed in detail before being put together to join other historic pieces of railway infrastructure on the site. The preservation society’s president Andrew Swayne sees it as an “absolute landmark project” that will provide a missing link in the station’s redevelopment. “We couldn’t even get the old station from Mornington,” he said, referring to the line which was closed in 1981. “At present we are using an old guard’s van as a ticket office, whereas this building will look and feel the part as well as being functional. It will become the main feature at Moorooduc – the missing centrepiece.” Once COVID-19 restrictions have ended the old Cheltenham building will be restored, but with a more authentic entry. Volunteers will replace corroded iron roofing, source period bricks for chimneys and strip out faded interior plaster, although the verandah is intact. “We will look at extending the building to include meeting rooms then open it up for other not-for-profit groups to use,” Mr Swayne said. Once the building footprint has been established, an architect will be engaged to design the interior and prepare drawings for Mornington Peninsula Shire’s approval. Mr Swayne said the society appreciated assistance of the SPA Project Team, Level Crossing Removal Authority, Metro Trains and VicTrack for “making the building available and helping to preserve the iconic building for future generations”. “We can’t wait to get into the rebuild and will be encouraging the local community and businesses to participate in this landmark project where they can,” he said.