NEWS DESK
Trees down for development Sunday 6 November 2016
September 4th
TWO significant manna gums previously protected because they were on public land have been chopped down as part of development works in King St, Hastings. After thriving for 80-100 years the remnant gums were destroyed in a few hours, Thursday 18 August. The alarm was first sounded when the Mornington Peninsula Shire-owned land was listed for sale in March. It had previously been used as a walkway between two streets and as an informal carpark for a nearby supermarket. The trees were regarded as an attractive feature of the landscape. Such large specimens, in good health and with no visible structural faults, are rare in an increasingly built-up environment, such as Hastings. Birds and wildlife frequented the trees, which had several nesting hollows. An application was made to the National Trust in April to recommend that the larger of the two be added to the Significant Tree Register. A reply had yet to be received. Most of the larger tree had already been lopped last week by the time the resident was alerted. A hurried call to the shire’s customer service area and a discussion with the planning department revealed there are no vegetation protection overlays for Hastings. “Nominating individual trees is seemingly impossible,” said the resident, who did not wish to be named. “It is disappointing that the council would sell off such a block for short
Remnant sawdust: Piles of sawdust are all that remain of two manna gums removed to make way for develoment at Hastings.
term revenue-raising when this type of remnant tree will never again have the chance to reach its full potential. “This block could have been available to all as a passive walkway: now it will no doubt be blocked off to all as it is developed. “A beautiful and valuable natural asset has been lost forever.”
Carry On’s first op shop THE Carry On organisation says it is evolving to meet the needs of defence force veterans. The ex-service organisation founded in 1932 mainly provides financial assistance to veterans and their families and, in some cases, provides them with units that it owns across the state. Branch leader and veteran's advocate Karl Williams says a new way to raise money is through the op shop at 2/61 Cool Store Rd, Hastings – the first of its kind for Carry On. “We believe that some op shops have become too expensive and, as a result, we’ll be keeping our goods priced in the old fashioned op-shop way,” he said. The shop accepts all saleable goods, such as clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and electrical
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Western Port News
23 August 2016
goods, which are tagged and tested by a qualified electrician. The shop will begin trading on Saturday 27 August. Alongside will be a veterans’ drop-in centre where those who need assistance – financial or to be linked into other organisations – can come in for a coffee and a chat, watch TV, or use the computers. All staff are volunteers and anyone who would like to offer their services should call Mr Williams on 0429 990 793. He said corporate sponsors were also being sought to help veterans obtain a better quality of life and rebuild themselves into functioning members of the community. Call peninsula Carry On on 0422 983 579.